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This week’s email arrives on the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in Scotland. It’s a point in the calendar that has carried weight here for thousands of years, long before Christmas or Hogmanay settled into place, when light, weather and survival shaped daily life far more directly than they do now.

That sense of season runs through much of what follows. Graeme Johncock continues his journey along the wild coast of Lewis, moving between standing stones, brochs and blackhouses that feel especially grounded at this time of year. There’s a closer look at why the winter solstice mattered so deeply in ancient Scotland, alongside a warming detour through some of Skye’s best cafés, well placed for short days and long drives.

As the year draws to a close, we’d like to wish you a happy Christmas period and a good start to the New Year. Thank you for reading and supporting Hidden Scotland, and for spending some of your time with us over the past year.

What’s in this week’s email.

Start 2026 with the Hidden Scotland Calendar

We are delighted to be back with our wall calendar for 2026. Enjoy a selection of stunning photography that captures some of Scotland's best bits throughout the year.

The A3 landscape wall calendar is printed on a beautiful matt art paper stock that makes the images really stand out. The landscape layout allows for an A4 image on one side, which can be utilised as a print afterwards.

As well as a square for each day for you to add those all important events and special dates you have coming up in the new year. There is also a notes section for any additional information you need to jot down for that month.

Cafés on Skye: The Best Stops for Coffee, Cake and a View

For an island that can feel far from everything once you leave the main road, Skye has an impressively strong café scene. It’s not just concentrated in Portree, either. Good coffee and baking turn up across the peninsula roads and along the long, practical drives between sights, often in places that began life as something else, a former bakehouse, a croft building, a village shop, a container on the edge of a car park.

Here are some of our favourites, for the full list check out our Isle of Skye Guidebook.

Lean To Coffee

A ruined crofter’s cottage with makeshift seating scattered through open-to-the-elements or Perspex-roofed ‘rooms’, the café itself in a converted container. On the menu, honey-soaked chai latte and matcha latte, homemade granola, sticky cinnamon buns and sourdough toasties: the ‘Noserider’ filled with Strathdon blue cheese, pear and candied walnut.

Amy’s Place

It’s all about owner Alison’s homemade cakes – with a side of soup – in this purple painted, tin-roofed tea room on the road to Elgol. Tuck into a slice of traditional raspberry jam-filled Victoria sponge, lemon and elderflower, lime and blueberry, chocolate or Millionaire (a nod to millionaire’s shortbread) cake, washed down with a pot of tea from Tiree.

Coffee Bothy

A small, friendly café just off the main road in Broadford offering hearty breakfasts, toasted bagels, filled rolls, and proper coffee. It’s a good option for an early start, and popular with both locals and travellers looking for something unfussy and satisfying before heading north.

Birch

This pared-back little coffee shop down an alley in Portree, all granite-grey woodwork on the outside, pale wood and a Scandi-chic vibe within, was set up by Niall Munro in 2021 after spending time in Australia where he was inspired by the café culture in Melbourne, the home of the flat white. Now evolving into a sleek mini-chain there’s a roastery on the edge of Portree, also serving coffee and cake, where customers can learn more about the coffee and get an insight into the roasting process, and a second café in Inverness, launched in spring 2024.

The Hungry Gull

On the specials board you’ll find dishes such as Pork Belly Benedict; ‘poachies on sourdough with a gochujang hollandaise and sesame’, on the counter white choc chai sticky buns and biscoff-stuffed cookies. This popular pitstop also offers takeaway in the evening; classic fish and chips along with the Gull Burger topped with Orkney cheddar, smoked bacon, caramelised onion with a side of hand-cut chips.

Bog Myrtle

The founders of the Skye Bakehouse – Mania (the pastry chef) and John (the baker) – took over this leafy, pot plant-laced vintage-chic café in 2023. Think old velvet sofas and stools positioned in front of picture windows for sea-gazing while you tuck into a pretty bowl of basmati rice with pesto, tzatziki, broccoli and pickled red onion – or nibble a sticky cardamom bun or salted caramel brioche doughnut.

