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<< Sites under Threat >> Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty

Submitted by Andy B on Thursday, 18 February 2010  Page Views: 28085

Site WatchCountry: Scotland County: Isle of Lewis Type: Stone Circle

Internal Links:

Callanish Sleeping Beauty
Callanish Sleeping Beauty submitted by Gerald_Ponting : The Sleeping Beauty figure seen on the horizon. It was taken in winter, hence the drifts of peat-smoke from Callanish village, some time in the early 1980s. It's taken from a spot about half a mile to the ENE of the Callanish main site, but the impression would be the same from anywhere in the immediate area. From the Achmore site, another nearer hill 'becomes involved' making her look pregnant. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Cheryl Straffon writes: You probably know of the 'Sleeping Beauty' or Sleeping Mother' or 'Sleeping Goddess' mountain, as it is variously called, on the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. This amazing mountain (called in Gaelic 'na Mointeach = the Old Woman of the Moors) forms the profile of a sleeping woman when viewed from the Callanish stone circle.

At the major southern standstill of the moon (every 18.6 years - next one due in 2006) the moon appears to rise out of Her legs, creep low along her body, silhouetting first one part and then another, hang low over her breasts, and then disappear behind a hillock, only to reappear inside the circle of stones at the foot of the tallest central one and at the head of the burial cairn. This spectacular sight is pure megalithic magic: a perfect blending of astronomy, ritual, landscape and Goddess.

Now the mountain is under threat - from a proposed wind farm, which if it goes ahead will permanently disfigure the 'Goddess' shape of the hills. An application has been made to the Scottish Ministers by Beinn Mhor Power Ltd of 39 Castle Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 3BH to construct a 133 turbine windfarm on the top of the peaks that constitute the 'Sleeping Beauty'. Irrespective of the value of windfarms as renewable energy, the proposed location for these wind turbines will directly affect the appearance of the Sleeping Beauty mountain and the sight of the standstill of the moon.

Objections to the siting of the turbines can be made to the Scottish Executive - but action must be taken immediately. We have only until 13th January to object. If you feel strongly about this please e-mail your objections and representations to paul.smith@scotland.gsi.gov.uk (the Consents & Emergency Planning Unit of the Scottish Executive in Glasgow) stating that you are objecting to the specific location of the wind turbines, and the adverse effect this may have on the appearance of the hills and the local economy of Lewis, which attracts thousands of visitors to Callanish and to view the Standstill.

Many thanks
Cheryl

With thanks to Northern Earth for the alert

Note: Ministers Approve Wind Farm, see latest comment.

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"Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty" | Login/Create an Account | 30 News and Comments
  
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Callanish Stones may knock out modern turbines by bat400 on Sunday, 01 July 2012
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Please add more recent decisions.

Dated from Feb 2012:

Building wind turbines within sight of the famous Callanish Stones may be effectively banned.

The installation of two modern renewable energy machines on the island of Great Bernera, nearly five miles away, should not be permitted as it would spoil the prehistoric landscape says government agency Historic Scotland. The body’s objection against the energy development planned by crofter Norman Macdonald at Kirkibost, Bernera, carries significant weight because the monoliths are a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The Callanish Stones are the top tourist attraction for the Western Isles and nationally are equal in importance to Stonehenge, says a council report.

On Wednesday, the Comhairle’s planning committee deferred its decision for four weeks so it could receive more information about the environmental impact.

But the council’s planning officer recommends refusal so the case may eventually end up in front of the Scottish Government.

The planning application is for two 900kW wind turbines, each 67 metres high, which could power about 1,500 houses, as well as access tracks, a sub-station, an underground electricity cable network, hard standings and temporary construction storage areas.

If it goes ahead the developers would transport the turbines directly to Bernera on a hired vehicle ferry. A temporary slipway on the shore would be constructed to unload the turbine tower, blades and components.



A planner’s report highlights the building work will create significant investment within the Western Isles and benefit local companies, contractors and their employees on top of indirect spending in local shops. There would be local jobs in their ongoing maintenance. Annual payments to the community would be invested in improving local amenities.

However, Historic Scotland wants the scheme knocked back because it would spoil the panoramic views from the Callanish Stones.

