Visit and Contribute to the Scottish Gaelic Wikipedia.

This article is about Lewis in Scotland. For other uses of the name, see Lewis (disambiguation).

Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas) is the northern part of the main island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Its main settlement, the only burgh on the Outer Hebrides, is Stornoway, from which ferries sail to Ullapool on the Scottish mainland. In the 2001 census Lewis had a usually resident population of 16,872. In Scotland's traditional counties, Lewis is part of Ross-shire (Ross and Cromarty).

The island's settlements are on or near the coasts or sea lochs, being particularly concentrated on the north east coast. The interior of the island is a large area of moorland from which peat was traditionally cut as fuel, although this practice has become rarer. The southern part of the island, adjoining Harris, is more mountainous with inland lochs. The island of Bernera (Great Bernera) in the district of Uig is linked to the mainland of Lewis by a bridge opened in 1953.

The main industries are fishing, tourism, crafts (including the manufacture of Harris tweed ), and crofting. Religion is important on Lewis, with much of the population belonging to the Free Church and Church of Scotland. The Sabbath is generally observed with most shops and licensed premises closed on that day, although there is a scheduled air service to mainland Scotland.

Attractions on the island include the Callanish standing stones, the Clach an Truiseil monolith, the thirteenth century Teampull Mholuaidh church, the Butt of Lewis cliffs and lighthouse and the broch at Doune Carloway . The Lewis chessmen were found on the island in 1831.

Parishes and Districts of Lewis

There are four parishes: Barvas (Barabhas), Lochs (Na Lochan), Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh), and Uig (Uig)) on which the original civil registration districts were based. The district of Carloway (Càrlabhagh) (after the village of that name) which hitherto had fallen partly within the parishes of Lochs and Uig, became a separate civil registration district in 1859. The districts of Lewis are Ness (Nis), Carloway (Càrlabhagh), Back (Am Bac), Lochs (Na Lochan), Park (Am Pairc), Point (An Rubha), Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh) itself, and Uig (Uig). These designations are traditional and in use by the entire population. The West Side is a generic designation for the area covering the villages from Arnol to Shawbost. For civil registration purposes Lochs (Na Lochan) is nowadays split into North Lochs (Na Lochan a Tuath) and South Lochs (Na Lochan a Deas).

• Back

including Tolsta , Coll

• Ness

including Port of Ness

• North Lochs

including Balallan , Crossbost, Leurbost

• Park
• Point

including Shader

• South Lochs
• Stornoway
• Uig

including Cliff , Kneep , Timsgarry

• West Side

including Arnol , Ballantrushal , Barvas , Bragar , Breasclete , Brue , Callanish, Carloway , Shawbost

It is claimed that you can see all the areas of Lewis from the top of Stornoway War Memorial!

Flag

The Lewis flag is one of the most curious of the Hebridean flags. The blue and white stripes are said to represent the seven traditional areas of Lewis: Back (Am Bac), Lochs (Na Lochan), Ness (Nis), Point (An Rubha). Uig (Uig), West Side (An Taobh Siar) and the main town, Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh). Blue and white stripes are also used on the Harris flag.

External links

• Visitor's guide for the Island of Lewis

• Website of the Western Isles Council with links to other resources

• Flags of the World - Lewis