[14] The entire island group is now administered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the Western Isles Council.

A dispute over 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) between Alexander Hume Macleod and Francis, Lord Seaforth (respective proprietors of Harris and Lewis) led to Court of Session inquiries in 1805 and 1850 and ended with Lord Chief Justice Campbell traversing the boundary on foot.

[15][17] Seaforth Island was considered part of both Harris and Lewis; for statistical purposes half its area was assigned to each.

Other nearby inhabited islands in the Lewis and Harris group are Beàrnaraigh (Great Bernera) and Sgalpaigh (Scalpay).

[21] Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh) has ferry links to Ullapool and air services to Benbecula, Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The Callanish Stones in the Loch Ròg area were erected roughly 5,000 years ago, thus dating from the late Neolithic or the early Bronze Age.

The Lewis chessmen is a famous collection of 12th-century chess pieces, carved from walrus ivory and mostly in the form of human figures, which were discovered in Uig in 1831.

[26] Some visitors to Lewis and Harris are attracted by the beaches, particularly the spectacular Luskentyre, but also Seilebost, Horgabost, Scarasta and Borve.

Others come for the dramatic landscapes of Harris, to experience the Gaelic traditions or the sense of history, for example at Dun Carloway or the 5,000 year old Callanish Stones.

[36] Modern commercial activities centre on tourism, crofting, fishing, and weaving (including the manufacture of Harris tweed).

A conventional fishery still existed, "composed solely of inshore shellfish vessels targeting prawns, crabs and lobsters around the islands and throughout the Minch".

[38] The Isle of Lewis website states that Stornoway's "economy is a mix of traditional businesses like fishing, Harris Tweed and farming, with more recent influences like Tourism, the oil industry and commerce".