It adds that the “Calanais’ setting, extending out to the skyline, is central to its understanding, appreciation and enjoyment, and contributes to its cultural, aesthetic and spiritual values. It forms the centre of a wide prehistoric ritual landscape, incorporating a number of related and often intervisible stone circles, standing stones and natural features.”

Councillor Peter Carlin hit out at conservationists’ intervention saying the scheme would contribute to the local economy. He said: “Birds and sightseers are not as important as the people of the islands.”

He suggested that tourists should turn their backs to the turbines and observe the monoliths from a different angle if they really wanted an uninterrupted view.

Thanks to coldrum for the link. For more read, http://www.hebrides-news.com.
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Lewis windfarm plans could be stalled by Euro ruling on Golden Eagles by Andy B on Tuesday, 02 March 2010
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A European court judgement which halted a windfarm in Argyll could stall plans for two giant windfarms on Lewis.

The Scottish Government refused permission for the 14 turbine windfarm at Stacain by Inverary because it could threaten golden eagles.

The refusal was based on a European court judgement which found that as Stacain has golden eagles present - meaning it qualifies for strict legal environmental protection even though the site has not received official conservation status.

A solicitor for Western Isles Council is examining the Stacain case to assess the potential impact of the judgement on two proposed wind farms in South Lochs on Lewis.

The ruling could devastate the council's aspirations to see giant windfarms built on the island, and could stall or even stop the two outstanding planning applications for the both the Eishken and neighbouring Pairc wind farm applications on Lewis.

A report into the Stacian case suggests that even the possibility of the site becoming a special protection area (SPA) should trigger a stricter habitats assessments procedure which includes a test to see if building a wind farm is in the over-riding public interest.

Both proposed sites on Lewis host far larger numbers of golden and sea eagles than the rejected site at Stacain.

More at
http://news.stv.tv/scotland/highlands-islands/134309-lewis-windfarm-plans-could-be-stalled-by-euro-ruling/
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Lewis windfarm plans could be stalled by Euro ruling on Golden Eagles by jamesharvey12 on Thursday, 30 August 2012
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    I think the planned Lewis windfarm has been refused. any update?
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Lewis windfarm plans could be stalled by Euro ruling on Golden Eagles by Anonymous on Friday, 12 April 2024
      Now we have to face the same threat again sadly we now have four different companies trying to build windfarms surrounding the sleeping beauty. Planning regs are with the Island planning authorities for consent at the moment
      [ Reply to This ]

Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Andy B on Tuesday, 23 February 2010
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There was talk of modifying the scheme so that it didn't affect the view from Callanish. I don't know if this ever happened.
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    Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Sgathaich on Tuesday, 02 March 2010
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    I don't know if anyone is still reading this thread, but there is still something we can do to reverse this proposal and protect not only the precious landscape of Lewis but its wildlife too. There is a high possibility we can campaign to successfully halt this development, so I would urge anyone who is directly involved with this matter to contact me as soon as possible.
    Many thanks.
    S
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Anonymous on Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Whilst I generally support the introduction of renewables I believe that this specific scheme must be rejected. The mountain is an integral part of a prehistoric landscape that embraces Calanais (pl use the correct spelling !) and other nearby sites. It is reasonable to interpret the stone setting and the mountain as the same monument therefore the mountain should be protected in the same way as the man-made elements of the total site. Those planning the windfarm need to understand that the location of an important ancient site is what defines its existence, Calanais with a spoiled mountain is not Calanais.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention

Graham Dunbar, Inverness
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Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Anonymous on Monday, 22 February 2010
Why - I cannot believe thought would even be given to building wind farm on Lewis near this amazing stone circle.
I strongly object to this proposal - at least build them in the sea !
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Protestors Fail to Block Wind Farm Near Callanish by bat400 on Thursday, 18 February 2010
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Posted by aluta ---

The first large-scale wind farm planned for the Western Isles has been approved despite a storm of protest.

Ministers passed plans for 33 massive turbines at the Muaitheabhal Wind Farm, on the Eisgein Estate, Lewis, five years after the application.

More here.
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Re: Concern over windfarm plan for isle’s famous ancient site by Anonymous on Friday, 24 April 2009
Nightmare - they are going to 'bruise' Lewis if this goes ahead. We must have more respect for our ancestors than this? They should be looking at off-shore windfarms or tidal power generation. I pray to my gods that I will be able to witness the mother moon dancing across the sleeping beauty in 2025. Nobody has the right to take this away from us. Fight the power
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Concern over windfarm plan for isle’s famous ancient site by Andy B on Thursday, 23 April 2009
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Numerous prehistoric archaeological finds have been discovered around a proposed giant windfarm which the Scottish Government is said to be poised to approve.

