Monday, July 20, 2020

THE ABANDONED SCOTTISH VILLAGE OF GARENIN: A PLACE WHERE TOURISTS CAN EXPERIENCE LIFE IN THE MIDDLE AGES





Garenin  is a crofting township found on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Garenin is in the Carloway municipality and has a population of about 80 people. Garenin is also within the parish of Uig. Today the village is most famous for the "blackhouse village", which consists of nine restored traditional thatched cottages. The village is found at the end of the Garenin road beside the village bay. These houses were lived in till 1974 and were the last group of blackhouses to be inhabited in the Western Isles.

In 1989, Urras nan Geàrrannan (The Garenin Trust) was established to restore the houses. Over a decade later the project was complete and the restored blackhouse village was opened by Princess Anne.

The blackhouse village is managed by Gearrannan Village Ltd. There was a Youth Hostel (managed by The Gatliff Trust) but this closed in May 2011. There are four self-catering cottages, a museum (a blackhouse set in 1955) and a resource centre; a café and a small gift shop are open in summer.