Callanish ( gd, Calanais) is a village (township) on the west side of the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) 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 ...

, in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...

(Western Isles),

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Callanish is within the parish of Uig. A linear settlement with a

jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

, it is on a headland jutting into

Loch Roag ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...

, a

sea loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spel ...

west of

Stornoway Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well a ...

. Callanish is situated alongside the A858, between

Breasclete Breasclete ( gd, Brèascleit) is a village and community on the west side of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Breasclete is within the parish of Uig, and is situated adjacent to the A858. History Breasclete has several ston ...

and

Garynahine Garynahine ( gd, Gearraidh na h-aibhne) is a settlement on Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Garynahine is situated at a T-junction where roads from Stornoway, Uig and the west side of Lewis all meet. The roads are the A858 and the B8011 ...

. The

Callanish Stones The Callanish Stones (or "Callanish I": gd, Clachan Chalanais or ) are an arrangement of standing stones placed in a cruciform pattern with a central stone circle. They were erected in the late Neolithic era, and were a focus for ritual activi ...

"Callanish 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 human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. T ...

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. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

ic monuments in Scotland. A modern visitor centre provides information about the main circle and other lesser monuments nearby, numbered as Callanish II to X.

References

External links

Calanais Visitor Centre

Breasclete Community Association (local area's website)

Panoramas of the Callanish Standing Stones
(QuickTime required)
Canmore - Lewis, Callanish site record

Canmore - Calanais, Calanais and Bhreascleit War Memorial site record

Canmore - Lewis, Callanish, Tea Rooms site record

Canmore - Lewis, Callanish, Pier site record
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A Statistical Analysis of Megalithic Sites in Britain : Alexander Thom
*

Alexander Thom Alexander Thom (26 March 1894 – 7 November 1985) was a Scottish engineer most famous for his theory of the Megalithic yard, categorisation of stone circles and his studies of Stonehenge and other archaeological sites. Life and work Early ...

{{Authority control Villages in the Isle of Lewis