Scottish Islands

[microdave]

Not island related but when I did the NC500 in 2017, it seemed to be every time I went round a corner or over the brow of a hill that I wowed out loud.

[ThomCat]

On 08/08/2020 at 15:32, Big Rider said:

Love Ullapool too. The trip down to Achiltibuie never fails to get the wow moment when you look back inland to Stac pollaidh and those other fantastic mountains.

Stayed in Polbain last week. Truly stunning area. Summer isles opposite, the hills to one side and achnahaird beach a cycle away.

[The Mantis]

I suppose we're getting off the topic of islands, maybe somebody can start a Wester Ross/Assynt thread...

Here's a couple from a week I spent in Ullapool in 2016. The first one's just an iPhone pic.

Edit - moved to new topic

 

 

Edited August 10, 2020 by The Mantis

[welshbairn]

Off to Ullapool this afternoon for a couple of nights, hoping the other tourists have fucked off home after the weekend.

[8MileBU]

5 hours ago, The Mantis said:

I suppose we're getting off the topic of islands

Staying off the topic of islands just to be annoy you, well, actually just because it seems the most apt thread to give Calmac some stick without starting a new thread.....

Basically I just wanted to jump in here and say

Western Ferries >>> Calmac 

In the grand scheme of boats, there’ll obviously be a bit more to a Calmac sailing, bigger boats, multiple routes etc but they just seem so diddy and full of drama with it sometimes compared to Western. As an overall experience and someone who uses the ferries fairly often, there’s a lot to be said for Western’s minimal fuss approach to just getting on with shunting folk back and forth over the Clyde all day.

Friday was traffic chaos in Gourock with the Rest & Be Thankful shut, but kudos to Western for getting the extra boat out and just getting on with it.

Edited August 10, 2020 by 8MileBU

[The Mantis]

44 minutes ago, 8MileBU said:

Staying off the topic of islands just to be annoy you, well, actually just because it seems the most apt thread to give Calmac some stick without starting a new thread.....

Basically I just wanted to jump in here and say

Western Ferries >>> Calmac 

In the grand scheme of boats, there’ll obviously be a bit more to a Calmac sailing, bigger boats, multiple routes etc but they just seem so diddy and full of drama with it sometimes compared to Western. As an overall experience and someone who uses the ferries fairly often, there’s a lot to be said for Western’s minimal fuss approach to just getting on with shunting folk back and forth over the Clyde all day.

Friday was traffic chaos in Gourock with the Rest & Be Thankful shut, but kudos to Western for getting the extra boat out and just getting on with it.

I’m off to Islay for a weekend in September so I hope the business at the Rest is sorted. It’s already been postponed from April.

Only used Western a couple of times but they don’t have anything longer than half an hour? Can’t see any difference between them and the wee CalMac boats. You’re probably right when it comes to the large boats, but they have to sell the dream to the tourists eh?

Edited August 10, 2020 by The Mantis

[8MileBU]

19 minutes ago, The Mantis said:

I’m off to Islay for a weekend in September so I hope the business at the Rest is sorted. It’s already been postponed from April.

Only used Western a couple of times but they don’t have anything longer than half an hour? Can’t see any difference between them and the wee CalMac boats. You’re probably right when it comes to the large boats, but they have to sell the dream to the tourists eh?

The OMR at the Rest And Be Thankful opened on Saturday there with a convoy system in place.

[Le Tout P'ti FC]

I’m off to Islay for a weekend in September so I hope the business at the Rest is sorted. It’s already been postponed from April.
Only used Western a couple of times but they don’t have anything longer than half an hour? Can’t see any difference between them and the wee CalMac boats. You’re probably right when it comes to the large boats, but they have to sell the dream to the tourists eh?

If you've only got a short amount of time on Islay, the first place I'd head is Machir Bay near Kilchoman.

I see a guy on Islay has started Fat Bike tours. Taking a bike with massive tyres off-road along The Big Strand behind Machrie. That's what I want to do next time I'm over.

[welshbairn]

My summer cruise to Lewis last week. 

 

Edited August 17, 2020 by welshbairn

[The Mantis]

6 hours ago, welshbairn said:

My summer cruise to Lewis last week. 

 

Ah you poor bugger...

