Monday, 2nd September 2019 Today’s itinerary is a journey, by coach, around the north of the Isle of Lewis. After breakfast at 08:00 we depart from the hotel at 09:30 with our local guide, Chris Ryan, and our driver John Murdo, from Lochs Motor Coaches,. Chris provides a running commentary as we travel throughout the day, interspersed with humorous interjections from John Murdo: a very good double act. As we travel north we pass the peat diggings in the crofts. On the left are the mechanised ’sausages’, on the right the rectangular manual diggings. At the Butt of Lewis we visit the lighthouse at the top of the island, which is unusual as it is a red brick construction, rather than being painted white. We look at the view across the Atlantic to Canada in the distance. We take in a visit to the northerly Port of Ness. As we travel down the westerly side of the island we stop to visit the Gearrannan Blackhouse Village. The village is now a museum. The Blackhouse Village features traditional blockhouses. The village has recently been preserved having fallen into disrepair when the residents moved out into more modern council-provided housing nearby. The houses are thatched and have double stone walls. There was no incentive for the residents, who had rented the properties, to make any improvements to the buildings as they did not have secured tenure. If they had made improvements the landlord could potentially kick them out and then rent the […]