I love standing stones. They were fascinating to me since the first time I have ever heard of them many years ago and it has not changed as the years went by. The "Outlander" series of books, written by Diana Gabaldon, of which I have been a fan of for many years, and the TV series that came out just recently did not change my fascination with them. The myths and legends surrounding them, the fact, that we really don't know that much about their builders add to their mystery... The fact that the standing stones I have seen so far are quite picturesque in themselves makes it so much more fun when one visits ;D. I've always wanted to see Stonehenge, but haven't had a chance yet. Hopefully, I'll get there eventually. For now, I have only seen one set of standing stones, when we've visited Scotland four years ago and the second this time around. When we set out to visit Callanish on the Isle of Lewis this past April, I didn't know that the Stars networkhas used the stones as a model for a circle from the series called Craigh na Dun (as per Wikipedia), which makes me even happier than before. And it is saying something. I am sure I don't have to convince all the fans of both the books and the TV series (also named "Outlander) of that fact ;D.
Anyway, let's get back to Callanish. As we have arrived to the main stones (Callanish I), we were able to spot two more sets of the stones from the ridge it is located on. Callanish II consists of only 3 (I think) stones and Callanish III that is made of 12 or 13 of them. I'm not sure how many stones Callanish I consists of (I am sure Wikipedia can help, should you wish for this information) but it is rather large and quite impressive, build in a cruciform pattern with a stone circle in the center. We have visited the site twice during that day and then moved to Callanish III for the sunset. The main reason for the switching of the sunset location was the amount of people that have gathered there. It is rather difficult to get people-less shot due to the huge amount of tourists and photographers visiting and, since some of our group started to get a bit too frustrated ;D, we have moved to the smaller circle. I was quite taken with it, too. Smaller, but not less picturesque. What was interesting, was that there were candles set by one of the stones, indicating that some rituals of old are still being performed on this site. Our visit was taking place quite close to Beltane so... ;D
But, enough of that. It's time to share the pictures. Hope you enjoy the views as much as I have.
Kasia
P.S. Yes, I did touch the stones (very reluctantly, but I did touch them never-the-less ;D) and no, I did not get sent 200 years into the past.. Thank heavens for that!! :D
