Stornoway (/ˈstɔːrnəweɪ/ ⓘ; Scottish Gaelic: Steòrnabhagh [ˈʃtʲɔːrˠn̪ˠəvaɣ]; Scots: Stornowa) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.

Recent changes[5][6] mean that Sundays[7] on Lewis now more closely resemble those in most parts of the Southern Isles, i.e. Benbecula, South Uist, Barra, and Vatersay, and on mainland Scotland.

[12][13] During World War II the Stornoway aerodrome was used by the military, and the town was a base for anti-submarine planes and a fuelling station for other aircraft.

Between 1986 and 1993, the airport was employed as a "NATO Forward Operating Base for Air Defence aircraft protecting the fleet" for six weeks each year.

[17] The Isle of Lewis web site states that the town'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".

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

[19] On 1 January 1919, Iolaire sank at the entrance of the harbour, one of the worst maritime disasters in Scottish or UK waters, with a death toll of 205 men,[20] who were returning home from World War I.

the harbour hosts a fishing fleet (and associated shoreside services) somewhat reduced from its heyday, a small marina and moorings for pleasure craft, a small shipyard and slipway, three larger piers for commercial traffic and Stornoway Lifeboat Station, run by the RNLI and home to a Severn-class lifeboat, Tom Sanderson.

[21][22][23] A lighthouse, seaweed processing plant and a renewable energy manufacturing yard are situated on Arnish Point at the mouth of the harbour and visually dominate the approaches.

The manufacturing yard was originally established in the 1970s as a fabrication plant for the oil industry, but suffered regular boom and bust cycles.

The yard is now proposed as a key business in the development of the whole Arnish Point industrial estate and has received large amounts of funding in recent years.

Both firms were affected by the absence of a regular stream of orders and left a chain of large debts impacting upon local suppliers.

[32] In April 2022, Stornoway Port Authority announced they had signed a £49 million construction contract[33] for their new Deep Water Terminal.

[needs update] The UK's largest community-owned wind farm, the 9 MW Beinn Ghrideag, is located outside Stornoway and is operated by Point and Sandwick Trust (PST).

[35][36] Point and Sandwick Trust helps fund community activities "because of the revenue created at our wind farm, Beinn Ghrideag.

[40] The Caledonian MacBrayne[43]-operated ferry MV Loch Seaforth has been sailing since 2015, from Stornoway harbour to Ullapool on the Scottish mainland, taking 2 hours 30 minutes.

[46][47] Stornoway is the hub of bus routes in Lewis: buses run to Point, Ness, Back and Tolsta, Uig, the West Side, Lochs and Tarbert, Harris.

Stornoway Airport[49] is located next to the village of Melbost, 2 miles (3 km) east of the town; there are flights to Edinburgh, Inverness and Glasgow, all operated by Loganair.

It provides undergraduate degree programmes for adult nursing and supports postgraduate students, who can choose from various higher-level courses.

[58] Rugby Union is also popular, and Stornoway RFC men's and women's teams compete regularly in national leagues and cups.

The venue comprises an art gallery, theatre, cinema, dance studio and concert hall, and acts as a performance space for poetry and literature.

The radio station Isles FM is based in Stornoway and broadcasts on 103FM, featuring a mixture of Gaelic and English programming.

The Gaelic-language public service broadcaster BBC Alba, launched on 19 September 2008, is based in Stornoway, as was the defunct like-minded TeleG that operated between 1999 and 2011, contributing £2.5 million to the city's economy when it was on air.

Other resources include a collection of Ordnance Survey maps and Admiralty charts for the local area, old parochial registers, 19th century Census returns, minutes of the former Stornoway Town Council as well as current Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and school log books.

[66] In 2018, Stornoway Library announced plans to transform their coffee shop into a makerspace available to the general public where they run educational activities on topics including 3D printing and virtual reality.

The Stornoway Media Centre is the base for Intermedia Services Ltd. and its various titles, including the free monthly magazine, EVENTS, founded in 2005.

[69] They signed their record deal outside the Woodlands Centre in Lews Castle Grounds, Stornoway, after performing in the town for the first time in April 2010.

[72] RAF Stornoway is featured in the Tom Clancy novel Red Storm Rising as a base for Allied air operations over the North Atlantic and against Soviet-held Iceland.

[73] In the motion picture Latitude Zero by Toho Productions (1969), Stornoway Harbour is featured on a wall plaque as the construction site of the submarine "Alpha".

[74] In 2007, British car manufacturer Land Rover introduced Stornoway Grey as a colour choice for its vehicle line-up.