Traigh Mhòr

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Traigh Mhor translated into English as 'Big Beach' is a large expanse of sand forming a magnificent white beach at the northern end of the Scottish island of Barra, in the village of Ardmhor extending into the village of Eoligarry. The beach is made up of hard compacted sand.

In 1933 when a place for the runway was needed, it was one John MacPherson, the local postmaster (otherwise known as 'The Coddy') who suggested the traigh, with its hard compact sand be used for a runway for the airport. To this day it is still used and it can lay claim to being the only runway in the world washed twice a day by the tide.

Nowadays the runway has expanded and three runways exist to allow for weather conditions. Three large visible markers mark the runways and when the windsock flies to show a plane arrival is imminent this area is out of bounds to people on the beach.

The beach location of the runways don't prove ideal in emergencies. In normal daily life the plane arrival is decided by the tide but in emergencies this is not ideal. If the tide is in then all that can be done is wait for it to go out enough to allow a landing. Night-time emergencies provide a different scenario however. If there is a call-out for an air-ambulance during the night then there is a set procedure to follow. The fire-crew at the airport wait until the tide has gone out sufficiently and then they take electric lamps and using reflective markers in the sand which are lit up using vehicle headlights, they lay out the lamps to form a visible runway for the plane to use. This drill takes a lot of co-ordination between the airport staff, the fire-crew and the ambulance-crew and is practised regularly.

'Traigh Mhor' is also rather popular with cockle pickers which is where it gets its other well know name from - 'The Cockle Strand'. Other shellfish such as razorfish and winkles are also popular. Cockle pickers are hardy, using rakes to rake the sand in search of the cockles, and can be at the back breaking work for hours. Many of the Islanders collect cockles and sell them to a local company, 'Barratlantic', that has a fish factory on Barra at 'Aird Mhithinis' or the English 'Ardveenish'. Shellfish coming from the 'traigh' and from around the waters of Barra are most often exported to Europe.