Summer Isles
| Summer Isles | |
|---|---|
 The Summer Isles from Ben Mòr Coigach | |
  Summer Isles | |
| Summer Isles shown within the Highland council area | |
| Population | 5 (2001 Census) |
| OS grid reference | NB992067 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ULLAPOOL |
| Postcode district | IV26 |
| Dialling code | 01854 |
| Police | Scottish |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| EU Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
The Summer Isles (Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan Samhraidh, pronounced [nə ˈhelanən ˈs̪auɾɪ]) are an archipelago lying in the mouth of Loch Broom, in the Highland region of Scotland.
Geography
Tanera Mòr is the largest island, although only has a couple of inhabitants.[1] It was formerly home to an Atlantic salmon fish farm, some rental holiday homes, a café and a post office, which operated its own local post and printed its own stamps since 1970 until 2013, but a new set is planned for 2016.[1][2] The island has no roads and the only recognisable path goes around the Anchorage, the sheltered bay on the east side of the island. Boats sail to the island from Achiltibuie and Ullapool.[3]
Smaller islands
- Bottle Island
- Horse Island
- Isle Martin
- Priest Island (Eilean a' Chlèirich)
- Isle Ristol
- Tanera Beag
- Eilean a' Chàr
- Eilean Dubh
- Eilean Fada Mòr
- Eilean Fada Beag
- Eilean Mullagrach
- Glas-leac Beag
- Glas-leac Mòr
- Càrn Iar
- Càrn Deas
- Càrn nan Sgeir
- Meall nan Gabhar
Conservation
The islands are part of the Assynt-Coigach National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland.[4]
Frank Fraser Darling, an important figure in the development of Scottish conservation, lived on Tanera Mòr for two years in the 1930s. His book, Island Years (published 1940), records his time in the Summer Isles, painting Priest Island as a place of great beauty as well as great wildlife.[5]
Literature and film
- The Summer Isles feature in a novella of the same name by Ian R. MacLeod[6]
- The fictional Summer Isle, Cladach Duillich (Sad Shore), features in the 1977 Desmond Bagley novel "The Enemy".
- The pagan island of "Summerisle" featured in the motion picture The Wicker Man (filmed in 1973 & directed by Robin Hardy) is sometimes mistakenly associated with this archipelago, but in actuality The Wicker Man was filmed around Newton Stewart in Dumfries and Galloway.[7]
Summer Isles Philatelic Bureau
Since 1970 the Summer Isles Philatelic Bureau has been issuing stamps of the islands for tourists who place them on mail to be carried to the nearest GPO Post Box on the mainland.[8][9]
Culture
The musician Mairearad Green grew up in Achiltibuie on the Coigach peninsula, overlooking the Summer Isles. She has released an album entitled "Summer Isles"[10]
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References
- 1 2 Campsie, Alison (18 October 2016). "The stunning stamps of the Summer Isles". The Scotsman. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ↑ http://www.summer-isles.com/stamp-archive.asp
- ↑ "Summer Isles website". Retrieved 2007-12-15.
- ↑ "National Scenic Areas". SNH. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ↑ "Priest Island". RSPB. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
- ↑ Steven H Silver. "review of I R MacLeod book". Retrieved 2007-12-15.
- ↑ The Wicker Man (1973) filming locations movie-locations.com. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
- ↑ "Modern British Local Posts CD Catalogue, 2009 Edition". Phillips. 2003. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
- ↑ "The Post Office" summer-isles.com. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
- ↑ http://www.mairearadgreen.co.uk/about-mairearad/
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Summer Isles. |
- Panorama of the Summer Isles (QuickTime required)
Inhabited islands of the Hebrides | ||
|---|---|---|
| Inner Hebrides |  | |
| Outer Hebrides | ||