Seal Commitment

Existing on North Rona is one thing; living as a family there is another. Frank Fraser Darling took this photograph of his wife 'Bobbie' and their son, Alasdair, in 1937 while engaged on research about grey seals and their habitat. A BBC item looks at the landscape, their home, and the seals, his livelihood. The Fianuis peninsula (below) to the north of the island would have been the view from their huts, now 77 years ago.

Scottish Islands Explorer - Like living over the shop?

Stacking Up

Yesterday saw readers on Stac Lee - 'virtually' - and today we go higher to the Soldier / Warrior, Stac an Armin (above middle and below) At 643' it is the highest sea-stack in the British Isles and has, believe it or nor, had long-term, but never permanent, residents. The longest involuntary stay was that of nine months by three men and eight boys in 1727/28. When they returned to Hirta (the largest island in the St Klda group) they discovered that they had avoided a devastating smallpox outbreak. The last Great Auk in the UK was not so fortunate and was killed here in July 1840. If you enjoyed visiting Stac Lee through YouTube yesterday, then here's a way of getting in and close to Stac an Armin today.

Scottish Islands Explorer - tries to stand out, but not have retail copies stack up

A Most Basic Bothy

It's prominent - at 564' - and on the outer edge of the already remote St Kilda archipelago - and is considered to be the most difficult of the Marilyns to access and ascend. It is Stac Lee. Pay a visit via a YouTube clip and then take a closer look at its most basic bothy, capable of sheltering two people in some stony discomfort. 

Scottish Islands Explorer - accesses remote parts and brings them closer

An Dotair Mor

If you can, tune into BBC Alba on Monday 29 December at 22.00 for a programme, An Dotair Mor - The Big Doctor. It traces the work and times of Dr Alexander MacLeod and his his wife, Dr Julia MacLeod, on North Uist from 1932. In many ways it was a pioneering practice, with residents receiving care standards previously unavailable. The family's contribution to island life was remarkable, with their son, John, taking over and continuing to practise into the 21st Century. Full details are in a Stornoway Gazette item.

Scottish Islands Explorer - specialises in island-work, in its way

No Ifs and Butts, Yet

A few miles to the south of the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse is the crofting community of South Dell and here a former missionary and teetotaller, David Hope, grows vines in polytunnels and produces wine. It all sounds improbable, despite the benign weather conditions of the Autumn of '14. Read about it in The Drinks Business, marvel how about 600lbs of Black Muscat grapes were grown and how some of them not sold in the local market were used to produce a few bottles of Chateau Hebrides. For the record, however, it is unlikely that the Butt (above) will be complemented by a butt from below (in South Dell). It measures 108 Imperial gallons or half of a tun.

Scottish Islands Explorer - cultivated and matured in eight weeks

Time Out

When the UK turned from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar in 1752, there were people with reservations. Some refused to follow the herd like sheep and retained their calendars, at least locally. Two places continue to observe the old traditions. One is the Gwaun Valley, near Fishguard in West Wales, and the other is Foula, some 20 miles to the west of Walls on Shetland Mainland. So yesterday may have been a day of some significance there, but hang on until 6 and 13 January for the celebrations that count.

Scottish Islands Explorer - Gregorian on every page

A Gnat to Present?

The tracks have virtually disappeared; the junction is still evident; the Flannan Isles Lighthouse continues to function; and the Gnat vehicle, which serviced the lighthouse, has become a museum piece. They were brought together in this blog on 29 June 2011 (just click on here) and yesterday an appeal was made that appears in the Comment section of that day. Someone wants to restore a comparable vehicle. Any offers of tracking one down and presenting it for display? Make someone's Christmas Day.

Scottish Islands Explorer - hopes the appeal is successful

In Need of Names

There was a time when these geographical features needed naming and the then residents of the Western Isles were ready to supply them. During 2014 babies were born in these locations and required names. The Stornoway Gazette has an item on the preferences of parents for their offspring.

Scottish Islands Explorer - has devised titles for various sections

Say Yesnaby

A couple scan the distant cliffs of Hoy from Yesnaby and obviously feel positive about being in Orkney. It is rated the 47th best place to live in the UK, and the top in Scotland, in the new Halifax Quality of Life Survey that attempts to measure the 50 best places to live.

Scottish Islands Explorer - in the top 50 magazines? Maybe best on the Islands.

Size Up on Shillay

Sunset from Leverburgh shows how the conical Pabbay (also below) stands out in the Sound of Harris. To its right is Shillay - from the Norse for 'seal island'. Around 100 - 150 grey seals are born here annually, but Hamish Haswell-Smith notes in his The Scottish Islands how Martin Martin was particularly impressed, in 1695, by the largest horns he had ever seen on sheep. In 1946 a lobster was found nearby with the following dimensions - length 35"; circumference 15.5", cutting edge of scissors claw 7.5", empty shell weight 10.75 lbs. Something in the water?

Scottish Islands Explorer - appears as a consistent 52-page-size magazine