Stornoway
Encyclopedia
Stornoway is a burgh
on the Isle of Lewis
, in the Outer Hebrides
of Scotland
.
The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles (with a third of the population) and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands
after Inverness
and Fort William
. The civil parish of Stornoway, including various nearby villages, has a population of approximately 12,000.
Stornoway is an important port and the major town and administrative centre of the Outer Hebrides. It is home to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
(the Western Isles Council) and a variety of educational, sporting and media establishments. Observance of the Christian Sabbath (Sunday) is a prominent and sometimes controversial aspect of the town's culture.
settlement and developed around its well sheltered natural harbour. Reflecting this, the name Stornoway itself is derived from 'Stjórnavágr', an Old Norse
word for 'steering bay'. Medieval development of the town was spurred by the construction of the original castle in the High Middle Ages
by the Nicolson (or MacNicol) family, themselves of Viking descent. Infighting between rival clans continued throughout the Late Middle Ages
and resisted an attempt by the then King of Scotland James VI to colonise Lewis in 1597.
The castle was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell
's forces in the aftermath of his Scottish campaign in the mid 17th century , and the ownership of Stornoway - and by extension, Lewis - passed from the MacKenzies of Kintail through the Seaforth family and Sir James Matheson (and his descendants) to William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme
. Lord Leverhulme finally gifted the town's parish to the Stornoway Trust, whose ownership remains to this day.
Today the harbour hosts a fishing fleet (and associated shoreside services) somewhat reduced from its heyday, a small marina and moorings for pleasure craft, a small shipyard and slipway, three 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, seaweed processing plant and a renewable energy manufacturing yard are situated on Arnish Point at the mouth of the harbour and visually dominate the approaches. Arnish Point is also earmarked by AMEC
as the landfall for its proposed private sub-sea cable which would export the electricity generated from the Lewis Windpower wind farm
with a planning application for 181 turbines submitted to the Scottish Executive. In 2008 the Scottish Government rejected the plans - the company responsible are currently planning their next move.
The Arnish area was also surveyed by SSE for a second sub-sea cable
but lost out in favour of Gravir
to the south as the preferred site.
The manufacturing yard was originally established in the 1970s as a fabrication plant for the oil industry but suffered regular boom and bust cycles. The downturn in business from the North Sea oil
industry in recent years led to a move away from serving this market. The yard is now earmarked as a key business in the development of the whole Arnish Point industrial estate and has received large amounts of funding in recent years.
In 2007 the Arnish yard was taken over by its third tenant in as many years. Cambrian Engineering fell into liquidation as did Aberdeen-owned Camcal Ltd with relatively large scale redundancies. Both firms were affected by the absence of a regular stream of orders and left a chain of large debts impacting upon local suppliers. Altissimo Ltd is a new firm backed by a group of Swiss and Dutch investors, and has purchased the Camcal name from the previous operator. In December 2007, the yard won a contract to construct 49 towers for wind turbines in Turkey
. This will ensure employment for around 70 employees for over six months.
On 1 January 1919, 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.
, with little variation of temperature and damp conditions through-out the year.
A Caledonian MacBrayne
operated ferry
(MV Isle of Lewis
) sails from the harbour to Ullapool
on the Scottish mainland, taking 2 hours 45 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 early morning sailing to carry most of the island's freight lorries.
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.
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.
Stornoway Airport
is located next to the village of Melbost
, two miles away from the town itself. From here services operate to Aberdeen
, Benbecula
, Edinburgh
, Inverness
and Glasgow
, with flights from Flybe
franchisee Loganair
, Eastern Airways
and Highland Airways
. The airport is also the base of a HM Coastguard Search & Rescue Sikorsky S-92
helicopter, and was previously home to RAF Stornoway
.
In 1898, the Hebridean Light Railway Company was proposed, with a terminus at Stornoway, but the line was never constructed.
Stornoway 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
.
Primary education in Stornoway is in Stornoway Primary School
, situated on Jamieson Drive with around 300 pupils. The head teacher is Annette Murray.
The Nicolson Institute
is the only secondary school in Lewis providing a six year course, with a roll of approximately 1,100 pupils.
