Rona PR, several articles about the Island
of Rona have been written and here is a selection below.
Scottish Islands Explorer Article 2005 (pdf)
By Dan Bailey
Sunday Times July 24th 2005
______
ISLAND OF RONA,
POPULATION: ONE
The Scotsman, Saturday, 21 June 2003
The
once-thriving community on this remote island died decades ago. Recent
years have seen life returning to the Island ... and tourists are
benefiting, writes Alison Gray
Tropical islands are all very well, but there is something incredibly
special about remote Scottish isles which has nothing to do with white
sands or rum cocktails. The island of Rona off the north east coast of
Skye is one such island paradise. Leaving Edinburgh on a sunny Friday at
rush hour meant we didn’t so much as glimpse the twinkling lights of
Portree on Skye until just before 10pm. With our passage aboard the
Brigadoon booked for the following morning, we were able to relax in the
comfortable surroundings of the Bosville Hotel, a short distance from
the pier. We were perilously close to missing out on dinner in the
Bosville’s Chandlery Seafood restaurant, but a flickering of puppy dog
eyes saved the day and we had the opportunity to taste chef John Kelly’s
French-inspired menu. There we were, not yet on Rona, and we were
already certain the trip had been worthwhile.
The 2,000-acre island’s history has been a quiet one. Not for Rona the high-profile public buy-outs and disputes over absentee landlords. Rejected as a location for TV reality show Castaway in favour of Taransay, Rona last supported a thriving community more than 80 years ago. Since 1993, though, it has undergone a remarkable regeneration.
Rona is experiencing
a renaissance, and visitors can flock
to such sites as Church Cave, which affords a spectacular
view of Applecross
to such sites as Church Cave, which affords a spectacular
view of Applecross
For visitors,
two formerly uninhabited holiday cottages and a bothy are now available
to let, and there’s also a permanent resident and a lodge house. Although
you’re more or less alone once installed in the cottages, be prepared
for unexpected visitors. A sharp knock on the door during an afternoon
catnap was a bit of a shock, although not an unwelcome one, as
five passing canoeists from neighbouring Raasay pitched up bearing numerous
receptacles that needed filling with water.
Yachties also make stops at the landing point of Big Harbour, where they can visit the lodge for a shower and collect some of Rona’s special postal franking marks, designed to celebrate the new lease of island life on the island. Visitors will be able to send their cards out on a new weekly postal service which has been negotiated with the Royal Mail. Some of the yachties have been surprised by the recent developments on Rona, as they have been used to anchoring off an uninhabited island and enjoying the solitude. However, it doesn’t quite seem right that the glories of Rona should be denied to those who don’t own a £20,000 sailing vessel. And in a country that knows all about absentee landlords, Dorte Jensen has provided a shining example of how a remote island can be developed with sensitivity.
Dorte, whose Jensen Foundation funds ecology projects around the world, bought Rona from the Scottish Secretary in 1993 for about £250,000. Since then she has put around £800,000 into rebuilding properties and land management.
The two cottages which can be booked by visitors were built at the site of the former Mission House overlooking the scenic tidal bay of Dry Harbour. You get there after a one-and-a-half mile stomp up the rough-hewn track which leads from the pier at Big Harbour.
‘Even after a church was built on the island it was a tradition to have babies baptised in the cave’
Completed in 2001, a steady stream of visitors has booked up for week-long holidays at the cottages, which revel in the evocative names of Seascape and Skyscape. They’re nothing like your usual Highland-bothy style accommodation. Beautifully finished with varnished wooden flooring throughout and a gleaming kitchen/dining area, everything from the bed linen to the silvery kitchenware is from Habitat.
To really experience Rona, though, imagine yourself back in the early part of the last century, when more than 160 people worked the land and fished to support themselves and their families in three settlements. Just under 100 islanders remained until 1922, when almost all left for either Skye or Raasay.
The ruins of the cottages are grouped together around the island. On the hill immediately behind Seascape and Skyscape is one of the largest settlements. Close to the ruined school house, it will eventually become a cultural centre.
Many of the individual houses remain intact apart from the grass roofs, which fell in long ago. On the mainland, cottages such as these would have been plundered for their quality stone once they were abandoned. Although decayed, the wooden lintels around the windows have survived in many of the cottages, along with clearly defined stone fireplaces. Summer work parties have started digging out a fireplace in one of the best-preserved cottages as part of a project to restore it, even down to the recreation of a grass roof.
Imagining the harsh existence of those who endured on the island is easy in these surroundings. The rough track, quarried from island stone, which leads from your arrival point to Dry Harbour, is the largest of the few concessions to modern needs. A discreet sign pointing the way to the Church Cave and a more prominent one warning of the bull (somewhat tongue in cheek - they’re mostly of the gentle hairy Highland cattle variety) are the others.