Mrs Mantis and I went over on Fri 31st teatime crossing and I spent nearly the whole time on deck as you didn't need to wear your mask there. No food being served so went to the Seafood Shack in Ullapool first.
Whole week was very breezy and showery though. 
Coming back on the 7th was wet but not as bad as you got, spent the whole trip in the quiet room and managed a short kip. Got a good run down the road but Ballinluig was shutting an hour early at 7.30 so we were fecked and just went home. Here's a pic from the first crossing.

[The Mantis]

On 10/08/2020 at 18:57, Le Tout P'ti FC said:

If you've only got a short amount of time on Islay, the first place I'd head is Machir Bay near Kilchoman.

I see a guy on Islay has started Fat Bike tours. Taking a bike with massive tyres off-road along The Big Strand behind Machrie. That's what I want to do next time I'm over.

I've been twice before but that was in 1994 and 2009. It'll be mainly distilleries if open, and a bit of bird watching (should have been late April before it was cancelled). I've got an old mate who used to do all the driving when we were doing the Munros in the 1980s, as he had a 5 series BMW 2.8i. He's just turned 83 so I'm driving him. He was a bit of a surrogate dad to me I suppose. He still cycles a bit but I don't think that'll be on the agenda.

[welshbairn]

5 minutes ago, The Mantis said:

Ah you poor bugger...

Mrs Mantis and I went over on Fri 31st teatime crossing and I spent nearly the whole time on deck as you didn't need to wear your mask there. No food being served so went to the Seafood Shack in Ullapool first.
Whole week was very breezy and showery though. 
Coming back on the 7th was wet but not as bad as you got, spent the whole trip in the quiet room and managed a short kip. Got a good run down the road but Ballinluig was shutting an hour early at 7.30 so we were fecked and just went home. Here's a pic from the first crossing.

Beautiful picture. Brightened up on the way back and a helicopter did a bit of rescue practice, the hovering in pace with the ship bit anyway.

 

 

[The Mantis]

5 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Beautiful picture. Brightened up on the way back and a helicopter did a bit of rescue practice, the hovering in pace with the ship bit anyway.

 

 

Doesn't look so bad at all. Pretty lucky then - I've been going for many years, sometimes 3-4 times a year and only witnessed the helicopter thing once, maybe twice. Seen one or two lifeboat drills too.

Edited August 17, 2020 by The Mantis

[RH33]

Sick of the sight of my house, have booked three nights on Islay in a pod at Lagavuillan bay for kids and I.

[jamamafegan]

We’ve been in Lewis all week and coming home tomorrow. The Ballinluig Motorgrill was operating more or less normally which is our routine stop for a fry-up on the way up the road. The ferry was not doing any food or drink at all but we went to the Seafood Shack at Ullapool which was excellent.
Have to wear masks on the boat unless you’re out on deck.
Apparently CalMac are starting a limited catering service on the main ferries starting tomorrow.
The Harris Distillery is closed. Abhainn Dearg in Uig seems to be open though.
We had 2 magnificent stags hanging around the next croft and I also saw and photographed a corncrake for the first time. No pics till later so I’ll GTF till then.

Clearly got too excited and overlooked you saying “limited” - devastated to discover that they are only serving breakfast rolls just now instead of the full works on my ferry to Stornoway today.

[invergowrie arab]

Just had probably best holiday of my life in Mull this week helped by glorious weather. Had dipped into the island before but never properly explored it. Had never been North or west of Salem before.

Amazing trip out to Staffa with a close up encounter with minkie whales, dolphins and porpoise.

Brilliant trip up Ben More and then today kayaking and swimming in Calgary Bay. 

The west coast is amazing. Feels more like Iceland or the Faroes than Scotland.

Few disappointments with some galleries and restaraunts closed but only means have more things to see when I come back 

[GNU_Linux]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-54028339

Community figures have warned that rising property prices in the Hebrides and Skye are preventing locals from buying a home.

In an open letter they described the situation as akin to an "economic clearance" that was threatening the sustainability of the islands.

They said young islanders could not compete with offers made by buyers from elsewhere in the UK.

It follows claims parts of Scotland are seeing a post-lockdown property boom.

The uptick in interest has been put down to previously office-based staff being able to work from home and perceived lower rates of Covid-19.