, Stornoway Athletic (Aths) 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. Rugby Union
is also popular with Stornoway RFC competing regularly in national leagues and cups.
The town also has a very popular gymnastics group which competes annually in sports festivals.
The Lews Castle Grounds is the home of Stornoway Golf Club (the only 18-hole golf course in the Outer Hebrides).
Very near to the Nicolson Institute is the Lewis Sports Centre (Ionad Spors Leòdhas), which has a Sports Hall, Fitness Suite, Climbing Wall, Swimming Pool and various other facilities. It also boasts a running track.
There is also the Stornoway Karate Club, a member of the International Japan Karate Association. The club has run for over thirty years, under the teaching of Sadashige Kato.
As well as this, the village of Tong about 2 miles from Stornoway plays host to the Highland Games
and the Western Isles Strongest man
competition each summer.
is a 4-day community led festival which 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.
Stornoway is a sister town of Pendleton
, in Anderson County
, South Carolina
, United States
.
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 was broadcast. The Gaelic-language public service broadcaster BBC Alba
launched on 19 September 2008, is based in Stornoway.
, the Hebridean being a sister-title.
Another main local newspaper is Events, which is a free paper that is mainly advertisements.
Stornoway Kippers and Stornoway smoked salmon are still produced in the town. They have one of the last working brick kilns in the United Kingdom, which can be found at the establishment of Stornoway Fish Smokers, Shell Street.
The Hebridean Brewing Company
produces cask ale
and filtered beer
in bottles.
Notable buildings in Stornoway include:
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 became immortalised in the song "Lovely Stornoway" by Calum Kennedy
and Bob Halfin.
The 4AD Records
folk-rock band Stornoway
took their name from the town, after seeing it on the BBC weather report. They signed their record deal outside the Woodlands Centre in Lews Castle Grounds, Stornoway, after performing in the town for the first time in April 2010. Their second concert there was as headliners on the main stage of the Hebridean Celtic Festival, on Thursday 13th July 2011.
The cult, bestselling novel The Stornoway Way by Lewisman Kevin MacNeil
is largely set in Stornoway.
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 features heavily in the initial stages of the X-Men
comics Dark Phoenix Saga
due to its proximity to the ficitonal Muir Island
and Proteus
' attempts to find a new host body.
In the motion picture "Latitude Zero" by Toho Productions (1969), Stornoway Harbour is featured on a wall plaque as the construction site of the submarine "Alpha".
In 2007 the British car manufacturer Land Rover
introduced Stornoway Grey as a colour choice for its vehicle line-up. In response, Stornoway's councillor Angus Nicolson appealed to Land Rover to relabel the colour as Silvery Stornoway, fearing that the association of grey with dull and boring would hurt the image of the town with tourists; Mr Nicolson said: "This is deeply insulting and is offensive, inaccurate and inherently degrading. This will hit tourism as it subliminally implants adverse connotations in the minds of those who have never experienced the reality of these beautiful islands." Land Rover replied that the colour in question is one of the most popular ones and the use of Stornoway in its name will instead "keep it on the map".
. Sunday newspapers are not available and almost all shops and local amenities are closed on Sundays.
would begin to operate Sunday sailings from Sunday 19 July 2009. Before this, they would operate additional sailings on Sundays if several previous sailings have been cancelled, to allow the backlog of traffic to clear. Caledonian MacBrayne have said that they took legal advice that not implementing Sunday sailings would be against human rights legislation.
There are Sunday flights leaving from Stornoway airport with two return flights to Inverness and one to Glasgow.
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
on the Isle of Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
, in the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The town's population is around 9,000, making it the largest settlement in the Western Isles (with a third of the population) and the third largest town in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
after Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
and Fort William
Fort William, Scotland
Fort William is the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland and the largest town: only the city of Inverness is larger.Fort William is a major tourist centre with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the north and Glenfinnan to the west, on the Road to the Isles...
. The civil parish of Stornoway, including various nearby villages, has a population of approximately 12,000.
Stornoway is an important port and the major town and administrative centre of the Outer Hebrides. It is home to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is the local government council for Na h-Eileanan Siar council area of Scotland.It is the only local council in Scotland to have a Gaelic-only name...