YURTea&Coffee

SkyeSkyns on the Waternish Peninsula runs a quirky pop-up tea tent during the summer with a woodburner for cooler days, sheepskin-strewn seating inside, picnic tables outside, a barista on board, home-made soup, quiche and cakes. Rhubarb and custard sponge anyone?

An Crùbh

Gaelic for ‘the hub’, An Crùbh is a bright contemporary café, shop and events space built by the local community. There’s a cosy inglenook and woodburning stove for dreich days, outdoor seating for when it’s brighter and vast picture windows framing spectacular mountain views.

Cafe Cuil

From Hackney to the Highlands; Clare Coghill opened the first Café Cùil in East London in 2019 before heading home to launch this sprawling, barn-style red-roofed eatery on her home turf. Famous for its brunch and showcasing the best of Hebridean produce, on the menu you’ll find Cuil kimchi toasties along with Scottish smoked mackerel on sourdough toast with blood orange, pickled fennel and pea shoots.

Looking for more Skye inspiration? check out our latest guidebook here.

Graeme Johncock, the travel blogger and storyteller behind Scotland's Stories, is now bringing his adventures to us in a weekly column. He will journal about his explorations around Scotland, sharing fascinating stories and highlighting unique places to visit. Accompanied by his dog Molly, Graeme continues to uncover and share the rich history and beauty of Scotland.

The Wild Coast of The Isle Of Lewis

The Isle of Lewis is the largest and most populated island in Scotland; a place you could spend a week in and barely scratch the surface. While there’s a lot of island to cover, it’s the northwest side that packs the biggest punch in my opinion In just 20 miles, you can visit standing stones, beautiful beaches, ancient towers and traditional blackhouse cottages. More than enough to make one incredible day out.

Calanais Standing Stones

My first stop of the day is always the Calanais Standing Stones, arriving before the crowds that can sometimes take over this ancient site. To me, walking amongst these 5000-year-old stones is something that needs to be enjoyed quietly. Known in Gaelic as “fir bhrèige” – False Men, they look like giant humans silhouetted against the sky. We don’t know what the stones were used for and to make things even more interesting, there are around a dozen sets of stones scattered about Calanais. It would take you most of the day to get out to them all, but if the main circle is busy, a walk to one of the smaller groups can be a breath of fresh air!

Callanish Alpacas
5 minute drive

Alpacas might not be what you expect to find on the Isle of Lewis, but this small charity is more than just a curiosity. They rescue and care for a wide range of animals including chickens, turkeys, peacocks and pigs – expect a fair bit of noise when you visit! Every animal has a name and you can find out about them all on a guided tour, with snacks and coffees available in the Alpacaccino Café. It’s worth it just to sit in the turquoise double decker bus!.

Hebridean Copper Kettle Fudge
5 minute drive

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, a quick stop at a famous local honesty box might be right up your street. The Hebridean Copper Kettle Fudge box is just alongside the main road and there’s always a wide range of flavours available. I go for Irn Bru, but that might be an acquired taste!

Dun Carloway Broch
10 minute drive

For 2000 years, Dun Carloway Broch has stood on this small hill with spectacular views across the jagged coastline. Built without any mortar, these towers are unique to Scotland, with a staircase spiralling up between two concentric walls. You can actually still climb part of those ancient stairs! In the 16th century, a group of MacAuleys were camping inside Dun Carloway after stealing some cattle from their Morrison rivals. Unfortunately for them, the Morrison Chief caught up with them, climbing the broch’s walls to throw burning heather inside and flush the raiders out!

Gearranan Blackhouse Village
10 minute drive

To get an idea of slightly more recent history, make sure to visit the Gearranan Blackhouse Village. Built in the late 1800s, these thatched-roofed stone buildings are perfectly designed for the wild west coast of Lewis. While many blackhouses were abandoned throughout the 1900s, residents here adapted with electricity and running water. Sadly, this way of life just wasn’t sustainable anymore and the younger generation left. The last inhabitants left in 1974, but thankfully the village was preserved for us to learn what life was like here.

