Vacation Packages

Large numbers of people like to take vacations with a difference and increasing numbers of visitors are finding the usual seaside vacations increasingly tedious. The need to find is forever increasing and vacation planners are ceaselessly looking for new and exciting places to visit or that offer something extraordinary. In the following article I examine Stornoway on the remote Hebridean Isle of Lewis and describe the reasons why this is a fantastic vacation destination.

The Isle of Lewis

The Isle of Lewis, with Harris, is the biggest island in the Western Isles. The archipelago is a fair distance from the west coast of Scotland further out from the Isle of Skye, needing a ferry journey or flight to travel to it. As a result of the extreme remoteness it has only been during the last few decades that ordinary, working class, folk are able to access to the islands for a vacation, prior to this it was only those with enormous funds who could afford to pay for the journey. The only other option to get to the Western Isles was to arrive to work.

The Town Of Stornoway

Way back in the past the town of stornoway was a very busy fishing port. The main quarry of the fishermen was herring and during the herring fishing season the population of Stornoway grew from about 6,000 to well over 30,000. An astounding amount of Stornoway Hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfasts were built to satisfy the needs for lodging the the immense influx of temporary inhabitants created. Currently Stornoway’s population stays at just more than six thousand (not including tourists).

Unfortunately the herring industry heavily declined following World War One with the utter collapse of the the markets in Russia and Germany. You will still find a tiny fishing fleet in Stornoway however few buildings remain from that era and Stornoway suffered a great loss of character during the extensive redevelopment of the 1970′s.

Recently the Western Isles Council has enhanced, rather sympathetically, Stornoway town centre with several works of art heavily focused upon past associations with the herring industry as well as also adding areas of flower beds and even fountains. New buildings are also more sympathetic to the environment, for example An Lanntair, the local arts centre.

Although there are a great deal less Stornoway hotels in existence, just the Royal Hotel can be traced back to the peak of the Herring industry, there remains a huge number of bed and breakfasts in Stornoway, plus hostels, guest houses and inns. You will even find a caravan site on the outskirts of town.

If you are considering a vacation in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland please take a look at our comprehensive list of Stornoway hotels.

If you are planning a vacation and you are considering Stornoway Hotels please visit our site where you will find our listings of Stornoway Hotels and other accommodation in the town.