My Ties to Tiree

I am a child of the Barley. My paternal great grandfather, Hugh Macdonald was born on Tiree. In Balemartin on the south western side of the island. Hugh's parents were Archibald Macdonald and Catherine Lamond. 

The family moved to Glasgow when Hugh was about 10. Hugh met and married Mary Neil, of Denny. Hugh was a railway journeyman, as was Mary's father. Hugh and Mary married in Glasgow and then moved to Edinburgh, where my grandfather, Archie was born. The family eventually moved through to Rosewell where my dad and all of his siblings were born and raised. 

I have enjoyed my time on Tiree. It is far more rural than I had anticipated and at times, I get the sense that I am driving through one big farm. Archie was an agricultural labourer as were most men on Tiree. It has very fertile soil and was known for its barley crop. In more recent years, the residents took on farming Kelp. 

In the mid 1800s, the population of Tiree was just over 5,000. That seems unimaginable, really, given that the island is only 30 square miles in size. Between 1847 and 1852, many residents left Tiree for the Canada. They boarded ships called The Barlow, The Charlotte, The Birman, The Conrad and the Onyx and made their way to Montreal. In 1849 alone, 600 people emigrated from Tiree to Canada. In the latter part of the 19th century, several young men headed for greener pastures in Patagonia. Most of these young men later returned to Tiree. Those emigrating to Canada remained in Canada. 

Another Day on Tiree

Today was my second full day on Tiree. Although I visited most of the island yesterday, I decided to revisit some of the places I passed yesterday. Sunday drives take on a whole new meaning on Tiree.

First up was the Old Mill in Cornaig. The mill was commissioned in 1771 by the 5th Duke of Argyll. The mill replaced hand mills. The mill was in operation until 1945. 

Then it was on to Kirkapol to see the ruins of the ancient chapels. There are two chapels in very close proximity, both dedicated to St Columba. The smaller of the two, Kirkapol Chapel dates from the 13th century. The larger of the two chapels, Kirkapol Parish Church, dates from the 14th century and sits within an ancient cemetery. 

From Kirkapol, I drove to the pier and watched the ferry come in. The ferry terminal is a very busy place for about two hours a day. 

Then I drove back to Hynish to see the Treshnish Isles exhibit. It was a very clear day today and I was able to see the Skerryvore Lighthouse, 10.5 nautical miles south west of Tiree. On the horizon, I could also see the outlines of the Treshnish Islands. These islands are uninhabited. There are seven islands in the archipelago and most are now bird sanctuaries.

I had a lovely meal at the Cobbled Cow Cafe at the Airport, and took in low tide at Balevullin once again. The seaweed litters the beach at low tide. Farming this brown seaweed (Kelp) was a major way of life for many residents of the Scottish islands and coastal towns. The kelp was burned and the ashes used for potash in the making of soap and glass. The potash was also used in linen bleaching. 

Kelp farming was not an easy way of  life, with the women having to rise in the dark to catch low tide when the kelp was accessible. The cold waters would run over their feet while they worked to collect the slippery brown plants, removing them from their long, woody stems. The long strands of seaweed were carried over their backs and laid on the rocks to dry. In the summer months, the kelp was burned in low pits on the sand, and the ash cakes then gathered for sale. In 1862, Edward Curtis-Stanford discovered a method for extracting iodine from the kelp. This was done in a factory. The factory remained open until 1901.

A Day on Tiree

At just 30 square miles, Tiree is tiny. It is impossible to imagine that in the mid 1800s, her population was about 5,000. Today it is roughly 650. Unlike some of the other small islands of the Inner Hebrides, Tiree has a school. There are 30 high school students and 50 primary school students. Students on other islands fly over to Oban for their schooling. They stay from Monday to Friday and are home on weekends. 

Tiree was primarily an agricultural island, having very rich, arable soil. The major crop was barley. In later years, Seaweed was also farmed and dried. It was used in making soaps and glass. And of course, there was always a crop of potatoes. 

Original croft house. There are only about a dozen left on the island

The farms are very small. There are a number of cattle on the island now as well as sheep. I have seen one horse, but apparently most farms have one as the road signs regularly alert us to horse drawn vehicles crossing over. 

The island can be seen in a day, without difficulty. I spent several hours criss-crossing to various villages. 

There are no towns on Tiree. The main village is Scarinish, which is where the ferry terminal is. It consists of a co-op, a bank and a hotel. All three of these buildings look identical to the houses and it is really only the sign on the side that alerts you to what its real purpose is. The co-op and hotel are likely double the size of most of the other houses in Scarinish but there are houses the same size dotted across the island. There are a total of 8 restaurants/cafes on the island and most are only open a few days or a few hours a week until the prime tourist season starts in June. 

All of the roads are single track. As I sailed across the island today, I became impatient with 'traffic' in and around Scarinish. Perhaps a dozen cars as opposed to one or two. 

I drove over to Balemartin where my great grandfather was born. His father was an agricultural labourer. The family moved to Glasgow in the late 1860s when Hugh was about 10. 

This morning I went to Hynish to learn about Skerryvore Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built by Alan Stevenson, uncle of Robert Louis Stevenson. And son of Robert Stevenson who built the lighthouse at Bell Rock.

Hynish was the building site for the Skerryvore lighthouse. 80 Stonemasons lived here, most from Aberdeen, who were the most highly qualified granite masons. They left their families in Aberdeen and lived at Hynish for a two year period.

While there is loads of granite at Hynish, it was too difficult to work, so softer, more pliable granite was shipped in from Ross of Mull.

In order to get the granite in and the lighthouse out, extensive work was done on the dock. Stevenson, an engineer, built a special sluice which ran water from a reservoir up the hill, through a tunnel and into the bay, washing out the sand and seaweed that accumulated in the bay with the tides each day.

The lighthouse is 12 miles off the coast of Tiree, on a remote reef

The Hebridean trust has done extensive work refurbishing the Skerryvore establishment and creating self catering holiday homes.

Tiree is known for its white sand beaches. The beach at Kirkapol is 4 km long and offers fantastic walks during low tide. Perhaps the prettiest is a Balevullin on the north west side of the island. 

Kirkapol beach

Balevullin beach. This sign warns us to leave our cars in gear
for fear they roll off the cliff and into the sand

  

Machair. Unique to the islands and west coast of Scotland and Ireland.
It requires sandy soil that is made up of shell fragments.
The cows and sheep graze on the Machair

Limpets attach themselves to the sea rocks

A sea rock covered in kelp

Sea thrift growing on the sea rocks