King Edward VII was, I suspect, completely unaware of it but a perfectly good chambered cairn was largely destroyed and used to build the base of a flagpole to commemorate his visit to Stornoway in 1902.
On the day of our visit, it's 28 degrees. That's hot for me. We should be enjoying cold drinks in the grounds of Stornoway Castle but, instead, we slowly wind our way up the spiral path to Gallows Hill to see the remains of this cairn.
Not much to see really. Some chamber and passage stones and one peristalith. There may be more but the vegetation is high. No flagpole left either.
What is interesting is that this cairn (and the few others visited in Lewis), when intact, were clearly meant to be seen from a distance. They are all in prominent positions with all-round views.
Contrast this with the chambered cairns in Uist which are frequently positioned on the sides of hills.
Overlooking Stornaway is Cnoc na Croich (Gallow's Hill) which was the place where justice was meted out to wrongdoers in times past when the clan chief, McLeod of Lewis, had the power of pit and gallows.
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