Work has started on a £5 million project to revamp the Lews Castle grounds in Stornoway.
For the first time in decades, the old bastion wall in front of the castle has been revealed. The structure was hidden by a mass of overgrown dense scrub spreading which was cleared this week.
Removal of the bushes is necessary to allow the historic feature to be repaired and restored to its original form.
The steps and terrace path in the adjacent former private gardens will also be rebuilt.
Overall, the present restoration plans will cost over £5 million with the bulk of that awarded to island companies by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in partnership with the Stornoway Trust.
From next month, Neil Mackay & Co is to undertake comprehensive repairs to the Porters
Lodge, the category A-
Breedon Hebrides will undertake a range of civil works, including drainage works in the former private gardens and the castle green, extensive renovation of paths in the core area of the grounds and environmental improvements in key areas.
Breedon has installed a temporary compound below the castle. This part of the works are scheduled to be completed, and the compounded removed, by the summer so the castle green can be used for the annual Hebridean Celtic Festival..
The popular Woodlands Centre will benefit a new outdoor terrace and children’s play area.
The works are scheduled for completion by summer 2020. Following the construction works, an extensive programme of landscape planting and restoration will be undertaken by the Stornoway Trust under the direction of a head gardener.
The castle grounds cover an area of over 600 acres and were originally laid out in the second half of the 19th Century by Sir James Matheson who built Lews Castle on a prominent but then, treeless site, overlooking Stornoway Harbour.
Lews Castle grounds restoration works gets underway
9 March 2019
The wall was concealed by roaming vegetation
Contractors are on site for the restoration works
