Waiting for the ferry to Stornoway, I arrived early at the terminal and holding lanes on Wednesday…read more10 July 2019. Up for some exploring during the wait, I made my way on foot to the Ullapool Bookshop, which was a relatively short walk away. The interior was cozy with books well displayed. I went with a couple items including a picture and text heavy book on the castles of Scotland/United Kingdom. Prices were good.

This shop is so idillic for a harbour town book shop. Light and airy interior with a good side…read morestationary section, with some pretty hilarious cards I've not seen elsewhere. The book selection is quite extensive, ranging from history, natural world, satire, self help and fiction. Their fiction section was impressive, their display actually included two books I'm currently reading! Their titles felt new and fresh with a really eclectic range. I could have spent a lot more time and a lot more money there if i weren't trying to be good and we were on a tight schedule. The lady working at the shop was lovely, even making sure we were aware of the parody style of the little Ladybird Book The Hipster. Unfortunately it seems not every one had understood the nature of the books. The accept card payments and she was very accommodating to the four of us taking over shop and browsing. I strongly recommend a visit if you're in he area!

I wrote a book titled: 'Helen Duncan: The Mystery Show Trial' about a famous Scottish medium who…read morewas imprisoned in 1944 prior to D Day, under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. I published the book in April 2007. Soon after publication Olde Moss Bookshop in Ullapool, phoned and ordered a number of copies. The books were duly sent and after numerous letters, phones calls, and assurances from Val and Nigel Hollamby, no payments have been made. The Olde Moss Bookshop is the only bookshop in the UK not to pay for the books they ordered from me. It is now coming up to ten years since they placed their order and the books were delivered. Despite all my attempts they still haven't honoured their agreement to pay for them. It is my experience that the Olde Moss Bookshop is a bookshop which exploits authors.

Maclean, Mair Nicolson and Co, more commonly known as Nicolson's to locals is one of two newsagents…read morefound in the centre of town. They are the smaller of the two but stock much more magazines. They have an entire wall filled with magazines of all kinds music, fashion, cars, knitting, pregnancy etc. I've found I can usually find the magazine I'm looking for here when the other newsagents doesn't stock it. They also have the daily newspapers. They also have shelves full of puzzle books like sudoku and crosswords, local magazines from Comunn Eachdraidh's, fios etc. To the back of the shop is a section for stationary, cards, gift wrap and pens. An added bonus since Woolies closed down. They have a selection of confectionary, soft drinks and a fridge with sandwiches as well. So many times when you go in here for a paper you come out with much more!

Nicolsons is a great little local newsagents…read more They stock a wide variety of magazines and newspapers from national to local along with soft drinks, filled rolls and sandwiches, sweets and tobacco. You can order your newspapers and magazines here to make sure you get them everyday. They also have a great selection of stationary, party stuff like balloons and crepe paper, diaries and notebooks and a fab selection of greetings cards at very reasonable prices. Staff are always very helpful and friendly. The only downside to the shop is that it's quite small so can sometimes feel a tad claustrophobic

The Bethesda Charity shop is one of several charity shops in Stornoway. This is by far the biggest…read morewith 2 floors filled with items. When you walk in you are greeted to a whole wall of shelves filled with books, tables of trinkets and cheery staff. There is a second room which again is filled with more stuff and then up the stairs is where all the furniture is kept tables, sofas, chairs! For people who have larger items to donate they have a van which can pick up items in the Stornoway area. They are open Monday to Friday 10 4pm last time I checked. It's the place to go for people looking for bargains, you are bound to find some gem in this shop!

My favourite charity shop by far!…read more Due to it being completely overcrowded and some items being there for quite some time there's a rather random smell when you go it but you get used to it and it's well worth putting up with A paperback book is just 40p and you quite often pick up some random and obscure items for a great price. They sell everything apart from clothes - Small household and bedding items, to suitcases and breadmakers up to larger items of furniture and electrical equipment. Nearly all the staff are voluntary (apart from the shop manageress) and are really friendly and chatty. Open Monday to Saturday until 5 most days (not sure about Saturday) For larger items and Household clearances they provide a free collection service, days and times for areas depend on where the van is bound for at the time. Donations are always welcome. Proceeds from this charity shop stay locally and go towards the Bethesda Nursing Home and Hospice which is a great local cause and in constant need of funds as the Hospice is only 50% funded.

Video network is stornoways only dedicated dvd hire shop…read more A few minutes walk from the town centre the shop is bright and airy with a great range of dvds for hire, from the latest releases to classic films. Films stocked cover the whole film genre spectrum from kids to comedy to horror. The shop also stocks a wide range of sweets, crisps, popcorn, ice lollys and soft drinks as well as rollover hotdogs at lunchtimes. The cost for film hire is per night and is roughly about the same as any other bricks and mortar hire shop nowadays. The only downside to the shop is that it's superbusy at lunchtimes with schoolkids as it's on the road into town from the Island's secondary school and it's the normal stop off to stock up of sweets and fizzy juice. So if you need to pop in to get a dvd or to be served quickly avoid going between 1 and 2 in the afternoon.

Campbell's filling station is hidden away from the other petrol stations in the town, just ask…read moresomeone local to point you the right way. Their fuel prices are always 1penny dearer per litre than engies so I don't get petrol here that often. They also have a wide range of sweets, crisps and lunch snacks like rolls and pies, fishing tackle, a small selection of household items and tinned goods and a rage of magazines and newspapers. They also have pay machines for washing your car and an air pump for tyre inflating. As the other fuel stations in the town have been refurbished more recently this one feels grubbier, the forecourt is rather bumpy! But staff are friendly and helpful.

We visited The Celtic Clothing shop in 2016. It was simply wonderful!!…read more The Hebrides Jewerly we bought was beautiful! We loved the Braveheart Bears we got for our friends little girls:) It is a wonderful shop that reflexs the kindness of the Scottish people. The owners even invited us to there home to see how the Harris Tweed was woven. How great was that!

Celtic Clothing in Stornoway is the place to go if you want to hire a Kilt for a function…read more Helpful, friendly staff who take time and great care to ensure you get what you're looking for. Wide range of tartans and sizes are available for hire along with a wide variety of accessories, all for a reasonable price (for kilt hire!) It's a must to book a fitting and kilt hire in plenty of time though to ensure you get what you're looking for as they can get really busy, especially when there are big Island weddings and special occasions like the school 6th year dinner dance. If you're looking to splash out then you can have a custom kilt handmade to your exact request by an experienced kiltmaker. They also have for sale a small selection of ladies jewellery and tweed accessories available, along with clan crest cufflinks and kilt pins, hip flasks, ties and so on.