Stornoway
Within the town centre lie the grounds of Lews Castle, the name a reminder of the way the Islands name was originally spelt.

Stornoway Castle
The castle is a splendid sight, and its grounds are host to the island's only woodland of any significance – mixed forest planted and carefully tended and cared for - trees are rare elsewhere on account of the acidic soil. Residents visit and use the castle grounds to walk, jog and cycle, and the 18-hole golf course in the castle grounds has some panoramic views over the Minch.

Stornoway Harbour
The Stornoway harbour is one of the prettiest harbours we have seen - even seals frequent the harbour. In July the Stornoway Maritime Festival is held - the sailing boats looked so splendid and the harbour seal was being fed by one of the shipmates - to delight the crowd.

Stornowegians

The people from Stornoway are called Stornowegians

Shakespeare
William�Shakespeare spent many years in Stornoway before he found fame and fortune as a playwrite. Whilst in Stornoway - William Shakespeare began work on his first play ‘MacLeod’. �

He was taken with tales of the Viking settlement of Lewis - the play is known toady as ‘The Stornoway Play’. The story centres around the Vikings - settling on Lewis - plotting to cut down all the trees and build windmills for corn milling across the Barvas Moor in order to provide a ready supply of porridge, and eventually a plan to tow the island back to Norway which results in the break up of the island chain.

The original manuscript was discovered recently in an old fish box (wrapped in a 1592 edition of the Stornoway Gazette) in the old stables behind the Lewis Hotel.

Streets and Their Names in Stornoway

Many of the main streets in Stornoway were named after well-known people in the history of the Long Island as Lewis and Harrris was often called.

In memory of the Mathesons there is James Street and Matheson Road. The Mackenzie reminder is Francis Street, Keith Street, and Kenneth Street.