(the Western Isles Council) and a variety of educational, sporting and media establishments. Observance of the Christian Sabbath (Sunday) is a prominent and sometimes controversial aspect of the town's culture.
History
Stornoway was originally a VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
settlement and developed around its well sheltered natural harbour. Reflecting this, the name Stornoway itself is derived from 'Stjórnavágr', an Old Norse
Old Norse
Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....
word for 'steering bay'. Medieval development of the town was spurred by the construction of the original castle in the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
by the Nicolson (or MacNicol) family, themselves of Viking descent. Infighting between rival clans continued throughout the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
and resisted an attempt by the then King of Scotland James VI to colonise Lewis in 1597.
The castle was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's forces in the aftermath of his Scottish campaign in the mid 17th century , and the ownership of Stornoway - and by extension, Lewis - passed from the MacKenzies of Kintail through the Seaforth family and Sir James Matheson (and his descendants) to William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme
William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme
William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician....
. Lord Leverhulme finally gifted the town's parish to the Stornoway Trust, whose ownership remains to this day.
Harbour and maritime industry
Severn class lifeboat
At long, the Severn class lifeboat is the largest lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution . Introduced to service in 1996, the class is named after the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain...
, Tom Sanderson. Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
operates a Maritime Rescue Sub Centre from a building near the harbour.
A lighthouse, seaweed processing plant and a renewable energy manufacturing yard are situated on Arnish Point at the mouth of the harbour and visually dominate the approaches. Arnish Point is also earmarked by AMEC
AMEC
AMEC plc is a global consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is focused on the oil and gas, minerals and metals, renewable energy, environment and infrastructure sectors and has offices in 40 countries worldwide...
as the landfall for its proposed private sub-sea cable which would export the electricity generated from the Lewis Windpower wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
with a planning application for 181 turbines submitted to the Scottish Executive. In 2008 the Scottish Government rejected the plans - the company responsible are currently planning their next move.
The Arnish area was also surveyed by SSE for a second sub-sea cable
Submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
but lost out in favour of Gravir
Gravir
Gravir , is a village on the shore of Loch Odhairn in the Park district of the Isle of Lewis. There is a church, a school and a voluntary fire station in the village. There is also a pier. Most of the plots of land used to be used for crofting, but this has declined in the last 50 years...
to the south as the preferred site.
The manufacturing yard was originally established in the 1970s as a fabrication plant for the oil industry but suffered regular boom and bust cycles. The downturn in business from the North Sea oil
North Sea oil
North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea.In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the area known as "West of Shetland", "the Atlantic Frontier" or "the...
industry in recent years led to a move away from serving this market. The yard is now earmarked as a key business in the development of the whole Arnish Point industrial estate and has received large amounts of funding in recent years.
In 2007 the Arnish yard was taken over by its third tenant in as many years. Cambrian Engineering fell into liquidation as did Aberdeen-owned Camcal Ltd with relatively large scale redundancies. Both firms were affected by the absence of a regular stream of orders and left a chain of large debts impacting upon local suppliers. Altissimo Ltd is a new firm backed by a group of Swiss and Dutch investors, and has purchased the Camcal name from the previous operator. In December 2007, the yard won a contract to construct 49 towers for wind turbines in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. This will ensure employment for around 70 employees for over six months.
On 1 January 1919, the Iolaire
Iolaire
The Iolaire was an Admiralty yacht whose sinking on the 1 January 1919 in the Minch strait was one of the worst maritime disasters in United Kingdom waters during the 20th century...
sank at the entrance of the harbour, one of the worst maritime disasters in Scottish or UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
waters, with a death toll of 200 men.
Climate
Stornoway, like much of the British Isles, has an Oceanic climateOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
, with little variation of temperature and damp conditions through-out the year.
Transport
Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast...
operated ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
(MV Isle of Lewis
MV Isle of Lewis
MV Isle of Lewis is a Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited owned ferry operated between Ullapool and Stornoway by Caledonian MacBrayne. She is currently their only ship over in length.-History:...
) sails from the harbour to Ullapool
Ullapool
Ullapool is a small town of around 1,300 inhabitants in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest settlement for many miles around, and is a major tourist destination of Scotland. The North Atlantic Drift passes by Ullapool, bringing moderate temperatures...
on the Scottish mainland, taking 2 hours 45 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 early morning sailing to carry most of the island's freight lorries.
