Cape Farewell Scottish Islands Expedition 2011

Rock, wind, sand, peat, water

Lochboisdale, South Uist. Met with Joanne Ferguson of Scottish Natural Heritage, David Muir from Coast Adapt, and Huw Francis from Storas Uibhist (community landowners of the South Uist Estate, the largest community buyout in Scotland). Small crofting communities, separated by mountains, boggy peat lands and lochs, are scattered along the broken coastlines east and west,... Read more ›

By Ruth Little
31 July 2011, 9:17pm
Tags: climate change, context, environment, local knowledge, seaweed, wildlife

Corncrakes

One of the simple pleasures of living in North Uist is to stand in my garden just after midnight and listen to the loud rasping ‘crex, crex’ song, recalling a grated comb, of around 10 corncrakes that inhabit the crofts surrounding the loch where my house is situated. After long-term declines dating back to the... Read more ›

By Graeme Robertson
29 July 2011, 1:00am
Tags: adaptation, context, local knowledge, sustainability, tradition, wildlife

Barra – Memory and Landscape (Back to the Future)

As we sail into Castelbay a familiar environment gradually reveals itself. This is the island of my mother (nee. MacNeil) before she moved to Glasgow in the early 60s. And of my Grandparents and many generations before them, possibly as far back as the 13h Century. This is the island of childhood Summer holidays. I... Read more ›

By Stephen Hurrel
28 July 2011, 1:43pm
Tags: community, history, local knowledge, renewables

Journey’s End

And so back home to Eigg. Behind me, memories galore and plenty to ponder upon. We’d left Tobermory, finally sailing (albeit slowly and into the wind) north-west to the Isle of Rum, the lurch of the boat being more of a challenge to some than others. Rum, its mountains looming large over Loch Scrizort where... Read more ›

By Lucy Conway
25 July 2011, 4:17pm
Tags: environment, journey, local knowledge, renewables

Stiuir

Life’s good on Eigg. The sun’s out. The tea room down by the old slipway is doing a roaring trade. The Shearwater ferry’s over from Arisaig on the mainland, and has delivered musicians Gabe McVarish and Ross Martin to the plaintive strains of shoreside piper Dona. They’re playing tonight with Eigg musician Damien Helliwell in... Read more ›

By Ruth Little
21 July 2011, 12:58pm
Tags: community, history, local knowledge, local produce, renewables, sustainability

Meet the crew

4 weeks, 32 artists, 8 scientists, 1 boat. The expedition crew of 40 will rotate in four week-long voyages, and include island artists, storytellers, film makers, playwrights, architects, designers, musicians, community leaders, social scientists, ecologists, marine biologists, oceanographers, poets, acclaimed Gaelic singers and a chef. The crew features award-winning novelist/filmmaker Xiaolu Guo, sailor Jo Royle... Read more ›

By Cape Farewell
6 July 2011, 11:01am
Tags: community, context, local knowledge

About

The Crew

Read posts by

Exploring

Video