Crofting still shapes the look of Lewis and Harris. A croft is a small area of land held under a distinctive form of Scottish tenure, usually too small to live on by itself, which is why crofting has almost always been combined with fishing, weaving or other work. The long thin strips running back from the road in almost every village are croft boundaries.
These photographs record the working side of the islands: sheep on the moor and the machair, cattle, hay and silage, fencing, and the peat banks that are still cut each spring. Our page on peat explains how that part of the year works.
In short
Photographs of crofting and farming on the Isles of Lewis and Harris: sheep on the machair and moor, cattle, hay, and the peat banks cut each spring. Crofting is a distinctive form of Scottish land tenure and the long strips of land running back from the road in island villages are croft boundaries.