Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh in Scottish Gaelic) is a burgh on Lewis (Leòdhas), in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, with a population of approximately 5,600 people in the town itself, out of a total population of 26,370 for the whole of the Western Isles. It is the major town and administrative centre of the Outer Hebrides and is home to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (the Western Isles Council). Stornoway is currently twinned with the much smaller Pendleton, South Carolina, United States of America. The civil parish of Stornoway includes the villages/suburbs of (among others) Sandwick, Plasterfield, Steinish, Laxdale, Newvalley, Newmarket and Marybank and has a population of approximately 12,000 [2].
Harbour and Maritime IndustryToday the harbour hosts a fishing fleet (and associated shoreside services) somewhat reduced from its heydey, a small marina and moorings for pleasure craft, a small shipyard and slipway, 3 larger piers for commercial traffic and Stornoway Lifeboat Station, run by the RNLI and home to a Severn class lifeboat, Tom Sanderson. Her Majesty's Coastguard operates a Maritime Rescue Sub Centre from a building near the harbour.
A lighthouse and large oil fabrication yard are situated on Arnish point at the mouth of the harbour and visually dominate the approaches. The yard, run by Camcal, has suffered a downturn in business from the North Sea oil industry and despite orders for renewable energy technology such as wave power machines and wind turbines remains in financial difficulty. Liquidation proceedings are underway as of November 2006.
On 31 December 1918, the Iolaire sank at the entrance of the harbour, one of the worst maritime disasters in Scottish or UK waters, with a death toll of 200 men.
TransportA Caledonian Macbrayne operated ferry (MV Isle of Lewis) sails from the harbour to Ullapool on the Scottish mainland, taking 2 hours 40 minutes. There are an average of two return crossings a day, with an increase and reduction in frequency in summer and winter months respectively. As ferry traffic has increased, a second ship (MV Muirneag) now provides a single daily sailing to carry most of the island's articulated lorry freight.
Suggestions for the possibility of an undersea tunnel linking Lewis and Harris to the Scottish mainland were raised in early 2007. One of the possible routes, between Stornoway and Ullapool, would be over 40 miles long and hence become the longest road tunnel in the world.[3] [4]
Stornoway is also the public transport hub of Lewis, and bus services provides links to Point, Ness, Back and Tolsta, Uig, the West Side, Lochs and Tarbert, Harris. These services are provided by the Comhairle and several private operators as well as some community-run organisations.
The town of Stornoway also has an airport (Stornoway Airport), 2 miles away from the town itself, and it is located next to the village of Melbost. From here services operate to Aberdeen, Benbecula, Edinburgh, Inverness and Glasgow, with flights from British Airways franchisee Loganair, Eastern Airways and Highland Airways. The airport is also the base of a HM Coastguard Search & Rescue Sikorsky S-61 helicopter, and was previously home to RAF Stornoway.
Education, Sport and CultureStornoway is home to a small campus of the University of Stirling, teaching nursing, which is based in Ospadal nan Eilean (Western Isles Hospital). There is also a further education college, Lews Castle College, which is part of the UHI Millennium Institute, and the Nicolson Institute is the only six-year secondary school in Lewis with a roll of approximately 1,000 pupils. Attached to the school is the Ionad Spors Leòdhas (Lewis Sports Centre), an all-weather pitch and running track.
Football is the most popular amateur sport and Goathill Park in the town hosts special matches involving select teams and visiting clubs and other organisations. Two local teams currently participate in the Lewis and Harris Football League, Stornoway Athletic (Aths) - the current league champions - and Stornoway United. Until the early 1990s there was also Stornoway Rovers. Shinty is not as popular as in the rest of the West of Scotland, but the Lewis Camanachd team is based around the town.
The Lews Castle Grounds is the home of Stornoway Golf Club (the only 18-hole golf course in the Outer Hebrides) and hosts the Hebridean Celtic Festival. This 3-day festival attracts over 10,000 visitors during July of each year. The Royal National Mod has been held in Stornoway on a number of occasions, most recently in 2001 and 2005. Large influxes of visitors such as for these events can strain the town's accommodation capacity.
The radio station Isles FM is based in Stornoway and broadcasts on 103FM, featuring a mixture of Gaelic and English programming. It is also home to a studio operated by BBC Radio nan Gàidheal, and Studio Alba, an independent television studio from where the Gaelic TV channel TeleG is broadcast.
Notable buildings in Stornoway include Stornoway Town Hall and the neo-gothic Lews Castle. It is also home to a new arts centre, an Lanntair, containing an art gallery, auditorium for film showings, music and other performances, a restaurant and bar. Other attractions include a museum and the Lewis Loom Centre.
Stornoway in Popular MediaStornoway became immortalised in the song ‘Lovely Stornoway’ by Calum Kennedy and Bob Halfin.
Stornoway’s own Charlie Barley and his Black Pudding recipe is famous throughout the world for its exceptional flavour and its undisclosed recipe.
RAF Stornoway is featured in the Tom Clancy novel Red Storm Rising as a base for Allied air operations over the North Atlantic and against Soviet-held Iceland.
Stornoway's SabbathStornoway, and the Western Isles as a whole, is known throughout Scotland for its adherence to the Sabbath (Christian observance - on Sundays). While some believe this to be simply a lack of amenities and facilities for locals and tourists, others believe it to be a vital aspect of island life, a link to tradition and an alternative to the more active lifestyle prevalent on the mainland. As Stornoway, with the majority of the island's services, shops and businesses, undergoes the most visible change on a Sunday it is often seen as a focal point for the whole issue.
In recent years an increasing number of transport services have begun operating on a Sunday. The first Sunday air service began in October 2002 and was met by protests from church groups under the banner of the Lord's Day Observance Society [5]. The Sunday air services have expanded and there are now two return flights to Inverness and one to Glasgow as well as becoming generally more accepted. Ferry travel on Sundays from Lewis and Harris is now possible after Caledonian MacBrayne introduced such a service to the timetable of the Sound of Harris ferry [6]. The introduction of this service was not directly met with protests, but an opposing petition was signed by a significant majority of the local (South Harris) population.
The introduction of extra and new forms of service is perhaps a sign of those in favour of stricter observance's fear that each change to Sabbath lifestyle and new service introduction is eroding general Sabbath observance. Regardless, there are still marked differences between Sundays on Lewis and Harris and those else where in the UK and this particular example of Sunday observance only survives here, with the Sabbath continuing to be considered a day of rest. Opposition to a more cosmopolitan Sunday is not exclusively for religious reasons, though the strong Presbyterian (mainly Free Church) makeup of the island undoubtedly is a major force behind campaigns to retain Sunday's peaceful nature.
Hotels and restaurants are generally open along with most bars (some with shorter opening periods). A single petrol station and its associated shop is open from 12 noon – 4 pm, but no other shops are open and Sunday newspapers are not available as the scheduled flights are too late in the day.
StatisticsA poll conducted in 2000 showed slightly more than 60% of islanders in favour of ferry and air travel's availability on a Sunday [7] though a still larger majority wanted a referendum on such matters – something that has not taken place. The same poll showed a clear majority against the opening of shops, however. A more recent Poll by the Hebridean newspaper suggested that 89% of Stornoway residents would use facilities on a Sunday if they were available.
Famous people Born in Stornoway