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.
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
Tarbert, Harris
Tarbert is the main community on Harris in the Western Isles of Scotland. It is also a car ferry terminal to Uig on Skye. Its name means "isthmus".-1990 RAF air crash:...
. These services are provided by the Comhairle and several private operators as well as some community-run organisations.
Stornoway Airport
Stornoway Airport
-Other Tenants:* Maritime and Coastguard Agency - 2 Sikorsky S-92 helicopters operated by CHC Helicopter-Accident and incidents:...
is located next to the village of Melbost
Melbost
Melbost is a traditionally Gaelic-speaking village to the east coast of the Isle of Lewis, in Scotland's north-west. It is largely a crofting township and is about 2½ miles east of Stornoway at the head of an isthmus connecting with the Eye Peninsula...
, two miles away from the town itself. From here services operate to Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Benbecula
Benbecula
Benbecula is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 1,249, with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It forms part of the area administered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar or the Western...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, with flights from Flybe
Flybe
Flybe Group PLC is a British low-cost regional airline headquartered at the Jack Walker House at Exeter International Airport in Devon, England...
franchisee Loganair
Loganair
Loganair is a Scottish airline with its registered office on the grounds of Glasgow International Airport and in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Loganair operates scheduled services under a Flybe franchise in mainland Scotland and to Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. In addition it operates...
, Eastern Airways
Eastern Airways
Eastern Airways is an airline with its head office at Humberside Airport in Kirmington, North Lincolnshire, England. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and private charter services...
and Highland Airways
Highland Airways
Highland Airways was an airline based in Inverness, Scotland. It ceased trading on 24 March 2010 after failing to secure new investment. The airline operated passenger and freight charters as well as scheduled services from its main base at Inverness Airport...
. The airport is also the base of a HM Coastguard Search & Rescue Sikorsky S-92
Sikorsky S-92
The Sikorsky S-92 is a four-bladed twin-engine medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky Aircraft for the civil and military helicopter market. The S-92 was developed from the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter and has similar parts such as flight control and rotor systems.The H-92 Superhawk is a military...
helicopter, and was previously home to RAF Stornoway
RAF Stornoway
RAF Stornoway was a Royal Air Force station near the burgh of Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis, in the Western Isles of Scotland.- Beginnings :...
.
In 1898, the Hebridean Light Railway Company was proposed, with a terminus at Stornoway, but the line was never constructed.
Education
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling is a campus university founded by Royal charter in 1967, on the Airthrey Estate in Stirling, Scotland.-History and campus development:...
, teaching nursing, which is based in Ospadal nan Eilean (Western Isles Hospital).
There is also a further education college, Lews Castle College
Lews Castle College
Lews Castle College is a further and higher education college in the Western Isles of Scotland. The main campus is in the grounds of Lews Castle, Stornoway. The College also has two learning centres in Benbecula and Barra. The College is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands.The...
, which is part of the UHI Millennium Institute
UHI Millennium Institute
The University of the Highlands and Islands is a federation of 13 colleges and research institutions in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland delivering higher education. Its executive office is in Inverness.-History:...
.
Primary education in Stornoway is in Stornoway Primary School
Stornoway primary school
Stornoway Primary School is the largest primary school on the Isle of Lewis.The school's Management Team is Head Teacher, Annette Murray, with Margaret Anne Murray and Gordon Macrae as Depute Head Teachers and Muriel Murray and Donald Macleod as Principal Teachers.There are around 300 pupils in the...
, situated on Jamieson Drive with around 300 pupils. The head teacher is Annette Murray.
The Nicolson Institute
Nicolson Institute
The Nicolson Institute in Stornoway, is the largest school in the Western Isles, Scotland.The Nicolson is the only six-year secondary school in Lewis. Sir E. Scott School is in Harris. Together, they provide education up to Advanced Higher level.The student population is around 2000...
is the only secondary school in Lewis providing a six year course, with a roll of approximately 1,100 pupils.
Sport
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 LeagueLewis and Harris Football League
The Lewis and Harris Football League is the annual football league contested between clubs from the Isle of Lewis and the Isle of Harris in Scotland.Lewis contributes eight clubs to the league and Harris contributes one...
