Museum Nan Eilean Stornoway

Museum Nan Eilean Stornoway

Museum Nan Eilean Stornoway
4.5
About
Enjoy a beautiful museum set in the stunning Lews Castle Grounds in Stornoway. Discover the distinctiveness of the Outer Hebrides, shaped by a unique combination of land, sea and people, and view our islands as never before in a wrap-around audio-visual presentation. Hear from islanders in a series of videos and audio interviews about the Gaelic language, work, religion, emigration and community. Youngsters can dress up to perform various island jobs, learn some Gaelic, and enjoy imaginative activities. Please refer to the Museum's website for details of opening hours.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles193 reviews
Excellent
123
Very good
50
Average
14
Poor
2
Terrible
4

HelsR76
Kent35 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2021 • Couples
Fantastic little museum in grounds of the castle. Gives history of island life in enough detail / geography / videos / personal stories / images to be interesting without being overwhelming. Really friendly staff, lovely cafe. Free but donations welcome. Castle website says museum is still closed (Covid), museum don’t have access to update that site, had heard it is definitely open & so glad we persevered to booking, which is being done on eventbrite.

Also, a wander round the castle grounds while you’re here is well worth it. Beautiful woodland, rivers & views. We did a meandering route which took about 2hrs, although if I’d have been in charge of map reading it would probably have taken twice that!!
Written 2 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Gene R J
Silver Spring, MD11,010 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
At the information center, we were told the museum was closed on Sunday, so we hurried up to the footbridge, up the steps, into the forest and through the beautiful castle on this Saturday afternoon.
The new museum begins with walls of faces and voices, lots of Gaelic language with some visitors studying the content and others on a paced perusal. We were in the middle, studying the Corncrake bird, creation of peat, number of native speakers and the famous Chessman. Nice museum for interested locals and casual tourists.
Written 21 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Campbell B
28 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
Attached to the side of Lews Castle the museum of the islands is well worth a visit to gain an insight into the history and the culture of the islands of the outer Hebrides. Excellent exhibits including some of the Lewis Chessmen on "loan" from the British museum. I feel they should be repatriated.
Very good cafe.
Written 23 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mike
Glossop, UK1,473 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2024 • Solo
Presented well but lacks any serious contextual information about the history and geography of the islands. I left knowing nothing more about the islands than before I arrived. Best exhibit is a number of the Lewis chessmen on loan from the British Museum.
Written 6 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sujata410
Owings Mills, MD934 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019 • Couples
This is small museum by most standards, yet it is so full of fun exhibits and helpful staff that I would recommend it as worth visiting. The museum has the Lewis Chessmen plus other interesting artifacts related to the Hebrides. Nice little gift shop and cafe on the premises as well.
Written 2 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stephcart
Wetherby452 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
For a free museum this is excellent- I do not agree with reviews that suggest it could be better laid out.
The star attractions are six of the Lewis Chessman- 600 years old, handcarved in Norway, and amongst just less than 100 found in the sand Dunes at Uig, Lewis. (A few more are on display in Edinburgh, and the majority are in the British Museum)
There is also an panoramic projection room with various almost 3d landscape views from various parts of the Hebrides...if you have just toured the islands you will be struck by this, and if you've still to tour them, your appetite will be whetted.
The museum also features exhibitions on Hebridean life which I found both interesting and informative.
There is an excellent cafe adjacent, and you can visit some of the downtairs rooms of Lews Castle too.
Written 3 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Robert W
Corvallis, OR299 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022
The museum is an excellent facility that provides a clear history of the local area and its people. Plan to "take your time" while looking at the exhibits. They are well done and there is a large amount of information. There is no admission charge, but donations are welcome.
Written 13 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Melita M
Dorset, UK9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019
I really enjoyed this museum: The room with sound and pictures really gets you immersed in the island's scenery. I sat through it 3 times. The part about the tragedy of the Iolaire was very moving and the general history of the island was portrayed very well. But of course the WOW factor was the excellent presentation of the Lewis chessmen with a really first class commentary, almost a poem, which I'm delighted to be able to be able to hear again on Utube. I enjoyed walking through Lews Castle too - Grand rooms.
Written 21 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Charlotte Ann S
8 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Friends
Absolutely excellent wee museum. So interesting, and there are a few of the Lewis chessmen too. When we visited, there was an exhibition called Gathering Light. This had some incredible items, found by metal detectorists.
There is a nice wee cafe there too
Written 8 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ali921
Edinburgh, UK1,550 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2021
Arh, we so wanted to give this a better rating but the "film" presentation misses a great opportunity to highlight all the key attractions on the Outer Hebrides instead it just goes through "artistic landscape views" which gives no indication of there in the OH they are. The layout also was not logical in our opinion. The multimedia screens seemed to replicate the same film reel, some with sound and others not. Everyone comes to see the chess pieces but if you've seen them in Edinburgh then you will leave disappointed. At least the cafe is good. Lots of space. You can play chess or draughts outside with large plastic sets. You need to book ideally. Also check ahead opening times, not open every day.
Written 23 September 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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MUSEUM NAN EILEAN STORNOWAY (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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