LEWIS AND HARRIS
Martin and Janice Pottinger decided to visit the Scottish Isle of Lewis and Harris.
Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides make up the largest island in Scotland. This is the largest single island of the British Isles after Great Britain and Ireland.
Martin works beside me and has kindly agreed to share his summer holiday photographs. Martin is used to travelling about Scotland in his role as a singer.
The northern part of the island is called Lewis, the southern is Harris and both are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The boundary between Lewis and Harris is formed by a line with Loch Resort (Reasort) (opposite Scarp) on the west and Loch Seaforth (Shiphoirt) on the east.
Janice making a cuppa the traditional way. Long before Tetley.
Local tradition says that giants who lived on the island refused to be converted to Christianity by Saint Kieran and were turned into stone as a punishment. Another local belief says that at sunrise on midsummer morning, the "shining one" walked along the stone avenue, "his arrival heralded by the cuckoo's call." This legend could be a folk memory recalling the astronomical significance of t
he stones.
All photo`s are taken and owned by the Pottingers
Lewis is of Presbyterian tradition with a rich history, having once been part of the Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. Today, life is very different from elsewhere in Scotland with Sabbath observance, the Gaelic language and peat cutting retaining more importance than elsewhere. Lewis has a rich cultural heritage as can be seen from its myths and legends as well as the local literary and musical traditions