, Stornoway Athletic (Aths) and Stornoway United. Until the early 1990s there was also Stornoway Rovers. Shinty
Shinty
Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...
is not as popular as in the rest of the West of Scotland, but the Lewis Camanachd
Lewis Camanachd
Lewis Camanachd AKA Comann Camanachd Leòdhais in Scots Gaelic, is the senior shinty team from the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. The club entered North Division Three for the first time in 2011. This was the first time a team from the Western Isles was allowed to compete in league shinty...
team is based around the town. Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
is also popular with Stornoway RFC competing regularly in national leagues and cups.
The town also has a very popular gymnastics group which competes annually in sports festivals.
The Lews Castle Grounds is the home of Stornoway Golf Club (the only 18-hole golf course in the Outer Hebrides).
Very near to the Nicolson Institute is the Lewis Sports Centre (Ionad Spors Leòdhas), which has a Sports Hall, Fitness Suite, Climbing Wall, Swimming Pool and various other facilities. It also boasts a running track.
There is also the Stornoway Karate Club, a member of the International Japan Karate Association. The club has run for over thirty years, under the teaching of Sadashige Kato.
As well as this, the village of Tong about 2 miles from Stornoway plays host to the Highland Games
Highland games
Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &Highland games are events held throughout the &(-è_çà in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands. Certain...
and the Western Isles Strongest man
Western Isles Strongest man
Western Isles Strongest man is held annually at the village of Tong on the island of Lewis and Harris. It is usually held in conjunction with the local Highland Games where the heavy athletes compete against each other over the coveted title, a trophy and prize money...
competition each summer.
Culture and media
The annual Hebridean Celtic FestivalHebridean Celtic Festival
The Hebridean Celtic Festival is an international Celtic music festival, which takes place annually in Stornoway on Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The biggest headliners to date have been Runrig, The Waterboys, Proclaimers and Van Morrison...
is a 4-day community led festival which attracts over 10,000 visitors during July of each year. The Royal National Mod
Royal National Mod
The Royal National Mod is the annual national mod, a festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture.The Mod is run by An Comunn Gàidhealach , and includes competitions and awards.-History:...
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.
Stornoway is a sister town of Pendleton
Pendleton, South Carolina
Pendleton is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 2,966 at the 2000 census. It is a sister city of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland....
, in Anderson County
Anderson County, South Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 187,126 people and 70,597 households residing in the county. The population density was 260.6 people per square mile . There were 84,092 housing units...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Broadcasting
The radio station Isles FMIsles FM
Isles FM is a local radio station operating from Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.The station is operated entirely by a volunteer staff, from a building in the Newton area of the town. Isles FM is the trading name of Western Isles Community Radio Limited, which owns all the equipment...
is based in Stornoway and broadcasts on 103FM, featuring a mixture of Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic language
Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland. A member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages, Scottish Gaelic, like Modern Irish and Manx, developed out of Middle Irish, and thus descends ultimately from Primitive Irish....
and English programming. It is also home to a studio operated by BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a British radio station, broadcasting in Scottish Gaelic. It is operated by the BBC as part of its portfolio of television and radio services broadcasting to Scotland....
, and Studio Alba, an independent television studio from where the Gaelic TV channel TeleG was broadcast. The Gaelic-language public service broadcaster BBC Alba
BBC Alba
BBC Gàidhlig is the department of BBC Scotland that produces Scottish Gaelic language programming. This includes TV programmes for BBC Alba and BBC Two Scotland, the BBC Radio nan Gàidheal radio station and the BBC Alba website.-Television:...
launched on 19 September 2008, is based in Stornoway.
Newspapers
The main local newspaper for the Western Isles is the Stornoway GazetteStornoway Gazette
The Stornoway Gazette is a local newspaper reporting on local issues in the Western Isles of Scotland, specifically Stornoway and the Outer Hebrides.- External links :* of the Stornoway Gazette...
, the Hebridean being a sister-title.
Another main local newspaper is Events, which is a free paper that is mainly advertisements.
