Last weekend our family make the journey to the Isle of Lewis. Joe was asked to preach at a church there, so we happily obliged and boarded the ferry to make the 3 hour trip from Ullapool. We've always wanted to go to Lewis and were so excited about the trip. We were there from Thursday to Monday, and it was such a blessing! It really turned into a small family vacation. We rested, we explored, we worshiped. It was fabulous!
Our first adventure on Friday was to explore Harris, an isle next to Lewis, connected by a narrow strip. The beaches on Harris are famous and compared to the Caribbean. We HAD to see this! We drove and drove and had almost given up hope when we came across an amazing beach! BUT, we had no idea how to get to it. After passing it, we turned around and decided to try a small path that lead to the local school. Sure enough, this sign met us so we hopped out of the car and began the trek to the beach.
A short hike through sheep fields later, we found this! It was absolutely gorgeous!
The boys ran around and played ball while Eilidh and I watched.
All to ourselves.
This shows our walk back to the car :)
OK, we had to take a picture of this! Basically, we decided to follow a sign to a Harris Tweed Company. What we found was totally desolate terrain that reminded us of ''the end of the world'' :) We kept going and going until we reached a little village and a small shop. No purchases made but worth the memory!
Sweet girl.
We were placed in a wonderful home that belonged to a couple in the church. We all loved it! Here's what our mornings looked like. Sky TV was really exciting for the boys!
''Tooned'' out!
This was the beach that was just down the road from our house. We had fun one morning letting the boys run around and explore.
With the beach at my back, our house is just in the distance...first one on the left.
Amazing Dan!
Races with Daddy.
Run!
This is how Eilidh and I enjoyed the beach that morning. I know, I know, but Eilidh couldn't stand the wind! We rolled the window down, sipped coffee and watched our men (big and little).
On Saturday we toured around Lewis. We follow all of the historical markers and had so much fun with what we found. A number of the markers took us to traditional ''blackhouses''. These are thatched roof houses where families lived (with their livestock). The smoke rose from an open fire inside, saturating the thatch which was changed from time to time and used to fertilize their crops. It was fascinating to see them.
An old mill and kiln.
Boo!
Dan took this one!
One of our last stops was this blackhouse village. It was evacuated by its last inhabitant in the 1970s!!!
Our trip was amazing. The church there was so friendly and welcoming and we so enjoyed being with them!