A new publication highlights the negative impact the controversial 53-turbine Eishken windfarm would impose on the significance of the world-famous Callanish Stones complex.

Local archaeologists Margaret Curtis and her late husband Ron have extensively researched the huge Callanish complex of which the Eishken hills are a part.

Their findings, which are widely accepted by other experts, stress that Callanish is not just one stone circle but actually encompasses about 30 satellite sites in a major prehistoric astronomical observatory across the southern part of Lewis.

Their submission, entitled Callanish: Stones, Moon and Sacred Landscape, to a Scottish Government public inquiry over the £185million wind scheme has now been published.

It coincides with mounting speculation that planning permission will be announced as Enterprise Minister Jim Mather visits the Hebrides next week to discuss building windfarms and economic issues.

The Curtises calculate that many of the hills in Eishken are integral to a rare natural phenomenon which only occurs every two decades.

Instead of being linked to the sun like Stonehenge and numerous other stone circles, the Callanish landscape is now uniquely believed to be a massive astronomical observatory used to calculate the movement of the moon.

Central to the idea is a range of hills earmarked for the turbines, which resemble a woman sleeping on her back.

Last year Western Isles Council gave the go-ahead to build 13 turbines, a sub-set of a larger scheme, on Feirosbhal and Beinn Mheadhanach — two of the sites the Curtises say would harm the 5,000-year-old lunar observatory.

The size of the Eishken scheme was originally set at 133 huge machines but was slashed in a move to ease the proposal through planning and achieve speedy permission.

Building more turbines in a second phase is not ruled out.

Developer Nick Oppenheim of Beinn Mhòr Power said about 95 jobs will be created to build the scheme, but eventually only 10 staff are needed for its operation.

He will hand six sites over to a community windfarm trust established by himself, though villagers have to raise about £20million to develop their project.

One-third of the community revenues will have to be paid to a council-led Western Isles-wide development trust.

Source:
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1156810?UserKey=
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Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Anonymous on Tuesday, 01 August 2006
Having stayed on Lewis for five years, i was able to witness this phenomena, albeit in-between 'maximums', so to speak.('91-'96)
I would like to add that 'unusual' atmospheric phenomena are a regular occurence in the Hebrides (jet stream, north atlantic drift etc.), and over the 5 years i lived there i saw some astonishing episodes of weather, astronomical visibility and perspective.
I believe these natural phenomena were not only the inspiration for the builders of the monuments that reflect them, but are there today for our inspiration still. The Outer Hebrides are without doubt the last british refuge for what i would call 'modern-society drop-outs' - for me,an eminently more laudible position than the twisted humanity they have left behind.
Please fight for the islands of Scotland's west coast, the whole seaboard is an absolute national treasure that unfortunately is being used and abused by all sorts of assailants ranging from litter-lout tourists to the dumping of american and british military nuclear waste. And the astonishing episode of open-air anthrax testing on Gruinard Island shows just where these war-mongerers place the indidgeonous people in their scheme of things, never mind the birds or marine life.
I hope people realise that the reef waters around the St. Kilda archipelago are comparable to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in world heritage status.
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Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by TimPrevett on Wednesday, 26 July 2006
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Further news, reporting and images here at the BBC News.
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    Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Andy B on Thursday, 27 July 2006
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    That article doesn't mention Callanish at all. I'm sure it is possible to site the turbines without impinging on the view from Callanish. Hopefully this is what can happen.
    [ Reply to This ]
      Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by TimPrevett on Thursday, 27 July 2006
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      Yes I noticed that too - perhaps indicative of how uninformed most are of the "Sleeping Beauty", or probably less likely, how unbothered. Perhaps we should let the BBC know?
      [ Reply to This ]

Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Anonymous on Thursday, 11 May 2006
Hello

Just writing to noytify you that Beinn Mor Power/ Eisgein Estate have now revised their application, reducing turbines from 133 to 53. However the developer has already referred to this as phase 1 only, and stated that they will seek to extend it again. There is immense concern on the Western Isles about these proposals, and the extensive industrialisation of the Lewis Landscape that will be entailed. For the Lewis Wind Power proposal the developers (Lewis Wind Power and British Energy) estimate that they will create 2.5 million tonnes of peat spoil. Wetlands, by area, hold three time more carbon than tropical rainforest. The Lewis windfarms are not therefore environmentally friendly.

