John Taylor, Ardhakillie, Scalpay
Friends
come and stay - some by helicopter, since there is now
a helipad on this island of 450 inhabitants. As fresh
fruit and vegetables are often unavailable, the most
acceptable gifts they can bring, says Sue, are Marks
and Spencer packaged lettuces. Taylor first saw the
Hebrides in 1950 when on vacation as a Cambridge undergraduate
and he swore to return. Nowadays, he travels on the
only remaining boat owned by Macbrayne's - the firm
of which it was once said: "The earth is the Lord's
and all it contains, except the Western isles and they
are all Macbrayne's". Except, that is, for a few landowners.
When
the 66,000 acre North Harris estate came up for sale
in 1965 (an event which happens, on average, every 10
years), Taylor bought Scotasay, a tiny island within
the Harris archipelago. He began the holiday
routine in a cottage on Scotasay but in 1987 gave the
place to his son. The following year he bought Ardhakillie,
two miles away on the larger island of Scalpay. While
on Scotasay, he planted 7000 lodge pole pines which
improved wildlife, but at a price. He explains: "All
ditching has to be done by hand. Fencing was a very
heavy task and necessary to keep out sheep, which get
everywhere and eat everything." Another fourlegged nuisance
now on Scotasay is mink which a neighbour traps by the
score. Since being let out of a mink farm on Harris,
the animals have even been found swimming three miles
out to sea A Drascombe scaffie (a type of sailing boat)
and a 16ft aluminium dinghy with outboard motor are
moored by the new pier Taylor has had built at Scalpay.
The old weaving shed at Ardhakillie has been made into
a workshop for, as the owner asserts, island life means
knowing how to fend for yourself and boats must be properly
maintained. The only serious emergency to date was well
coped with: when Taylor had a coronary, the NHS ambulance
whisked him quickly to the ferry and northwards to Stornaway
Hospital.
