The Isle of Gigha, the most southerly of the Inner Hebrides, lies in the Sound of Jura only three miles off Kintyre Peninsula's western shore at Tayinloan. Gigha, the subject of this travelogue, is an anecdotal example for discussing capitalism--community capitalism.
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| Ferry at Tayinloan on Kintyre; Gigha middle; Jura's Paps in background |
First, the hamlet of Tayinloan on Kintyre. Now simply a stop for the 926 Bus (Glasgow to Campbeltown), Tayinloan was something of a ghost town. One soul with a chainsaw was cutting posts or firewood as we walked through. Economically, Tayinloan is gone.
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| April 14, 2019 Tayinloan--shops boarded up |
Recent travel guides claim Tayinloan has a store, post office, coffee shop and pub. It didn't. So, caveat emptor.
Those heading to Gigha on a day trip might (logically) assume they can grab quick day trip supplies in Tayinloan at the bus stop before boarding the ferry. Its commercial buildings are empty, closed and placarded with notices of sale.
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| April 14, 2019--Tayinloan Bus Stop |
Perhaps the only economic transaction taking place in Tayinloan is at its one older self serve gas pump. To our surprise (we assumed the pump was not functional) while we waited to catch the 926 Bus back to Campbeltown after a gusty damp gray outing to Gigah, a car did pull down off the highway for self fuel at the pump. We saw no visible card machine; the method of payment was a mystery. No one was around. The car pulled back up onto the A83, southbound toward Campbeltown.
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| April 14, 2019--Darla on Tayinloan Burn Bridge |
Better times passed Tayinloan when the A83 highway was built 50 yards or so upstream, avoiding the narrow ancient stone bridge. Tayinloan today is practically trampled under the highway viaduct. Sad nostalgia perhaps, but the reality is that a rough single track road is insufficient to carry the commerce and travel necessary for modern times.
The walk from the Tayinloan bus stop is about 15 long minutes. Just outside Tayinloan on the paved track to the Gigha ferry, a couple new construction bungalows were festooned with foreclosures. Partly finished, but roofed, they stood open to the elements with sheeting shredding in the winds. Difficult times in Kintyre.
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| April 15, 2019--Mull of Kintyre at St. Columba's Footprint; view west |
Kintyre (called "Scotland's Mainland Island") is the geographic bar which defines the southerly boundary of Scotland's Inner Hebrides. Waters east of Kintyre, to its leeward, are called the Firth of Clyde. The Firth's isles--Arran, Bute and Cumbrae--are not considered part of the southern Inner Hebrides though they are much the same.
If a distinction exists, it would be that waters in the Firth of Clyde are upwelling, or riverine, under the influence of Scotland's second largest river, River Clyde, along which fabled shipyards once built much of the world's ocean going fleets. Difficult times on the Clyde as well.
Gigha's "southerly latitude" allegedly fosters a warmer micro climate (relative to the Kintyre mainland). For our part, at least on the Sunday we visited, Gigha's climate could in no way be misconstrued with warmth. It was anything but that.
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| April 14, 2019--MV Loch Ranza landing at Tayinloan "terminal" |
A previous article [May 26, 2019 Celtic Cross, "Seize Quickly!"] addressed the North Atlantic's power, and its oft hard weather. It bears repeating. Weather in the Argyll islands on the windward edge of the the North Atlantic ought to inspire awe and a healthy dose of cautious preparation if one is out and about on foot, as we were. Early spring can very much be a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type deal. That's an appropriate comparison, considering the famed Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson penned the classic work in 1886. He must have taken his example from Argyll's weather.
In fairness, we have certainly had ample share of glorious and brilliant spring days in our Easter sojourns to Scotland. The day we visited Gigha, however, we got Mr. Hyde.
The best description of the driving damp wind (at least while in genteel company) was that it ached. This made the 30 or so minute wait for the ferry seem interminable. Tayinloan ramp is totally exposed to winds off the Jura Sound. Those winds probably began somewhere near Florida, might have once been warm. But by the time the North Atlantic beat all vestiges of warmth from them, they ended as ice somewhere up near Norway.
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| April 14, 2019--Tayinloan ferry jetty |
It was an excruciating wait, with few places to hide at the empty landing. We tried huddling behind a partial glass phone booth at the top of the ramp, but were driven off. We retreated behind the block building which housed the public toilets. Finally, we were mercifully spared by the arrival of the venerable MV Loch Ranza, a small "loch class" drive through vessel in the stable of CalMac (Caledonian MacBrayne). For those who do not possess a yacht or a small aircraft, the CalMac ferry is the only way to get to Gigha.
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| April 14, 2019--MV Loch Ranza from Gigha; view east; Kintyre in background |
The 20-minute sailing was over a fairly choppy tidal race in Jura Sound, which kicked up spay against the ferry windows. But to be honest, we hardly noticed. Our full attention was focused on trying to recover body temperature from the boiler heat of the passenger cabin.
Should the adventurous travel to the Argyll at Easter, beyond good stout boots, a water and wind tight parka is an absolute necessity. Without one, survival could be sketchy should weather turn. And it does in early spring--several times a day even.
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