SAC Rural Policy Centre

Boarded the ferry that was to be our home for the next couple of hours, and I had a quick bite to eat before leaving the relative calmness of the inshore waters. And then what a trip! It was pitching (but thankfully not rolling as well) all the way till we reached the inshore part of Skye as you approach the harbour of Uig. The waves were crashing across the bows and up as high as the bridge. I sat outside the whole way, enjoying the occasional shower of sea-spray, but breathing in the wonderful fresh cold air. Meanwhile, Iain was up-front, enjoying the Minch flexing her muscles! It was freezing, and felt like the worst ‘summer’ crossing (apart from one other) I’d experienced in 20 years of coming out here.

I was therefore very wobbly at my one visit for today: to Borve and Annishadder Township Limited, about 4 miles outside of Portree on the Uig road. I met with Alaistar and 3 of the other 18 crofters from the two townships. This is a small crofting community comprising two crofting settlements, and amounts to about 1860ha of hill and agricultural land (of which just 1462ha is common grazings). There are 36 croft holdings tenanted by the 18 crofters; there is a population of about 100, which includes several non-crofting families. The crofters of the townships formed a company in 1993 to facilitate diversification into Crofter Forestry. As a result of discussions with their willing landlord, and following inspiration from the Assynt Crofters’ Trust, the crofters formed a separate legal entity to which they transferred ownership of the land.

So, all the crofters in the two townships are now tenants of a company which they themselves have formed and owned. This arrangement has enabled them to develop the Crofter Forestry aspects of their businesses, as well as enhance essential maintenance of the crofting areas. They feel that they are now in a reasonably financially sound position, which enables them to think about other projects they might do, such as small-scale hydro, small-scale wind turbines, paths for recreation, and following up the Monitor Township trials. They describe the purchase as “buying freedom and peace of mind” rather than simply assets.

It was impossible to take photographs, as the floor-to-ceiling cloud was all-enveloping. So, after taking on food at the Co-Op Store, we headed in to Portree to the Tourist Information Office to find out about caravan sites. It was busy in the office, with visitors from Holland, France, Germany and others from Scotland. Unfortunately, the office was just closing at 5pm sharp, and we’d arrived at 2 minutes to 5, so only just managed to buy a map and get a list of caravan sites. The one at Staffin sounded good so we headed up there, on a luxurious two-way road that had some really smooth bits, which you start to appreciate as a real treat when driving round the islands.

We arrived at the wee site, and found a lovely pitch that was fairly sheltered. After we’d settled in, two French motorhome groups arrived, and some Belgians next to us. There was some raising of glasses from one window to another, and we all enjoyed our respective evenings in our motorhomes. Unbelievably, the rain stopped for a good hour or so, and all you could hear was the low sounds of conversation interspersed with laughter. A good end to the day, with all of us still loving the beauties of Scotland even when shrouded in mist and cloud…