Brue () is a village on the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

in the

West Side West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham ...

district, in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

, Scotland. It is a

crofting Crofting (Scottish Gaelic: ') is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production peculiar to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th-century townships, individual crofts were est ...

township and it is composed of two areas: Am Baile Staigh, which is nearer the coast, and Pàirc Bhrù, which runs towards the moor. In total it covers a road distance of 2.5 km. Brue is situated on a minor road which joins to the A858, and is within the parish of

Barvas Barvas (Scottish Gaelic: ''Barabhas'' or ''Barbhas'', ) is a settlement, community and civil parish on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. It developed around a road junction. The A857 and A858 meet at the southern end of Barvas. North is the road ...

. The name Brue is an anglicised form of the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

''Brù'' which in turn comes from an

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

word which is believed to have meant ''bridge''; this reflects the centuries of

Norsemen The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a Viking expansion, large-scale expansion in all direc ...

occupation and settlement in the

. The coastline at Brue is the site of various cairns, including a prehistoric one, and is also near to the site of a

blackhouse A blackhouse ( ; ) is a traditional type of house which used to be common in Ireland, the Hebrides, and the Scottish Highlands. Origin of the name The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate. On the Isle of Lewis, in particular, it ...

References

External links

Canmore - Lewis, Brue site record
Villages in the Isle of Lewis {{WesternIsles-geo-stub ga:Brú