When the West Coast herring season was at its height large numbers of Island women would congregate in Stornoway to await the arrival in harbour of the fleet. At that time, it would not have been unusual to observe the women exchanging local news on the town’s streets whilst busily knitting sundry garments for themselves. When not at work in the herring yards, the women were usually bare-headed and wore distinctive knitted shoulder-wraps or shawls. However, when the boats arrived in port, these garments were soon replaced with more practical apparel. Typically, their working clothes would include hand-knitted woollen pullovers, woollen skirts, oilskin aprons, leather boots, and a head-scarf fastened at the back of the head to keep the salt and herring scales out of their hair. Another essential item of wear were "luideagan" - strips of rag made from old flour sacks - which were wrapped around the fingers. These helped to protect them from the razor-sharp knives that were used to gut and clean the fish. They were, however, less effective at protecting them from the salt and brine which penetrated the skin, often causing painful sores.

 It was essential, particularly during the warm summer months, that the herring catches were cured as soon as the boats arrived. Consequently, substantial numbers of women workers were required to quickly process the large catches being landed by the boats.

Before the season commenced, the fish merchants and curers would send employees out into the communities to contract the women. Some received a eàrlais - payment of about £1 - which pledged the women to work for a particular employer, once the season eventually got under way. The curers would then begin making arrangements for transporting their employees to the herring ports and accommodating them there once they had arrived. When it was time for the women to travel away from home, girls from all over the island would gather in Stornoway to await the sailing boats that would ferry them to their destinations. A nurse and a local minister would also usually accompany them at the start of the season to provide health care and religious comfort for them whilst they were away from home.

In some places, like Yarmouth, the women would be placed in modest lodgings within the town. This would have been arranged earlier by the curer. At other herring ports such as Lerwick in Shetland, wooden huts were typically used to accommodate six girls at a time. On arrival at Lerwick harbour, the curers’ lorries would carry the girls’ suitcases and travelling chests from the docks to their living quarters. Each hut contained bunk beds topped with straw mattresses, with the girls providing their own bed linen and crockery. Apart from the beds, the huts typically contained a bath, some basic storage facilities and a fireplace. A stove provided the means to heat water and cook. The mains water supply and toilet facilities were located outdoors. Whenever possible, the girls would try to furnish the dwellings with some linoleum for the floors and curtains for the windows.

The girls based in Stornoway would work from Monday to Saturday, and only those living in the town or nearby were able to travel home to their families for the Sabbath. Even those who were able to travel home at the weekend were never-the-less weary at the rigours of their labour, as captured in the Gaelic saying: