Port Stoth, known locally as Stoth and pronounced ''Stow'',
is a sheltered inlet just southeast of the
Butt of Lewis 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
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 ...
.
It is the most northerly landing in the Outer Hebrides.
A track leads down to a
slipway
A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...
which runs across the sandy beach.
Port Stoth is about from the
Butt of Lewis Lighthouse.
All the materials for the construction of the lighthouse (between 1859 and 1862) were brought by ship and landed in Port Stoth, due to lack of road infrastructure.
The port continued to play an important role in bringing supplies to the lighthouse
until about 1960.
Supplies and fuel were brought in small cargo vessels when the weather allowed, and were unloaded in Port Stoth by crane. The concrete base still remains, as does a brick storage building.
There is a brick building to the North side of Stoth where shellfish was landed and there are the remains of a hoist fixed to the shore below.
References
{{reflist, refs=
[{{cite book , author1=Mike Sullivan , author2=Robert Emmott , author3=Timothy Pickering , title=Outer Hebrides , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OvExCEpSNJoC&pg=PA37 , accessdate=25 August 2011 , date=8 June 2010 , publisher=Pesda Press , isbn=978-1-906095-09-3 , page=37]
[{{cite web , url=http://www.virtualheb.co.uk/lighthouse-butt-of-lewis-isle-of-lewis-western-isles.html , work=Virtual Hebrides , title=Butt of Lewis Lighthouse - Isle of Lewis - Western Isles , accessdate=25 August 2011 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612001616/http://www.virtualheb.co.uk/lighthouse-butt-of-lewis-isle-of-lewis-western-isles.html , archivedate=12 June 2011 , df=dmy-all ]
[{{cite web, url=http://www.c-e-n.org/lighthouse.htm , title=The Butt of Lewis Lighthouse , work=Comunn Lachdraidh Nis , accessdate=25 August 2011 , url-status=usurped , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812012255/http://www.c-e-n.org/lighthouse.htm , archivedate=12 August 2011 ]
[{{cite web , url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2125333 , work=Geograph , title=NB5265 : Port Stoth , author=John Allan , date=20 October 2010 , accessdate=25 August 2011]
[{{cite web , work=Geograph , url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/574855 , title=NB5265 : Slipway at Port Stoth , author=Dave Fergusson , date=4 October 2007 , accessdate=25 August 2011]
[{{cite web , url=http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/lewis/buttoflewis/index.html , title=Butt of Lewis (Rubha Robhanais) , work=Undiscovered Scotland: The Ultimate Online Guide , accessdate=25 August 2011]
External links
Port Stoth on Google Street View
Isle of Lewis
Ports and harbours of Scotland