The Shoe Burn

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The Shoe Burn
The Shoe Burn

This "gorge" was remodelled by the last owner of the MacKenzie family, Francis Humberston-MacKenzie. Sir James Matheson later added the planting to create a wooded glen. he also built the current bridge, which carries the main entrance road.

James Matheson bought the Island of Lewis in 1844 from the Mackenzies. He demolished their house, Seaforth lodge, and employed architect Charles Wilson of Glasgow to design him a grand new house, which became Lews castle, set in extensive grounds.

In 1918 Lord Leverhulme (founder of the soap company Lever now Unilever) bought the Isle of Lewis from the Matheson family. He decided to set up home at Lews Castle and modernised it.

In 1924, Lord Leverhulme gifted Stornoway, Lews Castle and 64,000 acres of land to the people of town. The Stornoway Trust was formed to manage it. During WWII it was converted into a Naval Hospital. In 1953 the Trust sold the Castle and some land to Ross & Cromarty County Council. The castle became home to Lews Castle College, a residential technical school. This continued to 1997 when it became vacant.

It took until 2000 for a working group to look at other options for developing the castle and grounds, and in 2002 the Lews Castle Trust was formed. In 2012 Heritage Lottery Fund approved creation of a mixed use building of museum, archive, café, shop and ground floor open to the public, with apartments above. It opened in 2016


It's called Shoe Burn because crofter's making their way in to town would stop to wash their feet here, then put on their shoes before entering Stornoway.

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Taken on: June 6, 2024
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Camera: Canon EOS 90D, f/5.6, 1/60 sec, 20mm, ISO 320 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Canon EOS 90D
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure Time: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length: 20mm
ISO: 320
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash
Exposure Program: Landscape
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: sRGB
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