To date over 9,500 people have objected to the Lewis windfarms, with about 77% coming from the Western Isles.

The deadline for objecting to the revised proposal is May 12 2006 i.e. tomorrow. But still worthwhile writing to object even if you miss it.

The address is the same as previously.

May the force be with you
[ Reply to This ]
    Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Anonymous on Sunday, 28 May 2006
    Hi,
    Does anyone have an update on Scottish Executive's reaction, or where the revised proposal has got to?
    Is there a local action group supporting this protest on Lewis? Recently we visited Lewis with a group to observe the lunar standstill/low moon alignment and we didn't see any petitions anywhere i.e. at the Callanish Visitor's Centre and our B&B landlord didn't say anything to us about it as a local resident?!
    It strikes me that with the worldwide attention and interest this site is attracting because of the lunar standstill (and not by the Full Moon celebrants), it would be an ideal opportunity to raise the awareness of these people to the pending possible demise of the 'Cailleach na Mointeach' and to start a momentum for establishing it as a World Heritage Site. I believe there is an emergency procedure to this protracted application process. Does anyone have an experience of this?
    We will be emailing all our tour group of Canadians; Americans; Japanese;Germans; and English participants to enable them to send in their protests if they so choose.
    The stable door may be closing, but it isn't bolted, yet.
    Thank goodness for local people like Margaret and Ron Curtis, who have also been guardians of the special ancient and sacred sites on Lewis for many years.
    [ Reply to This ]

Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Anonymous on Wednesday, 07 December 2005
Save the Sleeping Beauty
from this act of rape,
I am begging you.
In hope,
RLSweeting
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Windfarm threat to Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Anonymous on Friday, 18 November 2005
Dear Cheryl, Thanks for the alarming info on the executive's plans. I am wondering whether they have optional sites in mind or whether it is already an idee fixe to misuse the sleeping beauty for the windfarm. Is there a web site where to look up more? I went to Lewis a year ago and since then am sort of mesmerised by the island and especially the sleeping beauty. Do you happen to know the exact date of the next major southern standstill of the moon? Again, do you know where to get more info on that? Thanks for your energy put inot the project. I hope man will not commit more crimes to nature and the sleeping beauty will be safe. Bless, Miriam (miriam.havemann@gmx.net)
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Re: Is windfarm a threat to view of Callanish Sleeping Beauty? by Andy B on Thursday, 27 January 2005
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Hello all of you,

I have made a web page with my ideas on the proposed wind farm.
http://www.iol.ie/~geniet/eng/windmillssleepingbeauty.htm

It will form the basis of my letters towards the Scottish Executive (SE). But any feedback on the basics of my ideas are welcome of course.
Remember to send your own comments to the Se before Feb. 1st, 2005

All the best,

Victor
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Is windfarm a threat to view of Callanish Sleeping Beauty? by Anonymous on Tuesday, 11 January 2005
It's not just the Lewis Wind proposals north and east of Callanish. The proposal affecting the Sleeping Beauty is put forward by a different company, Bheinn Mhor Power - can anyone find their web-site?
Have a look at
http://www.proact-campaigns.net/windfarmsandbirds/lewis_wf_map.html
where people approaching this from a 'danger of bird kill' point of view have mapped all the different proposals for Lewis - and clearly marked all the areas that are supposed to be 'protected conservation areas'.
Gerald
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Is windfarm a threat to view of Callanish Sleeping Beauty? by Anonymous on Monday, 10 January 2005
A new objection sent to Paul Smith today (10 January)
GM

Dear Sir,



As a lecturer in English literature, specialising in 20th century poetry, I am concerned about the proposed wind farm on the Isle of Lewis.



I have not yet visited Lewis but have some knowledge of it from the poetry of Iain Crichton Smith, an important voice in European literature, writing in both English and his native Gaelic. Iain Crichton Smith grew up on Lewis as a Gaelic speaker. I had the good fortune to meet him in the 1980s and hear from him about his life and writing; this personal contact further heightens my concern.