Food and drink
The Stornoway black pudding is regarded by some as one of the top gourmet black puddings in the United Kingdom.Stornoway Kippers and Stornoway smoked salmon are still produced in the town. They have one of the last working brick kilns in the United Kingdom, which can be found at the establishment of Stornoway Fish Smokers, Shell Street.
The Hebridean Brewing Company
Hebridean Brewing Company
Hebridean Brewing Company is an independent small brewery founded in 2001 by Andy Ribbens in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. The brewery produces cask ale and filtered beer in bottles...
produces cask ale
Cask ale
Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure...
and filtered beer
Filtered beer
Bright beer is beer in which yeast is no longer in suspension. There are several methods used for clearing yeast from beer, from waiting for the yeast to drop of its own accord to filtering it.-Dropping bright:...
in bottles.
Attractions
- Stornoway Town HallStornoway Town HallStornoway Town Hall is a former town hall in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland.The first town hall on this site was completed in 1905 but was burnt down in 1918...
; - The Lewis War MemorialLewis War MemorialThe Lewis War Memorial is a war memorial dedicated to the men who lost their lives in World War I from the Lewis area . Completed in 1924, it is situated at the highest point of the town of Stornoway, and is visible for miles around....
; - The neo-gothic Lews CastleLews CastleLews Castle is a Victorian era castle located west of the town of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. It was built in the years 1847-57 as a country house for Sir James Matheson who had bought the whole island a few years previously with his fortune from the Chinese Opium trade...
.
It is also home to a new arts centre, an Lanntair
An Lanntair
An Lanntair is an arts centre in the town of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The centre is home to a cinema, and art gallery. Previously located in the Town Hall, in September 2005 An Lanntair moved to its current new building overlooking the harbour. This building features a 50-seater...
, containing an art gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
, auditorium for film showings, music and other performances, a restaurant and bar.
Other attractions include a museum and the Lewis Loom Centre
Lewis Loom Centre
The Lewis Loom Centre is the heart of the Harris Tweed industry. It is located in Stornoway, Lewis, in Scotland...
.
Stornoway in popular media and culture
Calum Kennedy
Calum Kennedy was a Scottish singer.Kennedy won a gold medal at the Mod , singing in Scottish Gaelic...
and Bob Halfin.
The 4AD Records
4AD
4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...
folk-rock band Stornoway
Stornoway (band)
Stornoway is a British alternative indie folk band from the Cowley area of Oxford. It consists of singer and guitarist Brian Briggs; multi-instrumentalists Jon Ouin and Oli Steadman, and the latter's brother Rob on drums. The band is usually joined by trumpeter Adam Briggs and violinist Rahul Satija...
took their name from the town, after seeing it on the BBC weather report. They signed their record deal outside the Woodlands Centre in Lews Castle Grounds, Stornoway, after performing in the town for the first time in April 2010. Their second concert there was as headliners on the main stage of the Hebridean Celtic Festival, on Thursday 13th July 2011.
The cult, bestselling novel The Stornoway Way by Lewisman Kevin MacNeil
Kevin MacNeil
Kevin MacNeil is a British novelist, poet and playwright born and raised in the Outer Hebrides. His novels, A Method Actor's Guide to Jekyll and Hyde and best-selling debut, The Stornoway Way , were both published to widespread critical acclaim...
is largely set in Stornoway.
RAF Stornoway
RAF Stornoway
RAF Stornoway was a Royal Air Force station near the burgh of Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis, in the Western Isles of Scotland.- Beginnings :...
is featured in the Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
novel Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
as a base for Allied air operations over the North Atlantic and against Soviet-held Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
.
Stornoway features heavily in the initial stages of the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
comics Dark Phoenix Saga
Dark Phoenix Saga
"The Dark Phoenix Saga" is an extended X-Men storyline in the fictional , focusing on Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force, and ending in Grey's apparent death...
due to its proximity to the ficitonal Muir Island
Muir Island
Muir Island is a small, fictional island off the northern coast of Scotland in the Marvel Comics universe. It plays a prominent role in the X-Men comics and its related series.-History:...
and Proteus
Proteus (comics)
Kevin MacTaggert, best known as Proteus and also called Mutant X, is a Marvel Comics character, associated with the X-Men.Kevin was the mutant son of Scottish genetic researcher Moira MacTaggert and politician Joseph MacTaggert...
