Tiree

Tiree lies at the western edge of the Inner Hebrides, southwest of Coll. The low island covers just over thirty square kilometres and holds fewer than seven hundred people. Crofting, fishing and tourism provide most of the island’s work. In late spring and early summer the land enjoys more hours of sunshine than almost anywhere else in the United Kingdom. Windsurfers from around the world gather for the annual Tiree Wave Classic, earning the island the nickname ‘Hawaii of the north’. The island’s past reaches back to the end of the last Ice Age, when the first people left stone tools on its shores. A well-preserved Iron Age broch stands at Dùn Mòr, while the prehistoric Ringing Stone still gives out a deep note when struck. Early Christian monks built several monasteries here, and Adomnán, abbot of Iona, recorded stories of St Columba’s dealings with Tiree. In the 18th century local farmers exported salt beef instead of live cattle, and the island’s fertile machair soils have long supported both people and wild birds. Visitors land at Scarinish, the main village, or fly into the small airport at Crossapol. Single-track roads cross the flat machair and low hills, passing pockets where cars must give way. The highest point, Ben Hynish, rises only 141 metres above the surrounding plains. The western beaches hold wide stretches of blown sand, while the eastern shore shows raised beach ridges and alluvial flats. The island’s climate keeps winters mild and summers cool, with rare frost and occasional spells of strong Atlantic winds.