As you may know, the geography and history of Lewis are vital to his poetry and his memories of Lewis feed into the international concerns of his writing. For instance, his Gaelic poem, "Callanish", which I have read only in English translation, takes as its starting point the Stones of Callanish and moves swiftly to a contemplation of Nagasaki. Meanwhile, his late, long English poem "The Village", which deals with his long exile from Lewis with some complexity, looks at his need to move away to become a writer but also draws parallels between landscape and art drawing powerfully on his memories of Lewis (for instance, in section 12, "How clear/the mountains are,/and these rooms in which symmetry was humanised.")



I am aware of and sympathetic to the concerns of those who wish to guard the megalithic heritage. But the concern I am advancing is slightly different and concerns the more recent cultural heritage of Scotland, which frequently looks back to the remnants of pre-history (especially standing stones) and the landscapes in which they are situated. (For another instance of this role of the megalithic past, you need only look at Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song, recently voted the favourite book of MSPs). The literary importance of Callanish and the mountains above is one that feeds in to both English and Gaelic literary traditions and through them into European and world literature.. Losing the landscape - or changing it in the manner proposed - always means losing some sense of what works of literature mean.



I should add that Iain Crichton Smith is not the only poet to have written on this landscape, although he is the one with whom I am most familiar. If you or any of your committee read Gaelic, you may be familiar with the work of the poet Derick Thomson. And for anyone reading this objection whose first language is Gaelic, I should add that Iain Crichton Smith's Gaelic name is Iain MacGhobhainn.



As pictures reach us of the devastating effects of the tsunami on Asia, I think we should be aware of the fragility of our heritage and do out best to preserve it.



I should add that I am broadly in favour of wind farms in general but the siting of this particular one seems unwise.



Yours faithfully



Dr Kathleen Bell, M.A., Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer in English

De Montfort University

Leicester

LE1 9BH
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Is windfarm a threat to view of Callanish Sleeping Beauty? by Anonymous on Sunday, 09 January 2005
E-address solved!

A friend who has a government work e-address advises that for some insane reason of 'security' they always give their e-address wrong, changing the 'gsi' into 'gsl'.

So paul.smith@scotland.gsl.gov.uk DOESN'T work but
paul.smith@scotland.gsi.gov.uk does.

Potty, huh?

I wrote as follows:

-------- Message d'origine --------
Sujet: Objection to the Application by Beinn Mhor Power Ltd of 39 Castle Street, Edinburgh, Scotland EH2 3BH to construct a 133 turbine windfarm on the top of the peaks on the Isle of Lewis which constitute the 'Sleeping Beauty'.
Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2005 16:55:46 +0100
De: Gerard MULHOLLAND
A: paul.smith@scotland.gsi.gov.uk, Gerard Mulholland



Dear Mr Smith,

I am writing to you as the addressee of the e-address I have found for the Consents & Emergency Planning Unit of the Scottish Executive.

I am writing to object, formally and with all the force that I can muster, to this proposal.

I object to the specific location of the wind turbines, and to the adverse effect this may have on the appearance of the hills and the local economy of Lewis.

The proposal will irremediably damage Scotland’s most important – and one of the world’s most important – megalithic sites.

It isn’t the hills that are to be built on – it’s the importance of the shape of the hills and the view of them from the Callanish stone circle which is the raison d'^etre of the circle..

This view attract thousands of visitors to Callanish every year and will attract even more to view the major southern standstill of the moon (every 18.6 years - next one due in 2006).

The display made by the moon in moving along the outline of the hills and then appearing to enter the circle is as spectacular today as it was when the circle was first built to enable the display to be observed.

The Megalithic heritage of Britain is unique.

Unlike the Chinese, Egyptian, Indian, Mediterranean, Mesopotamian and Meso-American artefacts of the same antiquity, the British archaeological sites contain and retain a unique marriage of natural locations with astronomical phenomena.

In England the spectacular sun-rising above the helios stone on solstice days at Stonehenge are famous.
In Ireland, the first rays of midsummer sun which enter the central burial chamber by piercing a hidden shaft at Newgrange in the Boyne Valley confirm that this was a science and not an accident.
Scotland's single most important manifestation of this is the siting of the circle at Callanish to view the ‘Sleeping Goddess’ phenomenon once every 18.6 years.

