Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Information
To the left of the ferry slip
Finlay Ross Ltd
(
www.finlayrossiona.co.uk
; 9.30am-5pm
Mon-Sat, 11.30am-4pm Sun)
sells gifts, books and maps, hires out bikes and provides a
laundry service.
Post
There's a tiny post office on the right as you head uphill from the ferry.
Tourist InformationIona Community Council
(
www.welcometoiona.com
)
There's no
tourist office on the island, but a Community Council notice board at the top of the ferry
slip lists accommodation and services.
Getting There & Away
The passenger ferry from Fionnphort to Iona (£4.80 return, five minutes, hourly) runs
daily. There are also various day trips available from Oban to Iona.
Isle of Tiree
POP 765
Low-lying Tiree (tye-ree; from the Gaelic tiriodh, meaning 'land of corn') is a fertile
sward of lush, green machair liberally sprinkled with yellow buttercups, much of it so flat
that, from a distance, the houses seem to rise out of the sea. It's one of the sunniest places
in Scotland, but also one of the windiest - cyclists soon find that although it's flat, head-
ing west usually feels like going uphill. One major benefit - the constant breeze keeps
away the midges.
The surf-lashed coastline here is scalloped with broad, sweeping beaches of white sand,
hugely popular with windsurfers and kite-surfers. Most visitors, however, come for the
birdwatching, beachcombing and lonely coastal walks.
Sights
In the 19th century Tiree had a population of 4500, but poverty and overcrowding - plus
food shortages following the potato famine of 1846 - led the landowner, the Duke of
Argyll, to introduce a policy of assisted emigration. Between 1841 and 1881, more than
3600 people left the island, many of them emigrating to Canada, the USA, Australia and
New Zealand.
