Calanais () is a village (township) on the west side of 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
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 ...
(Western Isles),
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. Calanais is within the parish of
Uig. A linear settlement with a
jetty
A jetty is a man-made structure that protrudes from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater (structure), breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French la ...
, it is on a headland jutting into
Loch Roag, a
sea loch
''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...
west of
Stornoway
Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.
The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...
. Calanais is situated alongside the
A858, between
Breasclete and
Garynahine.
The
Calanais Stones "Calanais I", a cross-shaped setting of
standing stone
A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...
s erected around 3000 BC, are one of the most spectacular
megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...
ic monuments in Scotland. A modern visitor centre provides information about the main circle and other lesser monuments nearby, numbered as Calanais II to X.
References
External links
Calanais Visitor CentreBreasclete Community Association (local area's website)Panoramas of the Callanish Standing Stones(QuickTime required)
Canmore - Lewis, Callanish site recordCanmore - Calanais, Calanais and Bhreascleit War Memorial site recordCanmore - Lewis, Callanish, Tea Rooms site recordCanmore - Lewis, Callanish, Pier site record*
A Statistical Analysis of Megalithic Sites in Britain : Alexander Thom*
Alexander Thom
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Villages in the Isle of Lewis