At 11 am, Saturday, July 12, I will lead a walk to the beehive shielings of Bothan Sròn Smearasmal (North Harris). There are over a hundred beehive shielings on Lewis and Harris, but only a handful retain their beautiful, corbelled domes. The central cell at Sròn Smearasmal is one of the best examples with an intact dome.
The Smearasmal cells are important in the history of corbelled shielings, as they were the first ones that Captain FWL Thomas documented in the 1850s. Captain Thomas (Royal Navy) performed hydrographic surveys of the west coast of Lewis and Harris. His duties provided opportunities for exploration ashore, and after hearing of a circular stone hut near the head of Loch Mhiabhaig, he decided to find it. He failed on the first attempt but found it on his second. That started his subsequent journeys to, and published descriptions of, the cells of Lewis and Harris.
The round-trip distance is about 4 km and involves a climb of 140 metres (450 ft) over rough, trackless, and sometimes steep terrain. Please have appropriate footwear and water. The walk will begin at the parking area on the road to Huisinis at the start of the track to Loch Bhoisimid.
For more information, see the following page on the Islands Book Trust Website:
https://islandsbooktrust.org/pages/events-1
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