Close to Shawbost, there is a hidden but very special sight, a Norse mill and kiln, just a few steps from a parking spot.
Overlooking Loch Roinavat you will find a renovated pair of thatched buildings used in past times to process barley grain. The Corn Mill and kiln were in use right up till the 1930s.
The Mill and Kiln were restored and rebuilt in the late 1960s and would be working today. The Kiln, the first one on the right side, is a drying room with a raised stone floor and a fire pit underneath to prepare the corn for milling. The Mill was powered by the stream running to the loch and had a mill laid running through the middle of the building to drive the paddles and mill wheel.
Once upon a time, Lewis houses about 200 of this kind of mills.
Looking inside the mill. These two buildings give us another glimpse of how life used to be in Lewis.
And as a bit of a contrast, a modern time windmill:
