Lewis

Largest and most northerly island in the Outer Hebrides, Western Isles; area 2,220 sq km/857 sq mi; population (2001) 19,900. Its main town is Stornoway. It is separated from northwest Scotland by the Minch. The island is 80 km/50 mi long from north to south, and its greatest breadth is 45 km/28 mi. There are many lochs and peat moors. The Callanish standing stones on the west coast are thought to be up to 5,000 years old, second only to Stonehenge (on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire) in archaeological significance in the UK.

Harris and Lewis are often assumed to be two separate islands, but they are linked by a narrow neck of land.

The coast is indented on the east and west coasts. The most northerly point is the Butt of Lewis. Much of the south and southwest of the island is rugged and mountainous, while northern and central Lewis is dominated by an undulating peat bog.

The chief occupations are crofting, fishing, and crafts, and Harris tweed is made here.Oats and potatoes are grown, and sheep and cattle are raised. There are many archaeological remains; the standing stones at Callanish, a circle of 47 stones 24 km/15 mi west of Stornaway, are thought to date from between 3,000 and 1,500 BC. Lews Castle (1856-63) was presented to the town by Lord Leverhulme, and now houses a technical college.

Daily flights link the island with Inverness and Glasgow. A car ferry service connects Stornaway to Ullapool on the mainland.