'Festival' Islands

I try to avoid commenting on the Hebrides except to pals who also know them and/or live there. I worked in Argyll & Bute for 15 happy years and I still visit friends on a couple of islands when I can. But visiting and living there are two very different things and I was reminded of that when I read a blog post by a man from Northern Ireland who went to Islay for the Whisky Festival:

https://sluggerotoole.com/2019/05/31/islay-nis-hidden-whisky-island-neighbour/?fbclid=IwAR0nsioHQB3sjclZN_9YCGQWa519CqDYI2rh8f0wWOs_QAdQ9o6ioz96gtE

A generation ago, the tourist season on most west coast islands lasted maybe 10 to 12 weeks in the summer, with a wee blip at Easter and another at New Year. In the depths of winter (January to March), locals had the islands to themselves. They did their travelling then but were rightly wary of the winter weather: you could leave Dunoon in blazing sunshine and be caught in a blizzard at Lochgilphead.

Then work started to try to extend the tourist season. Festivals were the way forward: whisky, music, books - all had their place. Now the season seems to go on almost all year. I know the population of one small island goes from 140 to about 600 at certain times. I can't imagine what happens on islands like Mull, Skye and Islay. The Sgitheanachs seem to be standing shoulder to shoulder most of the summer.

According to the Irish visitor in his blog, Islay people don't seem to use the wee boat that runs from Port Ellen to Ballycastle and Campbeltown. At 90 quid return, I'm not really surprised. But the real reason a lot of people don't travel most of the year is: they're working, for heavenssake! The west coast islands are working islands: people farm, fish, run distilleries and breweries, and shops. They deliver the post, drive school buses, repair cars, teach the weans, run the local playgroups, the hospital, surgeries - and so on and on.

The Irish visitor complained in his blog of one place on the island where he felt he didn't get good service. Can I give him a list of places in Glasgow, London, Paris, New York (especially New York!) where I've felt I was on the receiving end of a 'stay at home and just send us money' attitude? I accept that tourists don't really want to know about a staffing crisis (about to get worse when the UK leaves the EU); or about the ferries being delayed or cancelled due to bad weather; or about the shortage of housing for essential workers. But, unless you're walking about with your eyes shut on the Scottish islands, you must be aware of the other life going on there. The activities that sustain the islands all year round aren't tourism.

To be brutal, it's the landowners, hoteliers, restaurateurs, holiday home owners, etc, who profit kost from tourism. Yes, local people get jobs from tourism - often not all that well paid jobs - and there's still room for some very enterprising locals to set up and run their own businesses, which they do well. Step forward Persabus, the local taxi firms, Wild and Magic Islay, Islay Sea Adventures, etc.

Maybe tourists need to bear in mind that Tiree isn't Tenerife, and Gigha isn't Mallorca. If it's a Spanish tourist experience you want, you're in the wrong place - and surely the weather tells you that! But if you want to step outside your daily life and enjoy what the islands of Scotland have to offer, you're welcome to share the wide open spaces, the sea, the wildlife, the tranquility which the local people love.