Scoraig

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Scoraig is a small settlement located on a remote peninsula between Little Loch Broom and Loch Broom, south of Ullapool in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland, roughly at 57°54′55″N, 05°21′54″W.

Today it is known for its remoteness (reachable only by boat or several hours' walk), its somewhat "alternative" atmosphere, organic food production, and its pioneering use of wind power. It offers a retreat center, medicinal herbs and some accommodation. Click here for a map showing its location. It is quite close to Gruinard Island..

Scoraig has experienced several waves of human habitation. A ruined 'monastery' on the north shore of the peninsula at Annat is thought to date from the 1st millennium. The land was divided up in the 19th century into narrow strips of agricultural holdings known as 'crofts' to support a minimum level of subsistence for Gaelic-speaking Highlanders, towards the end of which the populations peaked at several hundred.

At one time Scoraig supported a relatively wealthy merchant by the name of MacIver, whose shop received goods by steamship from Glasgow and distributed them not only to other 'Scorreachean' (natives of Scoraig) but also to the wider Inner Hebrides area.

Scoraig's remote location, its increasing marginalisation from the wider area as road and rail networks gained in prominence at the expense of the steamer, and two world wars, decimated its population and by 1960 it was almost deserted. The last permanent Gaelic-speaking residents left in 1964.

Another wave of settlement from that time on, consisting mainly of 'good-lifers', 'back-to-the-landers', hippies etc. - mainly from England - began in the 1960s and persists to this time. There are today several 'third-generation' children, whose parents were born in Scoraig.

Scoraig cannot be truly said today to have a local economy; however some individuals do support themselves through activities such as violin-making, vegetable-growing and wind-power consultancy. Others, classed as 'crofters' by virtue of their elevated status in the feudal land 'stewardship' hierarchy, receive agricultural subsidies for activities such as tree-planting and sheep.

However, the economic mainstay of the 'community' is the capital brought in by newcomers, which is generally spent on building 'properties', largely outwith normal planning regulations, many of which currently lie vacant.

There is a school, which provides primary education to approximately 12 children. Most children over the age of 14 go to Ullapool school, to which they either commute weekly or their parent(s) move house at this point in order to provide them with a secondary education.