Another facet of island life is revealed by a visit to the Church Cave, or Giant’s Cave, a fascinating natural cavern leading deep into the rock on the east coast of the island. As you descend the steep, grassy slope to gain entry to the holy place, you can picture the men and women scrabbling down this way to attend church, perhaps twice on a Sunday. The pews are large rocks, and they remain, arranged neatly in rows. There is also a natural font, a circle of stones which fills with water dripping from the roof of the cave - even after a church was built on the island it was a tradition to have babies baptised in the cave. Sheltered from the wind, but with a panoramic view of the waves crashing on to the rocks there is a spirituality about the place which endures. At Easter a group of 60 or so islanders from Skye made the crossing to worship there.
With the help of Scottish Woodlands Ltd, Dorte has breathed new life into the native woodland. Sheep have been cleared from the island to prevent overgrazing and, in order to maintain the ecological balance, eight hinds have just been delivered to Rona, much to the delight of a stag on the neighbouring island of Raasay who scented the new ladies and promptly swam the half a mile which separates the two islands at the closest point, to pay his respects.
For a similarly low level of grazing, there is also a small number of Highland cattle, re-introduced in 1996. The Rona Fold of pure Highland cattle, a pedigree herd, is gradually being built up with original stock from the Ardbhan Fold, North Uist.
Bill Cowie, the island’s dedicated caretaker, kindly provided fishing rods and we repaid him by not breaking them. Not a single fish landed in our nets, but it is good to see there is plenty of kelp close to the rocks, if you happen to need it.
More exciting was setting the cottage’s creel. Like practically all of those who have stayed in the holiday cottages before us, we dreamed of catching a lobster. However, despite setting the creel with a tasty selection of Safeway’s finest sausages, the lobsters stayed away, leaving the sausage supper to be shared among a few brown-backed crabs and, curiously, about five starfish. Who knew such gentle creatures liked chilli sausages?
There was one downside to this magnificent experience. West Coast midges are a breed apart from the biting insects that populate the central belt. They seek out tender human flesh with the speed and determination of a heat-seeking missile. They laugh in the face of repellent in whatever form you have it - creams, lotions and sprays are rendered powerless when inhaling clouds of the things.
If there’s a breeze of any sort, you’re safe, but imagine the cruel irony of needing to watch a beautiful sunset on a fine still evening from behind a pane of glass while millions of tiny beasties flit before you in a mocking fashion.
Hiking boots are a must if you want to explore the island fully. Before arriving, you might expect you’d be content to sit at the picnic table in the idyllic setting and read uninterruptedly for hours, but once there an intense desire comes over you to find out as much as you can about Rona. Maybe it’s because you have the place almost exclusively to yourself, but a sense of history is tangible and it’s not the history of dusty books, but the legacy of human beings and a way of Scottish life that has recently been brought out of the past.
• Alison Gray stayed at the Bosville Hotel, 9 to 10 Bosville Terrace, Portree, Isle of Skye, tel: 01478 612846
www.macleodhotels.co.uk/bosville
• Brigadoon, operated by Peter Urquhart of Portree, specialises in fishing trips and scenic tours focusing on wildlife spotting, particularly sea eagles. Tel: 01478 612641; fax 01478 613718 **Dan Corrigal has since taken over the Rona Ferry and can be contacted on 07798743858 - He operates the 'MV Stardust' and also runs sealife tours.**
• Seascape and Skyescape are available to let to a party of from two to seven people; Seascape sleeping three and Skyescape sleeping four. A cot is available.
• To find out more about Rona, its scenery, cottages and way of life contact Bill Cowie for island information on 07775 593055 or email ronalodge@tiscali.co.uk
Otherwise contact Vivienne Barker or Robin Dixon on 01880 821133 during office hours, 07836 700084 evenings and weekends, by fax on 01880 821147, or email Jrobindixon@hotmail.com
Yachties also make stops at the landing point of Big Harbour, where they can visit the lodge for a shower and collect some of Rona’s special postal franking marks, designed to celebrate the new lease of island life on the island. Visitors will be able to send their cards out on a new weekly postal service which has been negotiated with the Royal Mail. Some of the yachties have been surprised by the recent developments on Rona, as they have been used to anchoring off an uninhabited island and enjoying the solitude. However, it doesn’t quite seem right that the glories of Rona should be denied to those who don’t own a £20,000 sailing vessel. And in a country that knows all about absentee landlords, Dorte Jensen has provided a shining example of how a remote island can be developed with sensitivity.
Dorte, whose Jensen Foundation funds ecology projects around the world, bought Rona from the Scottish Secretary in 1993 for about £250,000. Since then she has put around £800,000 into rebuilding properties and land management.
The two cottages which can be booked by visitors were built at the site of the former Mission House overlooking the scenic tidal bay of Dry Harbour. You get there after a one-and-a-half mile stomp up the rough-hewn track which leads from the pier at Big Harbour.
‘Even after a church was built on the island it was a tradition to have babies baptised in the cave’
Completed in 2001, a steady stream of visitors has booked up for week-long holidays at the cottages, which revel in the evocative names of Seascape and Skyscape. They’re nothing like your usual Highland-bothy style accommodation. Beautifully finished with varnished wooden flooring throughout and a gleaming kitchen/dining area, everything from the bed linen to the silvery kitchenware is from Habitat.
