Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 30 on 01/12/2006.

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Island Jewel (Tiree)

Fiona Russell travels to the Hebridean island of Tiree to find out what makes it so special

Standing at the highest point on the Isle of Tiree it is difficult to believe I’m still in Scotland.

The tiny hill of Ben Hynish, at just 141 metres above sea level, stands in stark contrast to the mainland. From this viewpoint, however, I can see almost the entire island. I survey acre upon acre of astonishingly flat, green terrain. Blinking in the bright sunshine, I look further into the distance where wide white beaches slope gently down to a shallow glittering sea. At some point I’m sure the iridescent layers of blue and turquoise sea will meet the cloudless blue sky, but it’s difficult to decide where.

I realise I’ve suddenly discovered a treasured gem. But had I listened to some so-called friends I might never have made it to Tiree, the outermost of the Inner Hebridean islands. During the years, so many people had laboured hard to put me off my first visit. While I’d heard hushed whispers of stunning beaches, warm seas and record sunshine hours, most reports had centred on the tyrannical midge and unrelenting high-powered winds.

“It’s really flat, too,” said one of my supposed friends, with a downbeat tone.

“There are no trees or hills, you know.” But I had become suspicious. I wondered what these Tiree devotees were trying to hide and why they kept going back. So I decided to make the four-hour trip by ferry from Oban on the mainland to Tiree’s small port of Scarinish.

Tiree, measuring 12 miles by three miles, is inhabited by about 750 people, many of them crofter.....

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By Fiona Russell

Section : Scottish Islands

Page number : 46