| Rolling in the isles  MALCOLM
ROGERS journeys to Scotland’s islands.
A definition of an island in days gone by would have been a place where
the children drive cars and noone has a television licence.
While this laissez-faire attitude still persists in many places, the 21st
century has intruded into most Irish and Scottish islands.
We’ve talked here before about the charms of Ireland’s island
communities, from Valentia in the south west, to Rathlin at the very top
of the country. But Scotland’s fragmented coastline boasts similar
idyllic isles with heather-covered moors, soaring mountains and thrashing
seas.
Mull, Skye, and the Outer Hebrides represent Scotland’s main Gaeltacht
area (the Orkneys and the Shetlands aren’t Gaelic-speaking) and any
Irish speaker will be able to make themselves understood in towns like Stornoway
where Gaelic is widely spoken.
Scotland’s islands are also home to a vibrant music culture piping,
fiddle and accordion as well as a long unbroken song tradition which is
akin to our sean nos tradition.
Visitors’ facilities range from aristocratic, tweedy, chic, up-market
hotels to low-cost hostels.
Public transport can be scarce and getting to some of the outer islands
can be something of a challenge.
But isolation is part of an island’s charm, part of its mystique.
Mull (Muille)
Mull has all one might expect from a Celtic isle towering cliffs, a
dramatic coastline and winding single-laned roads patrolled by shaggy
Highland cattle.
The main town, Tobermory, is a picturesque fishing village where you get
the ferry to Iona.
This lonely island off the west coast is one of the remotest outposts
of Europe.
Yet 1,400 years ago it was the very centre of Christianity thanks to Derry
man St. Colmcille, one of the heavy hitters of the early Church.
Without his work, it has been argued, the Christian Church might have
struggled to survive.
The island of Mull is home to some 250 different bird species including
the white-tailed eagle and is also a way point for schools of Minke whales,
dolphins and porpoises.
Accommodation: Glengorm Castle tel 01688 302 321 www.glengormcastle.co.uk
Situated on the northern tip of the Isle of Mull near Tobermory, Glengorm
Castle overlooks the Atlantic and has views over 60 miles to the Outer
Hebrides and Islands of Skye, Rhum and Canna.
Budget: Arle Farm Lodge 01680 300 343 www.visitingmull.co.uk
Dining: The Highland Cottage Hotel, Breadalbane Street, Tobermory tel
01688 302 030.
Skye (An t-Eilean Sgitheanach)
With some of Scotland’s most dramatic scenery and spectacular wildlife
(everything from golden eagles to red deer) Skye is one of the most romantic
destinations in Europe.
Just a word of caution however in late spring and early summer the place
is plagued by midges.
Stir outside to sample the local cuisine and you’ll find you’re
the plat de jour.
The island’s ravenous insects have sent more than one traveller
home early.
Accommodation: Kinloch Lodge, tel 01471 833 214 www.kinloch-lodge.co.uk
has built a reputation on its cuisine and that’s aside from the
views from the hotel, which would probably support an entire postcard
industry.
Budget: The remotest Youth Hostel is in Uig in the north west of the island.
And when even people on Skye talk about somewhere being remote, you can
take it as fact.
However, prices are keen £10 per night, tel 0870 004 1155
Harris & Lewis (Na Hearadh & Na Leodhas)
Also known as the Outer Hebrides, you can expect bleak moorlands, soaring
mountains, endless peat bogs and the odd fishing village.
The landscape is so primeval that Stanley Kubrick used shots of the island
to represent the surface of Jupiter in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The one must-see sight apart from the turquoise waters of the Atlantic
on a clear day is the dramatic Calanais standing stones.
These 50 monoliths, probably constructed by the Picts around 3000BC, are
probably the oldest standing stones in Britain.
Although the island is sometimes described as the last bastion of Calvinist
fundamentalism, craic in the pubs of Stornoway is fairly easy to come
by.
Accommodation: The views from Scarista House, a Georgian former Manse,
are stunning: The ocean, heather-covered mountains and a three-mile long
shell/sand beach.
This is one of the most beautiful and remote places to stay in Britain.
It’s also the best place to dine on Harris.
Tel 01859 550 238 www.scaristahouse.com
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