Park, Lewis facts for kids

Park (which in Scottish Gaelic is called A' Phàirc), also known as South Lochs, is a large area of land in Lewis, Scotland. It's connected to the rest of Lewis by a narrow strip of land between two sea lochs, Loch Seaforth and Loch Erisort.

Long ago, in the early 1600s, a wall called Gàrradh an Tighearna (meaning "The Laird's Dyke") was built across this narrow neck by the Earl of Seaforth. You can still see parts of this old wall today.

Today, people only live in the northern part of Park. In the 1800s, many people living in the southern areas were forced to leave their homes by Sir James Matheson. This was part of a sad time called the Highland Clearances.

In 1887, something important happened here called a "deer raid." People who were very hungry took deer from the land to feed themselves. This event showed how desperate they were. A special monument, which looks like an old stone tower called a broch, stands at the Eishken junction to remember this event. Even today, much of this area is still used for deer stalking, which is a way of hunting deer.

Community Takes Ownership

The Pairc Estate is a large area of land, about 10,845 hectares (which is over 26,000 acres). It includes 11 small farming villages, called crofting townships, where almost 400 people live. A "croft" is a small farm, often with shared land for grazing animals.

In 2011, the Pairc Community Trust, a group set up by local people, got permission to buy the estate. This was approved by Roseanna Cunningham, who was the Environment Minister at the time. They used a special rule called the "Right to Buy" from the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. This law allows communities to buy land that is important for their future.

Angus McDowall, who led the Pairc Trust, said that this was a big step for their community. It showed the landlord that the community's well-being was more important than making money. He said it proved that their hard work over many years to use their rights was worth it, helping them plan a better future for local farmers and residents.

In May 2014, the community voted to go ahead with buying the land. Then, in December 2015, the residents officially took control of the land. This meant the community now owned and managed their own estate.

Villages in Park

Park is home to several small villages, often called crofting townships. These are places where people live and farm small plots of land.

• Orinsay
• Lemreway
• Gravir
• Garyvard
• Kershader
• Habost
• Caversta
• Marvig
• Calbost
• Eishken
• Shiltenish
• Torastay
• Cromore

Nature and Wildlife

Loch Cromore is a lake that has a little bit of salt water in it. It's a great place for wild birds, especially whooper swans that spend the winter there. You can also often see common seals swimming in the sea inlets nearby.

If you take a short walk from Orinsay, you can find the deserted village of Stiomrabhagh. From the villages of Lemreway and Orinsay, you can enjoy beautiful views of the Shiant Islands, which are a group of small islands in the sea.

Images for kids

• 

  Monument to the Deer Raiders, Park