53 images Created 15 Jan 2014
The Hebrides Islands
The Hebrides Islands of Scotland are renowned for their wild, mysterious scenic beauty and the Gaelic people who call them home. Shot on several assignments for National Geographic by Jim Richardson this gallery includes Stone Age monuments and stone circles, seabirds, abandoned islands, scenic beaches and bay, archeology, geology, caves, lakes, lochs, hiking, and churches of these Western Isles. Besides the ever-popular Isle of Skye, you'll also find Lewis and Harris, North and South Uist, the Small Isles, including Muck, Eigg and Rum, the whisky islands of Islay and Jura as well as the wild archipelago of St. Kilda, out beyond in the wild Atlantic Ocean.
![The Callanish Stones (or "Callanish I"), Clachan Chalanais or Tursachan Chalanais in Gaelic, are situated near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais) on the west coast of the isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland ( 58°11?51?N, 06°44?41?W).<br />
Construction of the site took place between 2900 and 2600 BC, though there were possibly earlier buildings before 3000 BC. A tomb was later built into the site. Debris from the destruction of the tomb suggests the site was out of use between 2000 BC and 1700 BC.[1] The 13 primary stones form a circle about 13 m in diameter, with a long approach avenue of stones to the north, and shorter stone rows to the east, south, and west (possibly incomplete avenues). The overall layout of the monument recalls a distorted Celtic cross. The individual stones vary from around 1 m to 5 m in height, with an average of 4 m, and are of the local Lewisian gneiss.](https://www.jimrichardsonphotography.com/img-get2/I0000CpD8DsXMX5w/fit=180x180/fill=/g=G0000jnXYdsY7sVU/I0000CpD8DsXMX5w.jpg)
![The Callanish Stones (or "Callanish I"), Clachan Chalanais or Tursachan Chalanais in Gaelic, are situated near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais) on the west coast of the isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland ( 58°11?51?N, 06°44?41?W).<br />
Construction of the site took place between 2900 and 2600 BC, though there were possibly earlier buildings before 3000 BC. A tomb was later built into the site. Debris from the destruction of the tomb suggests the site was out of use between 2000 BC and 1700 BC.[1] The 13 primary stones form a circle about 13 m in diameter, with a long approach avenue of stones to the north, and shorter stone rows to the east, south, and west (possibly incomplete avenues). The overall layout of the monument recalls a distorted Celtic cross. The individual stones vary from around 1 m to 5 m in height, with an average of 4 m, and are of the local Lewisian gneiss.](https://www.jimrichardsonphotography.com/img-get2/I0000oUjtIhr9xyM/fit=180x180/fill=/g=G0000jnXYdsY7sVU/I0000oUjtIhr9xyM.jpg)
![The Callanish Stones (or "Callanish I"), Clachan Chalanais or Tursachan Chalanais in Gaelic, are situated near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais) on the west coast of the isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland ( 58°11′51″N, 06°44′41″W).<br />
Construction of the site took place between 2900 and 2600 BC, though there were possibly earlier buildings before 3000 BC. A tomb was later built into the site. Debris from the destruction of the tomb suggests the site was out of use between 2000 BC and 1700 BC.[1] The 13 primary stones form a circle about 13 m in diameter, with a long approach avenue of stones to the north, and shorter stone rows to the east, south, and west (possibly incomplete avenues). The overall layout of the monument recalls a distorted Celtic cross. The individual stones vary from around 1 m to 5 m in height, with an average of 4 m, and are of the local Lewisian gneiss.](https://www.jimrichardsonphotography.com/img-get2/I0000aMJrEw.5vR8/fit=180x180/fill=/g=G0000jnXYdsY7sVU/I0000aMJrEw.5vR8.jpg)
![The Callanish Stones (or "Callanish I"), Clachan Chalanais or Tursachan Chalanais in Gaelic, are situated near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais) on the west coast of the isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland ( 58°11?51?N, 06°44?41?W).<br />
Construction of the site took place between 2900 and 2600 BC, though there were possibly earlier buildings before 3000 BC. A tomb was later built into the site. Debris from the destruction of the tomb suggests the site was out of use between 2000 BC and 1700 BC.[1] The 13 primary stones form a circle about 13 m in diameter, with a long approach avenue of stones to the north, and shorter stone rows to the east, south, and west (possibly incomplete avenues). The overall layout of the monument recalls a distorted Celtic cross. The individual stones vary from around 1 m to 5 m in height, with an average of 4 m, and are of the local Lewisian gneiss.](https://www.jimrichardsonphotography.com/img-get2/I00000hz2R61oXAY/fit=180x180/fill=/g=G0000jnXYdsY7sVU/I00000hz2R61oXAY.jpg)
