Griamacleit

Photograph taken from Seaforth Island

There are power lines running down to this hut and jetty, and there is a satellite dish as well. I have no idea what sort of industry goes on here by the side of Loch Seaforth, so I have just tagged it as Industry. (The jetty is more active in NB2112 : Slipway & Jetty Loch Seaforth.) The land on the other side of the Loch is in the square as well. All the rock here is Lewisian Gneiss - a particularly dark specimen lies split in the foreground.

Looking towards Tòdun (centre).

After Kearnaval with Jim Bloomer and Jonathan de Ferranti. This is a fantastic view point with Seaford Island to the south east. Name: Beinn a' Mhuil Hill number: 4937 Height: 370m / 1214ft Area: 24A: Lewis and Nearby Islands Class: Hu Grid ref: NB 19474 13653 Summit feature: cairn Drop: 117m Col: 253m NB187140

Loch Seaforth/Loch Shiphoirt in view. The A859 road is visible on the right.

Many conifers in plantations on the island were showing signs of distress - discolouration and defoliation. Not sure of the cause, but there are some new forest pathogens becoming more widespread. These were on the A859 Stornoway- Tarbert road.

With a large patch of dying conifers beyond. The road is the A859 Stornoway/ Tarbert road.

Shielings were moorland summer grazings for cattle. Shieling huts (often also referred to as shielings) were dwellings located within the shieling. They were usually occupied from May until the “flitting” in September. In early May the men of a village would go onto the moor to check and repair the shieling huts. They would be joined by the women and children for one night before the men returned to the village to tend to crops or to travel away for summer work such as fishing. The women and children would spend the summer at the shielings tending the cattle and making cheese and butter, some of which was for immediate use but most was salted to preserve it for the winter. Peat cutting for fuel would also be done. Evenings would be spent making music and story telling. Visits were made between the shielings of different villages. The shieling huts were made from materials available in the immediate vicinity. They usually had walls made of stone or turf, turf roofs and compacted earth or clay floors. In coastal areas and on the islands rafters would be made from locally collected driftwood. Usually there would be a single doorway, facing away from the prevailing wind (although some shieling huts have two doors opposite each other), and often no windows. Furniture built into shieling huts included stone or turf beds covered with heather, turf seats and cupboards and niches built into the stone wall, often one above the door. Other furniture would be carried out onto the moor for the season. In places where the practice of using shielings continued into the 20th century, shieling huts can be found which are constructed making more extensive use of timber than in the traditional type, along with other materials such as tin and bitumen. There are also examples of buses and caravans used as shieling huts. The Clearances and ongoing changes in agricultural methods meant that the shieling tradition had generally ended by the close of the nineteenth century. In places it continued for longer and, particularly on Lewis, some shieling huts are still used today during the peat cutting season and as summer retreats. The remains of shieling huts can be seen as changes in vegetation: ND1340 : Shieling site by the Allt a' Cheracher ; shieling mounds where successive shieling huts have been built on the same site: NB5059 : Shieling mounds by the Abhainn Dhail, Isle of Lewis ; footings: NB5357 : Shieling footings beside the Feadan Mòr, Isle of Lewis ; and more substantial remains: NB3040 : Shieling above Gleann Leitir, Isle of Lewis . Examples of modern shielings are shown at: NB5458 : Shieling, Airigh A' Bhealaich, Isle of Lewis and NB5458 : Disused shieling, Airigh A' Bhealaich, Isle of Lewis .

Shielings were moorland summer grazings for cattle. Shieling huts (often also referred to as shielings) were dwellings located within the shieling. They were usually occupied from May until the “flitting” in September. In early May the men of a village would go onto the moor to check and repair the shieling huts. They would be joined by the women and children for one night before the men returned to the village to tend to crops or to travel away for summer work such as fishing. The women and children would spend the summer at the shielings tending the cattle and making cheese and butter, some of which was for immediate use but most was salted to preserve it for the winter. Peat cutting for fuel would also be done. Evenings would be spent making music and story telling. Visits were made between the shielings of different villages. The shieling huts were made from materials available in the immediate vicinity. They usually had walls made of stone or turf, turf roofs and compacted earth or clay floors. In coastal areas and on the islands rafters would be made from locally collected driftwood. Usually there would be a single doorway, facing away from the prevailing wind (although some shieling huts have two doors opposite each other), and often no windows. Furniture built into shieling huts included stone or turf beds covered with heather, turf seats and cupboards and niches built into the stone wall, often one above the door. Other furniture would be carried out onto the moor for the season. In places where the practice of using shielings continued into the 20th century, shieling huts can be found which are constructed making more extensive use of timber than in the traditional type, along with other materials such as tin and bitumen. There are also examples of buses and caravans used as shieling huts. The Clearances and ongoing changes in agricultural methods meant that the shieling tradition had generally ended by the close of the nineteenth century. In places it continued for longer and, particularly on Lewis, some shieling huts are still used today during the peat cutting season and as summer retreats. The remains of shieling huts can be seen as changes in vegetation: ND1340 : Shieling site by the Allt a' Cheracher ; shieling mounds where successive shieling huts have been built on the same site: NB5059 : Shieling mounds by the Abhainn Dhail, Isle of Lewis ; footings: NB5357 : Shieling footings beside the Feadan Mòr, Isle of Lewis ; and more substantial remains: NB3040 : Shieling above Gleann Leitir, Isle of Lewis . Examples of modern shielings are shown at: NB5458 : Shieling, Airigh A' Bhealaich, Isle of Lewis and NB5458 : Disused shieling, Airigh A' Bhealaich, Isle of Lewis .

Although classified as a township at Link , the settlement only seems to have had three buildings. One of the others can be seen at NB2113 : Township remains, Baile Nan Cnocan Fraoich, Isle of Lewis.

Although classified as a township at Link , the settlement only seems to have had three buildings. One of the others can be seen at NB2213 : Township remains, Baile Nan Cnocan Fraoich, Isle of Lewis.

Aline Community Woodland comprises 636ha land lying either side of the A859. It was bought from the Forestry Commission by the Erisort Trust in 2007.

Taken from the A859 looking southeast down Loch Seaforth which divides Lewis from Harris. Note the old peat workings now covered in sheep grazing in the foreground.

Reflection of Chithis Mhor on Loch na h-Aibhne Ruaidhe, taken in evening light.