This campsite was one of many set up by members of the Schools Hebridean Society which introduced young people to the islands for over 20 years from 1962. It had its leaders, assistants, followers and devotees. Memories are countless, but there were comparatively few articles published about the Society. However, its records are intact and proving a source of reference on its website. The blog of Vince Smith, Crest of a Wave, carries some evocative photographs (such as the one below) and personal reflections on the Society that are worth reading.
Scottish Islands Explorer - SHS articles appear in the last three issues of 2011
I just missed the SHS. I discovered the Hebrides for myself in the late 1970s and took school field studies trips to Staffa, Mull, Iona and Lunga during the 1980s. After the first one I was invited to present a slide show at a soiree at a posh house Blackheath, London to people "interested in the islands" I wonder if they were anything to do with SHS - of which I'd never heard at the time. Richard Clubley
ReplyDeleteA song to Sing a Tale to Tell, Jean Brown's story of her experiences with children on holiday in the Hebrides, is a song in praise of beautiful islands and isolated shores. It tells of the hospitality and humour of the Hebridean crofters, the challenge of extremes of weather and the activity and joy of the Yorkshire boys and girls whose good fortune it has been to return year after year.
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