To allow this to be destroyed by a wind-farm on the 'Sleeping Goddess' peaks would be as vandalistic as to site a windmill on top of the Great Pyramid of Cheops.

Please don't let it happen.

Instead, please ask for the peaks and the Callanish Circle to be made a joint World Heritage Site.

In fact why hasn't this been done before?

Yours sincerely,

Gerard Mulholland,
67 avenue Franklin Roosevelt,
94550 Chevilly Larue,
France

Tel: +33.1.46.87.35.24

Retired
Former national officer of the (English) Liberal Party
Former Secretary-General of the Daonlathaigh Comharsanachtach ne ‘Eireann
Former member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of European Liberals and Democrats
For 30 years conductor and guide of specialised tours to important archaeological and historical sites


I have asked all sorts of people to write. I hope they do.

GM
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Re: Is windfarm a threat to view of Callanish Sleeping Beauty? by Andy B on Sunday, 09 January 2005
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Hello,
Here is a picture where the Lewiswind are (from their web site) and where the hill ranges (made by me from OS map and literature):
http://www.iol.ie/~geniet/pic/lewiswind.gif

The purple two lines is the view towards Sleeping Beauty and can be seen on this page:
http://www.iol.ie/~geniet/eng/scot13.htm

So I really don't understand what Sleeping Beauty has to do with the Lewiswind farm!
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Victor
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Action required to prevent windfarm obscuring Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Andy B on Sunday, 09 January 2005
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Actually, the moorland landscape they are proposing to site them looks to be nowhere near the mountains and is if anything similar to the East of England.
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Re: Action required to prevent windfarm obscuring Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Anonymous on Sunday, 09 January 2005
'paul.smith@scotland.gsl.gov.uk' doesn't work.

It bounces back as non-existent.

Help!

GM
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Action required to prevent windfarm obscuring Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Anonymous on Sunday, 09 January 2005
Objections duly sent.
This visual and physical intrusion is a disasterous prospect for Callanish and Lewis.
I'm actually quite fond of wind turbines (coming from the flat and featureless East of England where they actually enhance the environment in my opinion!), but there has to be some sensitivity.
Surely there's somewhere just as windy they can put them???

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Re: Action required to prevent windfarm obscuring Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Andy B on Saturday, 08 January 2005
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Judge for yourself, there are a lot of simulated views:
http://www.lewiswind.com/es/2%20Montage%20&%20Wireframe%20Figs.htm
click on Viewpoint 25 for Callanish
[ Reply to This ]

Re: Action required to prevent windfarm obscuring Callanish Sleeping Beauty by test on Saturday, 08 January 2005
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Paul Smith
The Scottish Executive Consents & Emergency Planning Unit
2nd Floor Meridian Court
5 Cadogan Street
Glasgow G2 6AT

Dear Mr Smith

Re: Proposed windfarm development, Lewis
We understand that a windfarm of 133 towers has been proposed for a highland site on the Isle of Lewis, and we wish to express our concern about this project from a local heritage perspective.

The proposed site, we understand, will be on a range of hills known locally as 'The Old Woman of the Moors' or the 'Sleeping Beauty'. This range of hills, comprising Sidhean nan Airgid, Guainemol and Mor Mhonadh, is distinguished by its remarkable resemblance, when viewed at a distance, to a recumbent woman - hence its local nickname. The view is particularly well appreciated from the stone circle of Callanish, one of the island's prime heritage sites as well as an archaeological site of world importance.

It has become abundantly clear that the megalithic and other remains of prehistory were not simply self-contained sites, but referred to and incorporated the surrounding landscape in their overall design narrative, paying especially attention to surrounding horizons. Anthropomorphic simulacra appear to have had a significant meaning at ritual sites from Japan to Egypt to Europe and the British Isles.

It is therefore highly likely that 'the old woman' viewed from Callanish and elsewhere on the island is not a quaint local quirk of imagination and folklore, but a perception that has persisted on the island as long as humans have lived there, and indeed since the construction of the stone circle. As such, the profile of the mountain is likely to have been an integral part of the ancient sacred and ritual landscape of Lewis, and thus a crucial element of its modern heritage too. Any modification of the skyline, by wind towers or other buildings, will inevitably be to the detriment of the profile of the Sleeping Beauty, and accordingly to the detriment of local amenity.

