Butt of Lewis

(Rubha Robhanais)

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Butt of Lewis (Gael. Rudha Robhanais or Rudh' Eorrapidh), a promontory at the northern extremity of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Ross-shire, 22 miles N by E of Stornoway, and 40 W of the Sutherland coast. Rising sheer from the sea to a height of 142 feet, it presents a bold rugged appearance, with rocks broken, hollowed, and splintered by the action of the sea; and has, at its western point, a romantic natural arch called the Eye. A lighthouse on the Butt, built about 1863, shows a fixed light, visible 18 nautical miles; and commands, from its light-room, a magnificent view along the E and W coasts of Lewis to Broad Bay and Dalbeg, and across the sea to the mountainous coasts of Ross-shire and Sutherland.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer