Tiree: alluring island of majesty and wonder

LINDA AITCHISON reflects on her recent holiday on the peaceful Scottish island of Tiree.

Looking out over pure white sands and sapphire sea waters, my view is interrupted by a cow roaming past. I can hear whistling wind and lambs bleating as they trot away from the Charolais heifer.

Am Port Ruadh, the bay at Tiree, remains untroubled by crowds. One of 18 beaches on the island, bordered by impressive houses in, what locals call “Millionaires’ Row”, this could be the Caribbean, or should that be the Pacific? Tiree is known as the Hawaii of the North, after all.

It feels like a secret I’m lucky to be in on.

There’s not a gift shop, arcade nor, around here, public toilet.

Little wonder then that Tiree, in the Inner Hebrides, has been named among the best islands in Europe “for getting away from almost everyone” by CNN Travel.

This picture-perfect spot is ideal for de-stressing, maybe taking a gentle walk to the broch at Vaul or its famous ringing stone, said to be thrown by a giant in nearby Mull. It’s a wildlife lovers’ heaven, with dolphins, seals, and hares.

It’s serenely peaceful. Make no mistake though, Tiree remains a working island. Crofters and fishermen still build livelihoods alongside growing tourism businesses. Boats fish out of Milton and Scarinish, mainly for velvet crab, lobster, crayfish, and brown crab.

Tiree landmark!

Summer boat tours visit Staffa and the Treshnish Isles with bustling seabird colonies including puffins, as well as Skerryvore lighthouse, home to roosting seabirds and storm petrels feeding offshore.

A ten-minute stroll away at sweeping Gott Bay, a dog walker takes in the majesty of their surroundings.

wild flowers dotted along the coast add to the allure.

Beautiful Tiree shores

Inland, at Hebridean Roast Coffee, four customers jostle for space in a takeaway. There’s crab, fish and chips and falafel in surrounding units. In Tiree’s Co-op (its only supermarket) prices make me wince. Savvy island shoppers fill up at a Tesco in Oban, any time they’re heading for the mainland.

Back in Caolas, my friend Ally plans a wild swim, as she has for the eight years she’s been visiting here.

“I don’t bother with a wetsuit anymore, you don’t get the same effect I like on your extremities from the cold,” she confides, smiling, as she gives me and my companion a lift to an airport where hour-long flights to Glasgow run twice daily and check-in staff chat amiably with passengers. Visitors also arrive on a four-hour ferry from Oban. Both services fit around unpredictable weather. Today, a ring and ride isn’t running. There are no taxis or other buses. Nor is there a hospital, a cashpoint or a pub, if you don’t count two hotel bars.

Spring lamb at Rhoda Meek’s croft

Characterful homes make for a fascinating sight. I’d never seen a “pudding” or spotted house before … like Dalmatians in building form. The upmarket second homes on Millionaire’s Row lie empty much of the year … while you don’t have to look far for dilapidated structures where there’s no chance of living as the wind whooshes through.

Britain’s 20th largest island, Tiree is just over ten miles at its longest, five miles at its widest, and a little more than half a mile at its narrowest. It’s said to bask in the most sunshine in the UK. Around 650 people call Tiree home.

After a week on the island, I’ve met wonderful people, passionate about their heritage and their future. I’m energised and refreshed, having walked miles each day. But I won’t be joining Ally without a wetsuit just yet.

Getting there

Tiree airport has several flights a day from Glasgow and twice weekly from Oban. There are also ferries from Oban. At the time of writing, Loganair return flights could be booked online for prices starting at around £130. A return ferry journey costs around £12 each way. Both means of transport are subject to delays and being called off in bad weather. My plane from Glasgow was cancelled due to heavy rain and the airline provided a taxi to Oban, a night in a Premier Inn and an outbound ferry journey the next morning. Quite an adventure, but all handled very efficiently and courteously by the airline.

A working island

Deserted beaches