Local amenity should also be taken to include the significant folklore of the island's community. The folklore of place is a vital and integrative component of a community's relationship with its locale, and should not be treated lightly. The degradation of a community's inheritance in such a way by outside interests, as would be manifested by the position of this windfarm, would affect community identity and perception, and may lead to resentment. Would any company or development office choose to be known as the people who killed off the Sleeping Beauty?

A further archaeological point related to Callanish and arguing against this development occurs during the Moon's 18.6-year standstill cycle; the Sleeping Beauty plays a part at its major southern standstill, when the moon appears to rise out of 'her' legs, and creep low along the body to hang low over 'her' breasts, throat and face, subsequently disappearing and then reappearing within the stone circle at the foot of the central megalith. This lunar rhythm has been demonstrated to have been understood by the megalith builders and incorporated into the plans of other ritual sites in Scotland especially. The majesty and meaning of this spectacle - next due in 2006 - would, like the other points made above, be severely impaired by wind towers.

The above arguments would recommend the case for refusing this windfarm development, or at least denying the towers from any location that would modify the skyline from any prehistoric site, from archaeological and folklore perspectives, and both of these would also contribute to a major case against the development from a scenic perspective. Certain landscapes have unique features that should guarantee their preservation for generations to come, and this range of hills is one such.

The need for renewable energy is undeniable, and our objection to this plan should not be taken as opposition to the principle of wind

Read the rest of this post...
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Re: Action required to prevent windfarm obscuring Callanish Sleeping Beauty by Andy B on Thursday, 06 January 2005
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Objection letter from Gerald Ponting, who is the co-originator of modern knowledge of the Sleeping Beauty / Callanish Stones / major southern moonset connection and author of , ‘Callanish and other Megalithic Sites of the Outer Hebrides’ and many technical papers on the site

Dear Mr Smith,
It has recently come to my attention that there is a plan to construct a 133-turbine wind-farm on the top of a group of hills on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Although my home is now in the south of England, I was a Lewis resident from 1974-1984, during which time I became very involved in archaeological research, mainly concerning the Standing Stones of Callanish (Calanais).

I understand that you will already have received objections to the proposed wind-farm from others with archaeological, and with what I might call ‘sacred landscape’, interests. They will no doubt have explained to you that these hills, as seen from the area of Callanish, form the profile of a prone figure of a woman, known variously as ‘the Sleeping Beauty’ or ‘Cailleach na Mointeach’. They will also have mentioned the once-in-18.6-years event known as the ‘southern extreme of the major standstill of the moon’ – next to occur in 2006 – which is especially spectacular at the latitude of Callanish.

In particular, for observers standing at the north end of the Callanish avenue, the full moon appears to rise from the body of the Sleeping Beauty, before skimming across the southern horizon and setting among the stones of the circle. Undoubtedly, this infrequent observation was one of the intentions in the design of the site by the skilled prehistoric people who once lived at Callanish

While this event has been enthusiastically adopted by ‘earth mysteries enthusiasts’ and by those who identify the prone lady with the ‘White Goddess’, I can claim to have been (in cooperation with Margaret Curtis of Callanish who was then my wife) the first to recognise and publish this connection between the standing stones, the hills and the moon. I therefore enclose for your information some photocopied excerpts from our original paper* expounding the idea for the benefit of other researchers in the field of archaeo-astronomy (given at an international conference at Newcastle University).

While the only people who have observed this event in modern times are those who were on Lewis on appropriate dates in 1987, there are many people who, having seen versions of our original horizon diagram in popular books of archaeology and on several television programmes, plan to travel to Lewis specifically to make this observation in 2006.

Clearly, the construction of wind turbines in such a windy spot as the Isle of Lewis is desirable from the point of view of alternative energy generation – a concept which I fully endorse. However, placing the turbines in such a prominent spot would clearly have an extremely detrimental effect on the ‘wilderness’ landscape of central Lewis, as well as interfering with a spectacular celestial event which is now well-known among all those interested in prehistoric megaliths.

Yours sincerely,

Gerald Ponting

* Ponting, G. & M., 1981
Decoding the Callanish Complex - some initial results, in Astronomy and Society in Britain, ed. Ruggles & Whittle; British Archaeological Report, Oxford
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