HS2 is the postcode for the outlying areas of Lewis, and the
announcement that an HS2 tunnel is being considered for construction has
been broadly welcomed outside Stornoway. We have seen in recent days
that severe weather is common in this part of the world in November and
December, and being able to walk, cycle and drive in the dry, out of the
reach of the ravages of show, wind and rain is a welcome prospect. As
plans currently stand, there will be a tunnel from Brenish to Port of
Ness, with branches from Miavaig to Kinlochroag as well as one from
Carloway to Achmore, terminating at the harbour in the latter village.
I hope Calumannabel will be able to fill us in on the details for the
tunnel, which is hoped could be completed in time for the Dating
Extravaganza at the Dell Fank on April 1st.
I am endebted to local Twitter user balfae for localising the Government plans for an HS2 tunnel in England.
Showing posts with label Dell Fank. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dell Fank. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 December 2011
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Dell Fank
For the uninitiated, the Dell Fank is a dating festival, held on April 1st. Fellow Lewis blogger Calumannabel is the prime mover behind this extravaganza. Unfortunately, the site as was is now a grade 2 listed building (I'm talking about the portaloos), so can no longer be used.
Participants are usually shipped in on board MV Muirneag in the case of the guys, and on the Isle of Lewis in the case of the gals. Desperate singles from the Northern Isles usually arrive on log, paddling all the way around Cape Wrath. Overseas participants fly into Callanish International Airport, where the Green Channel puts the one at Stornoway Airport to shame.
On arrival at Stornoway, a dedicated bus will take the hopeful to the fank, which is located some 20 miles north of Stornoway.
I have mooted to use Prince Charlie's Monument as the venue for the dating extravaganza this year.
This hill towers over Glumag Harbour and has a convenient loch, where participants can cool off their ardour. The Glumag has excellent berthing facilities for all sorts of ships, including logs. The location is just outside the Arnish Fabrication Yard, and it is not without self-interest, as Arnish Lighthouse is but a hop and a step.
Participants are usually shipped in on board MV Muirneag in the case of the guys, and on the Isle of Lewis in the case of the gals. Desperate singles from the Northern Isles usually arrive on log, paddling all the way around Cape Wrath. Overseas participants fly into Callanish International Airport, where the Green Channel puts the one at Stornoway Airport to shame.
On arrival at Stornoway, a dedicated bus will take the hopeful to the fank, which is located some 20 miles north of Stornoway.
I have mooted to use Prince Charlie's Monument as the venue for the dating extravaganza this year.
This hill towers over Glumag Harbour and has a convenient loch, where participants can cool off their ardour. The Glumag has excellent berthing facilities for all sorts of ships, including logs. The location is just outside the Arnish Fabrication Yard, and it is not without self-interest, as Arnish Lighthouse is but a hop and a step.
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Fank '07
Calumannabel made a timely reminder that it is indeed that time of the year again. Time for friskyness at the South Dell fank!
The arrangements are already beginning as I type. A one-way system will be in operation across the island, with only clockwise movement allowed on the roads. That is to say, from Stornoway to Barvas up to South Dell; those leaving the fank will have to continue round to Skigersta and make their way south across the moor to Tolsta. I thought the council had allocated £80 million for those 10 miles of road years ago, so there should be a road by now. Or did I hear someone say BCCI?
Public transport arrangements are also being trialled, in the shape of the minirail system that is envisaged for the Castle Grounds. Tracks will be laid over the Barvas Moor over a distance of about 20 miles to Dell, and the carriages will be fully wind- and waterproof. I don't know about windproof, but perhaps Somerfields and the Coop could stop selling baked beans in the last week of this month.
In order to get female participants across the Minch, a cruiseliner has been chartered - the one that called here on a Sunday last May. The chaps will have to row it across the Minch in a hollowed log, although a refreshment stop will be provided on Eilean Tighe, on the Shiants, before the last leg into Stornoway. Men arriving by any other means but a carved-out log will not be allowed to proceed to the Fank.
Further updates from Calumannabel.
The arrangements are already beginning as I type. A one-way system will be in operation across the island, with only clockwise movement allowed on the roads. That is to say, from Stornoway to Barvas up to South Dell; those leaving the fank will have to continue round to Skigersta and make their way south across the moor to Tolsta. I thought the council had allocated £80 million for those 10 miles of road years ago, so there should be a road by now. Or did I hear someone say BCCI?
Public transport arrangements are also being trialled, in the shape of the minirail system that is envisaged for the Castle Grounds. Tracks will be laid over the Barvas Moor over a distance of about 20 miles to Dell, and the carriages will be fully wind- and waterproof. I don't know about windproof, but perhaps Somerfields and the Coop could stop selling baked beans in the last week of this month.
In order to get female participants across the Minch, a cruiseliner has been chartered - the one that called here on a Sunday last May. The chaps will have to row it across the Minch in a hollowed log, although a refreshment stop will be provided on Eilean Tighe, on the Shiants, before the last leg into Stornoway. Men arriving by any other means but a carved-out log will not be allowed to proceed to the Fank.
Further updates from Calumannabel.
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