' attempts to find a new host body.
In the motion picture "Latitude Zero" by Toho Productions (1969), Stornoway Harbour is featured on a wall plaque as the construction site of the submarine "Alpha".
In 2007 the British car manufacturer Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
introduced Stornoway Grey as a colour choice for its vehicle line-up. In response, Stornoway's councillor Angus Nicolson appealed to Land Rover to relabel the colour as Silvery Stornoway, fearing that the association of grey with dull and boring would hurt the image of the town with tourists; Mr Nicolson said: "This is deeply insulting and is offensive, inaccurate and inherently degrading. This will hit tourism as it subliminally implants adverse connotations in the minds of those who have never experienced the reality of these beautiful islands." Land Rover replied that the colour in question is one of the most popular ones and the use of Stornoway in its name will instead "keep it on the map".
Religion
Stornoway has several churches of various Christian denominations, and is a stronghold of the Free Church of Scotland. The Sabbath is still widely observed in Stornoway; it is home to a number of members of the Lord's Day Observance Society, which lobbies for no work on the Christian Sabbath (Sundays), based on its interpretation of the fourth (by the Hebrew reckoning) of the Ten CommandmentsTen Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
. Sunday newspapers are not available and almost all shops and local amenities are closed on Sundays.
Travel
Until July 2009, there were no Sunday ferry services to or from Stornoway. It was announced on 14 July 2009 that Caledonian MacBrayneCaledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast...
would begin to operate Sunday sailings from Sunday 19 July 2009. Before this, they would operate additional sailings on Sundays if several previous sailings have been cancelled, to allow the backlog of traffic to clear. Caledonian MacBrayne have said that they took legal advice that not implementing Sunday sailings would be against human rights legislation.
There are Sunday flights leaving from Stornoway airport with two return flights to Inverness and one to Glasgow.
Born in Stornoway
- Linda Norgrove, aid worker from the Western Isles
- Astrid (band)Astrid (band)Astrid were a guitar-pop foursome from the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides, Scotland.-History:In 2004, Astrid released their third album - One In Four...
, band from the Western Isles - Kevin MacNeilKevin MacNeilKevin MacNeil is a British novelist, poet and playwright born and raised in the Outer Hebrides. His novels, A Method Actor's Guide to Jekyll and Hyde and best-selling debut, The Stornoway Way , were both published to widespread critical acclaim...
, novelist, poet and playwright - Sheilagh M. KestingSheilagh M. KestingSheilagh Kesting is a Scottish minister and the first female minister to be elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland...
, first woman minister to be nominated to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandModerator of the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandThe Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....
. - Cathy MacDonaldCathy MacDonaldCathy MacDonald is a Scottish broadcaster who is known for hosting many Scottish Gaelic language television programmes such as Dotaman and has also presented BBC Scotland's Reporting Scotland....
, TV presenter - Donny MacleodDonny MacLeodDonny MacLeod was a Scottish TV presenter. He was born in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. MacLeod is best known for appearing in the BBC 1 afternoon show Pebble Mill at One...
, former TV presenter on Pebble Mill - Calum KennedyCalum KennedyCalum Kennedy was a Scottish singer.Kennedy won a gold medal at the Mod , singing in Scottish Gaelic...
, singer and entertainer - Calum MacDonald, politician
- Alexander MacKenzie, explorer, after whom the Mackenzie RiverMackenzie RiverThe Mackenzie River is the largest river system in Canada. It flows through a vast, isolated region of forest and tundra entirely within the country's Northwest Territories, although its many tributaries reach into four other Canadian provinces and territories...
in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is named - Colin MackenzieColin MackenzieColonel Colin Mackenzie was Surveyor General of India, and an art collector and orientalist.Mackenzie was born in Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, Scotland...
, 1st Surveyor-General of India - Anne MacKenzie, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
current affairs presenter and radio presenter - Ken MacLeodKen MacLeodKen MacLeod , is a Scottish science fiction writer.MacLeod was born in Stornoway. He graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics....
, science fiction writer - Hans MathesonHans MathesonHans Matheson is a British actor.-Life and career:Matheson was born in Stornoway, Scotland, the son of Sheena, a therapist, and Iain , a folk musician and painter. He made his feature film debut as Johnny Silver in Jez Butterworth's critically acclaimed directorial debut, Mojo...