To really experience Rona, though, imagine yourself back in the early part of the last century, when more than 160 people worked the land and fished to support themselves and their families in three settlements. Just under 100 islanders remained until 1922, when almost all left for either Skye or Raasay.
The ruins of the cottages are grouped together around the island. On the hill immediately behind Seascape and Skyscape is one of the largest settlements. Close to the ruined school house, it will eventually become a cultural centre.
Many of the individual houses remain intact apart from the grass roofs, which fell in long ago. On the mainland, cottages such as these would have been plundered for their quality stone once they were abandoned. Although decayed, the wooden lintels around the windows have survived in many of the cottages, along with clearly defined stone fireplaces. Summer work parties have started digging out a fireplace in one of the best-preserved cottages as part of a project to restore it, even down to the recreation of a grass roof.
Imagining the harsh existence of those who endured on the island is easy in these surroundings. The rough track, quarried from island stone, which leads from your arrival point to Dry Harbour, is the largest of the few concessions to modern needs. A discreet sign pointing the way to the Church Cave and a more prominent one warning of the bull (somewhat tongue in cheek - they’re mostly of the gentle hairy Highland cattle variety) are the others.
Another facet of island life is revealed by a visit to the Church Cave, or Giant’s Cave, a fascinating natural cavern leading deep into the rock on the east coast of the island. As you descend the steep, grassy slope to gain entry to the holy place, you can picture the men and women scrabbling down this way to attend church, perhaps twice on a Sunday. The pews are large rocks, and they remain, arranged neatly in rows. There is also a natural font, a circle of stones which fills with water dripping from the roof of the cave - even after a church was built on the island it was a tradition to have babies baptised in the cave. Sheltered from the wind, but with a panoramic view of the waves crashing on to the rocks there is a spirituality about the place which endures. At Easter a group of 60 or so islanders from Skye made the crossing to worship there.
With the help of Scottish Woodlands Ltd, Dorte has breathed new life into the native woodland. Sheep have been cleared from the island to prevent overgrazing and, in order to maintain the ecological balance, eight hinds have just been delivered to Rona, much to the delight of a stag on the neighbouring island of Raasay who scented the new ladies and promptly swam the half a mile which separates the two islands at the closest point, to pay his respects.
For a similarly low level of grazing, there is also a small number of Highland cattle, re-introduced in 1996. The Rona Fold of pure Highland cattle, a pedigree herd, is gradually being built up with original stock from the Ardbhan Fold, North Uist.
Bill Cowie, the island’s dedicated caretaker, kindly provided fishing rods and we repaid him by not breaking them. Not a single fish landed in our nets, but it is good to see there is plenty of kelp close to the rocks, if you happen to need it.
More exciting was setting the cottage’s creel. Like practically all of those who have stayed in the holiday cottages before us, we dreamed of catching a lobster. However, despite setting the creel with a tasty selection of Safeway’s finest sausages, the lobsters stayed away, leaving the sausage supper to be shared among a few brown-backed crabs and, curiously, about five starfish. Who knew such gentle creatures liked chilli sausages?
There was one downside to this magnificent experience. West Coast midges are a breed apart from the biting insects that populate the central belt. They seek out tender human flesh with the speed and determination of a heat-seeking missile. They laugh in the face of repellent in whatever form you have it - creams, lotions and sprays are rendered powerless when inhaling clouds of the things.
If there’s a breeze of any sort, you’re safe, but imagine the cruel irony of needing to watch a beautiful sunset on a fine still evening from behind a pane of glass while millions of tiny beasties flit before you in a mocking fashion.
Hiking boots are a must if you want to explore the island fully. Before arriving, you might expect you’d be content to sit at the picnic table in the idyllic setting and read uninterruptedly for hours, but once there an intense desire comes over you to find out as much as you can about Rona. Maybe it’s because you have the place almost exclusively to yourself, but a sense of history is tangible and it’s not the history of dusty books, but the legacy of human beings and a way of Scottish life that has recently been brought out of the past.
• Alison Gray stayed at the Bosville Hotel, 9 to 10 Bosville Terrace, Portree, Isle of Skye, tel: 01478 612846
www.macleodhotels.co.uk/bosville
• Brigadoon, operated by Peter Urquhart of Portree, specialises in fishing trips and scenic tours focusing on wildlife spotting, particularly sea eagles. Tel: 01478 612641; fax 01478 613718 **Dan Corrigal has since taken over the Rona Ferry and can be contacted on 07798743858 - He operates the 'MV Stardust' and also runs sealife tours.**
• Seascape and Skyescape are available to let to a party of from two to seven people; Seascape sleeping three and Skyescape sleeping four. A cot is available.
• To find out more about Rona, its scenery, cottages and way of life contact Bill Cowie for island information on 07775 593055 or email ronalodge@tiscali.co.uk
Otherwise contact Vivienne Barker or Robin Dixon on 01880 821133 during office hours, 07836 700084 evenings and weekends, by fax on 01880 821147, or email Jrobindixon@hotmail.com