Part of Scotland's Inner Hebrides, the island of Tiree, 10 miles long and 4 miles wide in parts, home to some 800 people,
is a great place to get away from it all.
Located to the west of the
Isle of Mull
and just south of neighbouring
Coll, it
is one of the sunniest places in Britain thanks to its exposed location on the Atlantic Ocean.
This also means that it is one of the most windy places too
which is why its waves and white sandy beaches are popular with windsurfers.
Every October the island hosts the Tiree Wave Classic - a world championship windsurfing event.
For 2007, the PWA Windsurfing Wave World Cup will also be held here (6 - 13 October).
How to get to Tiree
By air
Flights in light aircraft are available from Glasgow most days.
British Airways has an online searchable timetable.
Planes land on the island's airstrip at The Reef.
Tiree Airport online info.
By ferry
The ferry service runs operates Monday to Saturday from Oban to Coll and Tiree.
Bikes are carried at a cost of 2 pounds each way on all sailings.
The official Caledonian Macbrayne website lists all the current ferry timetables in detail. Winter timetables may have few sailings. Vehicle reservation required - telephone 08705 650000. For enquiries, tel: 01475 650 100 / fax: 01475 635 235.
CalMac also operates a day cruise from Oban to Tiree in association with Kennedy Coaches.
This includes 6 hours ashore on Tiree and runs on Thusdays only from June to 21 September. Visit the CalMac ferry web site for details.
Non-landing cruises and evening dinner cruises from Oban are also available.
Travellers' Tips:
If you would like a qualified tour guide for your visit to the island, consult the Argyll Islands Tourist Guides Association.
Bike Hire:
- Mrs Judith Boyd at Millhouse, Cornaigmore (tel. 01879 220435).
- MacLennan Motors (tel: 01879 220555).
Car hire:
- Tiree Motor Company (Tel: 01879 220469 or Fax 01879 220318).
- MacLennan Motors (Tel: 01879 220555 or Fax: 01879 220754).
Taxi:
John Kennedy Taxis operate a taxi service, minibus and coach hire. Tel: 01879 220419 (must be booked at least the day before you intend you use the service). Island tours available.
Argyll and Bute Council operate a Ring’n’Ride bus service on the island
with a wheelchair accessible minibus which is available on demand from 7am to 6pm Mondays to Saturdays. Telephone 01879 220419 to book the bus. Journeys can be booked up to one week in advance and as late as up to one hour before the time of travel (subject to availability).
Produced by the Ordnance Survey at a scale of 1.25 inches to the mile (2 km to 1 cm)
is the detailed map of Coll & Tiree available to purchase from Amazon UK.
Activities:
- The 9-hole golf course at Vaul is situated two miles from Scarinish and half a mile from the Lodge Hotel. Fees are about 5 pounds daily, 20 pounds for weekly tickets, 35 pounds for 2 weeks.
Telephone: 01879 220848 for further details.
- Craig Sutherland (Suds) operates the Wild Diamond Surf School on Tiree. Windsurfing, surfing, kitesurfing and kayaking are all available. Tel: 01879 220 399
- Skipinnish Sea Tours offers boat trips from Scarinish Harbour. Charters also available for diving, fishing, etc. Tel: 01879 220009.
- Kitesurfing on Tiree
Internet access is available in the Tiree Business Centre (tel: 01879 220520 ) at Crossapol
and An Iodhlann at Scarinish.
What to see and do on Tiree
The name Tiree is familiar to many people as it is heard daily on the UK shipping forecast.
Information is provided by the island's weather station
which gives exact meteorological reports. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, its climate is quite mild.
In Gaelic it is known as Tir-Iodh - the land of corn.
The island once had a population of almost 4500, but many crofters left
during the Clearances or later.
It is quite flat with lots of farming land and has much fertile sandy soil. Few trees grow here though, due to the wind.
The underlying rock, Lewisian gneiss, is thought to be 2900 million years old - half as old as the Earth itself.
The island has many beautiful empty white sandy beaches and dunes.
The largest is Gott Bay which arches round for about 4km and faces east back to Mull.
The machair with many varieties of wild flower displays a host of colour in the Spring and Summer.
There is also much bird life on Tiree
and apparently two of the best locations are
Loch Bhasapoll and a cave on the coast at Kenavara.
The main township is Scarinish, where the ferry arrives.
There is a supermarket, bank, post office, gift shop/cafe, garage and police station.
A few miles south at Crossapol there is a general store and garage.
Few places on the island are more than 15 metres above sea level.
The two highest points are Ben Hynish at 462 feet (141 metres) and
Beinn Hough at 390 feet (119 metres). Visibility is often excellent since there are
no great peaks to precipitate rain.
Despite its flat nature,
the island is easy to spot from a distance because of the
golf ball-shaped communications radome that can be seen for miles around.
When I went on a boat cruise to Staffa and the Treshnish Isles, it was clearly visible.
Sitting on top of Beinn Hynish, apparently it belongs to the Civil Aviation Authority and tracks airliners over the Atlantic.
There are several interesting archaeological remains including a
30 foot-diameter broch at Vaul Bay, with walls 12 feet thick and,
in the west at Kilkenneth, the ruins of Chapel of Saint Kenneth,
one of Saint Columba's followers.
Four crannogs (ancient loch dwellings) have been
surveyed by Mark Holley.
Another curiosity of the island lies between Vaul and Balephetrish.
This mysterious boulder, known locally as 'the Ringing Stone'
because of the metallic sound it makes if you hit it, features over 50 Bronze Age cup marks
and probably dates back to the Ice Age.
The Hebridean Trust also looks after the Skerryvore Lighthouse Museum at the old Signal Tower at Hynish (click for details).
An Iodhlann houses Tiree's historical archives
at Scarinish (tel: 01879 220793).
The Rural Centre at Crossapol has an exhibition on Crofting and the Environment on Tiree (tel: 01879 220677)
Another place to visit is the Sandaig Island Life Museum which is a terrace of thatched buildings restored by the
Hebridean Trust. Open to visitors afternoons only Monday to Friday during the summer (tel: 01879 220677). Free entry. Staffed by volunteers.
You can explore the old crofter's cottage, and adjacent byre and barn to see how people used to live.
For handmade jewellery, chocolates, cards and gifts, check out Chocolates and Charms at Heylipol. Tel: 01879 220037.
The Blue Beyond Gallery at Balemartine displays paintings and pottery by resident artists.
Beachcomber at Crossapol sells crafts and clothes.
Open afternoon Monday to Friday from Easter to December.
The Cèabhar Guesthouse & Restaurant at Sandaig is open at lunchtime and evening. Tel 01879 220 684.
For more information about the island visit:
isleoftiree.com (Tiree's excellent community web site)
Gordon Scott's Tiree blog
The Hynish Centre
Tiree Images - great photos by Jim Murdoch
The Hebridean Trust
Photos by Gavin Shaw (including windsurfing)
Tiree web site by Elaine Williams - for details of her books and crafts, plus her online guide and photos of the whole island, with info on local activities, etc.
Tiree Development Partnership
An Talla - Tiree Community Hall at Crossapol
An Turas - award-winning ferry shelter (photos)
Tiree Online
Isle of Tiree Genealogy hosted by Keith Dash.
Pròiseact Thiriodh - 40 years of audio recordings made on Tiree
Mearnscraft -
Cross stitch kits of Scottish maps including Tiree
Hebridean Island Images