Lunch in Gearranan Blackhouse Village

There’s no better place for traditional Scottish food than the café at Gearranan. Enjoy great soup and, if you’re lucky, some local seafood in rustic surroundings.

Dalmore Beach 
10 minute drive

With all of the incredible history on Lewis, sometimes I need to remember to just stop and enjoy the scenery. That’s not a problem at Dalmore Beach, just one of a number of sandy beaches along this coast, with water so stunning that you almost forget how cold it is!

Whalebone Arch
15 minute drive

It’s always worth the quick stop to see one of the most unusual gates in Scotland. Standing outside the old postmaster’s house in Bragar are the enormous jawbone of a blue whale! The harpooned beast was washed up in 1920 and while most locals filled up with valuable whale oil, the postmaster Murdo Morrison had his eyes on something bigger. The lower jaw was dragged here on a sledge and erected at his gate, along with the harpoon hanging from the centre!

Arnol Blackhouse
5 minutes drive

While Gearranan might have given you an idea of what traditional Hebridean communities once looked like, to get a proper feeling of life in a blackhouse you need to visit Arnol. Make sure you’re prepared for the peat fire burning in the centre of the floor, the smoke often fills the space! Stepping into the dark room is like stepping back in time and to me, it’s a space that screams storytelling. It’s easy to imagine people sitting around this fire on long, dark winter nights to tell tales of giants, monster and heroes!

Written by Graeme Johncock To check out more of Graeme’s Scottish Itinearies, click here.

Why the winter solstice mattered so deeply in ancient Scotland

Today marks the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and one that has carried meaning in Scotland for far longer than the modern calendar.

Long before Christmas or Hogmanay took hold, midwinter was a moment that demanded attention. Food supplies were stretched, weather was unforgiving, and the return of light mattered in very real terms.

On Orkney’s Mainland, that awareness is built into stone at Maeshowe. Raised around 2800 BC, the chambered tomb looks modest from the outside, a low mound in open farmland. Inside, its construction tells a different story. A long, narrow passage is aligned to the south-west so that, on clear evenings in the weeks around the solstice, the setting sun reaches deep into the central chamber. For a short window each year, light touches the back wall before fading again. The effect is brief and precise, and it still works more than five millennia after it was built. Maeshowe is not an outlier.

Across Scotland, prehistoric sites show a close understanding of seasonal cycles. The standing stones at Callanish on Lewis are tied to lunar movements linked to the long winter nights.

Elsewhere, cairns and circles suggest similar concern with time, light, and the turning year. These were not decorative choices. They required planning, observation, and a long view of the landscape and sky.

Today, the solstice passes quietly for most, yet the pull remains. Access to Maeshowe around midwinter is booked years in advance. People still gather, still wait, still look for those first small signs that the days are lengthening again. On the darkest day of the year, Scotland’s oldest monuments continue to do exactly what they were built to do.

Win a 5 night stay at Kabn

We’re delighted to partner with Kabn to introduce their Creative Retreats this winter - immersive stays of 5 nights or more crafted for artists, writers and thinkers seeking space to be inspired by nature.

With the soft crackle of the wood-burning stove, panoramic views over Loch Fyne and the rare quiet that only winter brings, each Creative Retreat is an opportunity to reflect, create or simply be.

To celebrate the launch, we’re giving you the chance to win a 5-night stay at Kabn plus a Hidden Scotland Gift.

Enter via Instagram

Cut off time is today and the winner will be announced by 24th December 2025. Over 21s only. Stay to be completed before 31 March 2026. T&Cs apply.

Creative Retreats are available in both of Kabn’s award-winning off-grid cabins on Loch Fyne, with Kabn 2 featuring a beautiful writing desk setup on request.

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