', plays the title role in Granada's £8.5m serialisation of Boris PasternakBoris PasternakBoris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian language poet, novelist, and literary translator. In his native Russia, Pasternak's anthology My Sister Life, is one of the most influential collections ever published in the Russian language...
's novel, Doctor ZhivagoDoctor Zhivago (novel)Doctor Zhivago is a 20th century novel by Boris Pasternak, first published in 1957. The novel is named after its protagonist, Yuri Zhivago, a physician and poet... - Donald Stewart, politician
- Alasdair SmithAlasdair SmithAlasdair Smith is a professor of economics and former Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sussex and former Chair of the 1994 Group. He is a noted international economist whose studies have been used by the European Union.Smith was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland and is married to Sherry...
, ProfessorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of EconomicsEconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at the University of SussexUniversity of SussexThe University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
Links to Stornoway
- Iain Crichton SmithIain Crichton SmithIain Crichton Smith was a Scottish man of letters, writing in both English and Scottish Gaelic, and a prolific author in both languages...
, writer - grew up in Lewis. Educated at the Nicolson Institute. - The 4AD Records4AD4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...
folk-rock band StornowayStornoway (band)Stornoway is a British alternative indie folk band from the Cowley area of Oxford. It consists of singer and guitarist Brian Briggs; multi-instrumentalists Jon Ouin and Oli Steadman, and the latter's brother Rob on drums. The band is usually joined by trumpeter Adam Briggs and violinist Rahul Satija...
- took their name from the town, after seeing it on the BBC weather report. - Stuart BraithwaiteStuart BraithwaiteStuart Leslie Braithwaite is a Scottish guitarist, bassist, drummer, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of post rock band Mogwai, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums.-Early life :...
, lead guitarist of Glasgow based band MogwaiMogwaiThe word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...
- mother was born in Stornoway - Angus MacAskillAngus MacAskillAngus Mòr MacAskill, frequently referred to as Giant MacAskill or Black Angus , was a Scottish-Canadian giant, and is the world's largest "true" giant...
, the strongest man to have ever lived - born in Berneray and briefly lived in Stornoway before emigrating to Canada - Arthur PinkArthur PinkArthur Walkington Pink was an English Christian evangelist and Biblical scholar known for his staunchly Calvinist and Puritan-like teachings.-Biography:...
, Christian evangelist and Biblical scholar - Misbah RanaMisbah RanaMisbah Iram Ahmed Rana , also known as Molly Campbell, is a Scottish girl of mixed Scottish-Pakistani heritage when she was at the centre of an alleged child abduction case in August 2006.-Early life:...
, also known as Molly Campbell, schoolgirlSchoolgirlA schoolgirl is a girl attending either primary or secondary school, generally aged between four and eighteen years old.-Academic performance:This has led in some countries to calls for greater equality for education in the school system...
who recently was the focus of an international custody dispute between ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... - Donald TrumpDonald TrumpDonald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
, American billionaire - mother came from Tong, a village four miles from Stornoway - Derick ThomsonDerick ThomsonProfessor Derick S. Thomson MA, BA, Dlitt, FRSE, FBA , known as Ruaraidh MacThòmais in his native Scottish Gaelic, is a Scottish poet, publisher, lexicographer, academic and writer. He is originally from Lewis, but has spent much of his life in Glasgow, where he was Professor of Celtic at the...
, Scottish Gaelic poet, born elsewhere in Lewis, but educated in Stornoway - Alistair DarlingAlistair DarlingAlistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...
, former Chancellor of the ExchequerChancellor of the ExchequerThe Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
- Mother was born and brought up in Stornoway. Darling is also a former pupil of the Nicolson InstituteNicolson InstituteThe Nicolson Institute in Stornoway, is the largest school in the Western Isles, Scotland.The Nicolson is the only six-year secondary school in Lewis. Sir E. Scott School is in Harris. Together, they provide education up to Advanced Higher level.The student population is around 2000...
.
External links
- Stornoway information by Explore Scotland
- Stornoway Historical Society
- Disabled access to Stornoway shops, public buildings, transport and visitor attractions