The letter's signatories - which includes crofters, development officers and Gaelic campaigners - said 40% of housing stock on both Tiree in the Inner Hebrides and West Harris in the Western Isles were holiday homes.

They said the availability of affordable properties for young islanders had been a long-running problem, but was expected to worsen post-lockdown.

They pointed to reports of people across the UK looking to relocate to the Highlands and Islands, and having the means to make higher offers than local buyers.
Average purchase prices

The average purchase price for residential properties in the Western Isles have increased from £65,189 in 2004 to £123,048 last year, according to the Registers of Scotland.

For Argyll and Bute - which includes the Inner Hebrides - the prices over the same period have risen from £110,691 to £173,470. In the Highlands, which includes Skye, prices rose from £107,639 to £185,178.

The Scottish average prices were £113,289 in 2004 and £181,339 last year.

The Western Island and Argyll and Bute also saw the highest proportion of cash sales of all Scotland's local authority areas in 2019-20, where about 50% of all residential sales were cash sales.
'Positive action'

The letter said: "Part-time residencies do not sustain our communities and we should therefore ensure that houses are bought with the intention of being a primary residency.

"Inaction will allow this economic clearance to be consolidated in history."

The use of the term "clearance" echoes back to the Highland clearances when tenants were evicted from land in the 18th and 19th Centuries so landlords could increase their income.

The letter suggests Uist in the Western Isles be used as a trial location where properties are advertised locally in the first instance prior to being listed on the national market.
The letter said: "A recent example of a house in Uist becoming available for rental shows the scope for positive action.

"The owner agreed that the house should first be advertised to young locals, and a number of applications were received.

"They seized this opportunity to invest in the community by offering the house to a returning young couple with three children."

The letter comes after concerns were raised that Gaelic speakers among the islands' communities could vanish within 10 years.

Researchers said daily use of Gaelic was currently too low to sustain it as a community language in the future.

The letter's signatories include Pàdruig Morrison, a Uist crofter, researcher and musician and architect and Gaelic campaigner Martin Baillie, from Skye.

Uist businesswoman Emma Axelsson and crofter Fiona NicÌosaig have also signed it.
'Build more homes'

A lack of affordable housing for islanders is recognised in the Scottish government's National Plan for Scotland's Islands, which was published last year.

The plan's consultation process had "highlighted that the availability of affordable, fit-for-purpose housing on Scottish islands presents a challenge for island communities".

The challenges include young people deciding to leave island communities and a lack of accessible and affordable housing being a "barrier" to attracting families to island communities.

In the plan, the government made a commitment to support affordable housing projects.

Gordon Macrae, of homeless people's charity Shelter Scotland, said the solution to providing housing for islanders and meeting demand from people living elsewhere in the UK wanting to move to rural areas was to "build more homes".

He added: "The problem for many parts of the Highlands, and the Borders as well, is that they have gone under-invested for so long."

[The Mantis]

Went over to Islay at the weekend. First time since 2009. No Eagles or Otters or Hen Harriers and not much distillery action either. Got a tasting at Ardbeg but not a tour.

[vikingTON]

Headed up to Oban for a few days to take advantage of the good weather and check out the local islands in the area. Spent a fantastic day on Lismore on Friday. The island itself doesn't have huge highlights but by virtue of being perched between Mull and the mainland mountains on either side the views were glorious. This is from the broch (left) on the east side of the island:

I got a fine lunch at the heritage centre before I visiting the castle ruin on the west coast and then making my way up to the ferry to Port Appin at the north end, with a bus back to Oban from Portnacroish. An excellent and day trip with almost no other visitors in sight on the island.

I planned to visit Kerrera as well yesterday but the social distancing restrictions for the ferry meant that it was carrying twelve folk at a time and shuttling back, which was taking ages to clear about the 100 folk waiting to cross yesterday morning. It would have made getting back off the island in time for a train down dodgy as well so I changed plans and spent the afternoon at Loch Awe instead.

[Honest_Man#1]

Anyone have any recommendations for an island stay for a big group of 16-20 (for future when hopefully Covid has calmed down a bit)?

Looking for somewhere that has whisky, golf and a big lodge/accommodation for a big group and would appreciate any suggestions!