Introducing Stornoway Vacations
Large numbers of people like to take unusual vacations and more travelers are finding vacations at the seaside far less appealing. The challenge to find is ever and travel guides are ceaselessly looking for new and exciting places to visit or which offer something of interest. Below I introduce the town of Stornoway on the remote island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and describe the reasons why this is a fantastic destination for a vacation.
The Isle of Lewis
Lewis, together with the Isle of Harris, is the largest island in the Outer Hebrides. The archipelago is located far off Scotland’s west coast further out from the Isle of Skye, requiring a ferry journey or flight to travel there. Because of the remoteness it has only been during the last few decades that ordinary tourists are able to access to the islands for a vacation, prior to this it was only the rich who could afford the trip. The only other option to get to the Outer Hebrides was to arrive to seek employment.
The Town Of Stornoway
A long time ago Stornoway was an immensely busy fishing port. Herring was the main quarry of the fishing boats and throughout the fishing season the population of Stornoway expanded from about 6,000 to more than thirty thousand. An amazing amount of Stornoway Hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfasts developed to meet the lodging needs the the immense influx of temporary inhabitants created. Nowadays the town’s population remains at a little more than 6,000 (not including visitors).
Unfortunately the herring industry declined heavily following the First World War with the collapse of the markets in Germany and Russia. The town of Stornoway still has a small fishing fleet but few buildings remain from those times and Stornoway lost a great deal of its charm during the 1970′s when it was extensively redeveloped.
In recent years the local council has enhanced, rather sympathetically, Stornoway town centre installing several works of art on the theme of the herring industry as well as also adding fountains and flower beds. New buildings are also much prettier, such as An Lanntair, the local arts centre.
Even though there are much less Stornoway hotels existing today, just the Royal Hotel dates back to the heyday of the Herring industry, there are still a massive number of Stornoway bed and breakfasts, plus inns, guest houses and hostels. You will even discover a caravan site on the outskirts of Stornoway.
If you are currently considering a vacation in the Western Isles/Outer Hebrides please take a look at our extensive listings of Stornoway hotels.
