Calanais Ùr

My eye was drawn to this job vacancy - no, I'm not applying.

In two years' time, a new visitor centre is to be built at Calanais, adjacent to the Stones. For some time now, the old centre struggled with capacity problems, in the car & coach park, in the centre itself and round the Stones. Next year, big cruiseliners will be able to dock at Glumag Harbour here in Stornoway, and hundreds of visitors will be bussed to the prime visitor attraction in the isles: the Callanish Stones. A new centre, carpark, cafetaria and access experience will be built there, and they need a person to manage the delivery of that. I think an annual salary of £40k is a little meagre, if it will result in a world-class facility. I'm all fine with that.

There is one line in the write-up that made me sad, in a way. "Provision of ticketed, time-allotted visits will help to sustainably manage the visitor flow and therefore the footfall at the Stones".

Ah.

I would like to turn the clock back to 1976, and my very first visit to the British Isles. During that scorching hot summer, we found ourselves bombing down the A303 in Wiltshire, and Stonehenge loomed into view. We parked up and wandered to and among the Stones. No fences, no visitor centre, no tickets, no fees. Unfortunately, it became necessary to fence off the area around the Stones, a visitor centre was built and you are now charged a pretty hefty fee of more than £20 . I understand why, the reasons were sometimes quite negative.


I somehow envisage the Callanish Stones turning into the Stonehenge of the North. Fences, tickets, a tourism hotspot of Stonehenge proportions. Yes, I'll be the first to acknowledge that tourism is a pillar in the islands' economy, and the Glumag development and the very necessary refurbishment at Callanish are needed to improve the tourists' experiences here. 

But like most islanders, I have been known to wander around Callanish at midnight around the summer solstice


Or at any time of the day or night, at any given day in the year

Yes, progress is necessary if life in the islands is to remain sustainable. I'd be the first to welcome visitors and share the island experience with them, I've been known to do that before now. I shall soon wind my way down the fifteen miles to Callanish, before it's all turned upside down.

Whoever gets the job of Project Delivery Manager, I wish them every success, and hope it all goes smoothly. I am looking forward to visiting the new facility, ticket in hand, from 2025 onwards. I hope those who flock from the floating hotels in the Glumag, bussed down the A858, get an idea what the Callanish Stones mean to us. Not something along the lines of "Oh, it's Tuesday, so this must be Callanish".