Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
particular the large numbers of “pudding” or “spotty” houses, where only the mortar is
painted white. In addition, there are numerous “white houses” (
tigh geal
) and
traditional “blackhouses” (
tigh dubh
). With no shortage of wind, Tiree's sandy beaches
attract large numbers of windsurfers for the Tiree Wave Classic (
W
tireewaveclassic.com)
every October.
An Turas
he ferry calls at Gott Bay Pier, now best known for
An Turas
(he Journey), Tiree's
award-winning “shelter”, a structure that consists of two parallel white walls connected via
a black felt section to a glass box which punctures a stone dyke and frames a sea view.
6
Scarinish
An Iodhlann • July & Aug Mon-Fri 11am-5pm; Sept-June Mon, Wed & Thurs 9am-1pm, Tues & Fri 10.30am-3.30pm • £3 •
T
01879
220793,
W
aniodhlann.org.uk
Just up the road from the pier is the village of
SCARINISH
,
home to a post o
ce, some
public toilets, a supermarket, the butcher's and the bank, with a petrol pump back at
the pier. Also in Scarinish you'll find
An Iodhlann
- “haystack” in Gaelic - the island's
two-roomed archive, which puts on exhibitions in the summer.
Hynish
Museum
Lower Square • Easter to mid-Oct daily 9am-5pm • £3 •
T
01879 220726
he island's most intriguing sights lie in the bulging western half of the island, where
Tiree's two landmark hills rise up. Below the higher of the two is
HYNISH
whose
harbour
was designed by Alan Stevenson in the 1830s to transport building materials for the
magnificent 140ft-tall
Skerryvore Lighthouse
, which lies on a sea-swept reef some twelve
miles southwest of Tiree. Up on the hill behind the harbour, beside the row of lighthouse
keepers' houses, stands a stumpy granite signal tower, whose signals used to be the only
contact the lighthouse keepers had with civilization. he tower now houses a
museum
telling the history of the herculean effort required to erect the lighthouse; weather
permitting, you can see the lighthouse from the tower's viewing platform.
Ceann a'Mhara
A mile or so across the golden sands of Balephuil Bay is the spectacular headland of
Ceann a'Mhara
(pronounced “kenavara”), home to thousands of sea birds, including
fulmars, kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills, shags and cormorants, with gannets and
terns feeding offshore.
Taigh Iain Mhoir
Sandaig • June-Sept Mon-Fri 2-4pm • Free
In the scattered west coast settlement of
SANDAIG
, to the north of Ceann a'Mhara,
three thatched white houses in a row have been turned into the
Taigh Iain Mhoir
, which
gives an insight into how the majority of islanders lived in the nineteenth century,
thanks to a collection of old photographs and other memorabilia.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
ISLE OF TIREE
By plane
Tiree Airport (
T
01879 220456,
W
hial.co.uk) is
around three miles west of Scarinish, with flights to and
from Glasgow (Mon-Sat 1 daily; 45min). You should
arrange for your hosts to collect you, most of whom will.
By ferry
Throughout the summer, the CalMac ferry from
Oban calls daily at Coll (2hr 40min) and Tiree (3hr 40min). On
Thursdays - though the day may change - the ferry continues
to Barra in the Western Isles, and calls in at Tiree on the way
back, making a day-trip from Oban
possible; a minibus tour of
the island is thrown in as part of the package.
Destinations
Castlebay, Barra (Thurs 1 daily; 2hr 45min);
Oban (1 daily; 3hr 40min).
