Calanais Standing Stones

Loved visiting the stones as inspiration for Outlander. There are a lot of them in formation through a large field. There is also a cave through a gate we did not enter. They ask you to not touch the stones (we only pretended to to get the photo). They were doing construction at the visitor center below (center closed and free to visit as of Sept 2025), and we found parking along the road.

Incredible ancient site when our cruise ship docked on the Isle of Lewis. I took the local public bus from the port to visit Calanais Standing Stones. This prehistoric stone circle predates Stonehenge, surrounded by lochs and open moorland. It is far quieter and less crowded than Stonehenge. Wandering among these mysterious standing stones, you can feel the ancient atmosphere of thousands of years. The surrounding natural scenery is breathtaking. The combination of water and monoliths creates an unforgettable view. A perfect destination for cruise passengers. Highly recommended if you plan to take the bus ashore to explore!

Like many others have already mentioned, the Calanais Stones are older than Stonehenge, which is honestly hard to imagine until you stand amongst them yourself. They are incredibly impressive and have a real atmosphere about them. The stones are impressive and makes you think how they did it, but what makes this place even more special are the amazing views stretching out across the landscape from the site. Simply stunning. We walked up from the visitor centre — plenty of parking available there — and although we didn’t go inside, the walk up to the stones was well worth it on its own. Definitely a must-visit if you’re on Lewis.

It was a very cool place and not just the weather. It was cool the day we were there. The stones are an interesting thing. Great view from the mound right next to it. Can over see the whole valley. You can feel how old the stones are and wonder why they are there.

A truly breathtaking site as you can go up and touch stones that have been placed here 5000 years ago and in such a wild beautiful landscape.So much better than Stonehenge and the Ring of Brodgar in Orkney. We decided to have a quick visit before the new centre opens with its reported fee of £15 for a visit and enjoyed a relatively quiet visit as the cruise ship buses cant park at the moment as they are still finishing the visitor centre. Always worth a visit but we will see how the fees affect visitor numbers

5000 year old stones (older than Stonehenge) are quite something. On the other hand they are just a bunch of standing stones. The views are very pretty. Can be viewed for free if you take the right before the visitors centre (there's a few spaces at the top of the hill) but you can't walk amongst them, so if you want to get a feel for them go grab a ticket from the centre between 9-5pm. £13.13 each or family ticket is £40.

very interesting and easy access to the Calanais Standing Stones. It allows you to walk around and touch them on a wonderful site with great views of the area.