Getting here is part of the adventure...
SEA
Most freight and probably the majority of visitors reach Lewis by Caledonian MacBrayne's ferry service from Ullapool. The well-appointed ISLE OF LEWIS - launched in 1995 - is the flagship of the CalMac fleet and makes two or three double-runs each day from Monday to Saturday. There is now a daily Sunday service. from Ullapool to Stornoway and back to Ullapool. Ullapool itself is just over an hour from Inverness and within five relaxed hours, by road, from Glasgow and Edinburgh by the A9. The sail from Ullapool to Stornoway takes around two and a half hours in the 18-knot, 120-car ferry.
Many like to arrive by the shorter and more scenic route from Uig in Skye to Tarbert in Harris. The 100-car HEBRIDES, launched in 2000 by The Queen, is no less beautifully appointed and takes just over an hour and a half to cross the Little Minch, making one or two double-runs each day from Monday to Saturday. There is no Sunday service. Skye itself is now accessed by a free road-bridge at Kyleakin or, for still more leisurely options, CalMac's twenty-minute ferry from Mallaig to Armadale or a small, private car ferry at Kylerhea. Tarbert itself is about thirty-five minutes from Stornoway and just over an hour from Shawbost - the route by Leurbost and Garynahine is a mile or two shorter than that by town and Barvas, though many find the latter road easier.
Uig is just over an hour from Kylerhea or the Skye Bridge and an hour and a half from Armadale. Allow four hours, at least, to reach the Skye Bridge from Glasgow and five if you're travelling from Edinburgh. Mallaig is rather nearer by road but the advantage is cancelled out by the longer crossing to Armadale.
If you'd like to take in the Uists on your holiday, CalMac also run a car ferry from Leverburgh in South Harris to Berneray, now linked to North Uist by causeway. This vessel, the 40-car LOCH PORTAIN has more limited facilities and the crossing is unusually vulnerable to tidal and weather delays - always check before travelling - but is the only seven-day ferry to operate to and from our island.
Please drive carefully: traffic laws are enforced as strictly in the West Highlands as they are everywhere else. Prior booking is strongly advised for all car ferry services in the summer season and can readily be done on CalMac's excellent website.
AIR
There have been scheduled passenger flights to Stornoway for very many years now and, at present, you can fly in from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen. There are also inter-island flights to Benbecula and Barra. A new, well-fitted terminal building was opened at Stornoway in 2002 and is well served by car-hire firms and taxi operators.
FINDING 25 SOUTH SHAWBOST
If approaching from Stornoway via Barvas, take the first turning on the right after you pass Shawbost school. There is a small "B&B" sign at the junction. 25 South Shawbost is the ninth house along at the head of a slow bend and at the junction with a still smaller township road. The house is stone-fronted, hard by the road and surrounded by a mass of very healthy shrubs! The chalet is cheerfully visible on the other side of the road.
If approaching from Carloway, take the first turning on your left after you cross the Shawbost cattlegrid and then the first on your left. You'll find 25 South Shawbost on the left-hand side at the next junction.
