I next departed Inverness for the very scenic trip to Ullapool where I caught the ferry to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis (Stornoway Harbour is the first picture above). One of the things I was looking forward to doing in Stornoway was going to the Museum nan Eilean (Western Isles Museum), but sadly, and even though I checked their website before leaving for Scotland, it was closed. However, during my unsuccessful trip to the museum, I witnessed an "old-fashioned" funeral- the kind where the women stay behind in the churchyard and the men follow the hearse to the cemetery in pairs.
Also while in Stornoway I heard many people speaking Gaelic on the streets and I was able to wander around the grounds of Lews Castle- a beautiful, but empty and decaying building.
From Stornoway it was a short and also very scenic bus trip to Tarbert on the Isle of Harris.* During the trip I missed the photo-op of a lifetime as I observed- from the bus window- three sheep who had sought relief from the rain and window by taking refuge in a bus shelter! Tarbert is much, much smaller than Stornoway and much, much quieter. In fact, as far as I could tell I was the only tourist in town the day/night I was there, and that was just fine with me.
*Lewis and Harris are actually part of the same landmass despite being referred to as separate "isles." There is a natural change in topography between the two isles (Harris is much more mountainous than Lewis), but there it is.
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