The Callanish Stones (or "Callanish I", Clachan Chalanais or Tursachan Chalanais in Scottish Gaelic) are an arrangement of standing stones placed in a cruciform pattern with a central stone circle. The central monolith is 4.8 metres high.
They were erected in the late Neolithic era, between 2900 and 2600 BC, and were a focus for ritual activity during the Bronze Age. They are near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais) on the west coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland and are one of my favourite places to go to when I am visiting GB, as I did this summer.
There are at least nineteen other circles and standing stones in the
Callanish area.
On the path between the visitor centre and the stones is a memorial bench with one of the best views of any such bench, anywhere in the UK.
David Booth, from Stornoway, was
reported missing by his family on 31 May 2013 while known to be travelling in
India. Police in India said the 28 year
old’s body was found in the Kullu area.
Mr Booth's family said: "David was a loving son, brother, uncle,
nephew, brother-in-law and friend. He
was a gentle soul and loved life, especially travelling the world to places
like Brazil, Eastern Europe and India, where he made many friends. He'll be sorely missed by all that knew him
and we take comfort that he died having lived such a full life and in a country
he loved travelling in."
Alongside the path are a variety of wild flowers, just a few of which I photographed while we were there this time.
Croft and field dividers on Lewis are mostly wire fences with regular wooden fence posts but around Callanish there are also plenty of dry stone walls, built to an impeccable standard.
Behind GB in the next picture is The Sleeping Beauty, also known as the 'Cailleach Na Mointeach' or 'Old woman of the moors', a skyline of a woman's prone form.