Why should we be marooned because we live on an isle?
IHAVE been an islander all my life. I was born and raised on Mull and my husband and I chose to raise our own family here. The scenery, the pace of life, the community and the fact we don’t have to worry about our children’s safety make it a wonderful place to live.
But as a family we are now faced with the very real – and upsetting – possibility that we will have to move away.
The Scottish Government is always keen to stress how ‘important’ the islands are, but actions speak louder than words.
Not enough is being done to help businesses and families stay on the island – if anything it feels like we are going backwards. Too many people in power have no idea what it is like to live on an island. They wouldn’t ask islanders to decide on a city centre roads project, yet when a decision is to be made about the fate of an island, the decision makers don’t listen to the people it directly affects.
At the heart of the issue is the winter ferry timetable that comes into force next week.
We are close enough to be able to see the mainland, but from October 22 to March 28 we have a tiny window each day to travel there. The new summer timetables are fantastic and offer so much flexibility but for five months of the year, after all the tourists leave, it is as if the people of Mull are expected to hibernate.
We love our home but we are just not sure we can manage another winter being cut off.
The ferry does not leave the island until 9am, which means you don’t reach the mainland until nearly 10am, and the last ferry home is at 4pm on weekdays. How is that compatible with commuting, business meetings or medical appointments?
A lot of the time you have to stay overnight, which carries a cost, as there is no way of getting back to the ferry terminal in time.
Does the Scottish Government want our islands to become seasonal retirement communities or holiday parks that shut up shop in the winter? If not, and it wants to ensure businesses and young families are able to stay, it must act now.
We need to know – what is its vision for island survival?
It stings that the Scottish Government can oversee the billion-pound Queensferry Crossing project but cannot secure the relatively modest investment we need for our island. I have no issue with the new crossing but it does feel like we are less important.
Of course tourism is important, but businesses that run 12 months a year and employ people all year round and young families who set up home here and use the local schools and services are vital to the island economy.
We can’t close down and jet off to the sunshine as soon as the nights draw in, we have to keep going.
My husband runs a large construction firm with its roots on Mull and has to stay away for three to four nights a week during the winter because he needs more than a few hours on the mainland to work. For most people, finishing work at 3pm is not an option. Unless you work on the island all the time, your family dynamic is disrupted in the winter.
My husband has offices in Oban, Lochaber and Loch Lomond but has been determined to keep his head office on Mull. Yet it feels like he is battling against the tide.
We also have a small farm and the winter timetable causes numerous issues with that. Taking an animal over to the mainland is far more difficult and having to stay away overnight if we cannot get back in time for the last ferry means we can’t feed the animals.
The Oban to Craignure ferry is our so-called ‘lifeline’ service, yet it is docked on the mainland overnight because the operator has ruled the pier at Craignure as not suitable for a large boat overnight.
If the necessary improvements were made it would mean the boat could leave earlier and arrive back later. Yet we have now been told that it will be five to eight years before the structure will be made suitable.
This was a huge blow and will inevitably mean more people will have to leave the island for good. We can’t wait that long. We shouldn’t have to.
Mull is the last ‘near island’ with such a short winter timetable and in the 21st Century this just should not be happening.
The RET [Road Equivalent Tariff] subsidy has led to a considerable increase in vehicles being transported on the ferry, which means two ferries are required in the summer, with the smaller ferry sitting overnight at the Mull pier and departing at 7am.
The increase in tourism traffic is obviously welcome, although a significant proportion consists of motorhomes which tend to arrive stocked up with supplies and are of limited benefit to the island economy. It also means the ferries are very full and it is difficult to get a booking during the busy summer months.
Rather than one big ferry that holds 80 cars in the winter, most islanders would prefer smaller ferries that operate for longer and don’t need huge docking structures. This would be a quick way to solve so many issues but the many authorities involved do not seem willing to co-operate to achieve this.
The Government would like Scotland to be more like Scandinavia but seems to ignore advice from these countries.
They use short sea crossings, smaller, more frequent ferries and provide commutable services 12 months a year – and we are so far behind them.
The SNP does work hard to preserve island culture. My children all went to the local Gaelic school, which was important to me as I come from a Gaelic-speaking family. But we need more than that.
My patience is wearing thin with it all. I am nearly 40 and things have barely changed since I was a child. Growing up, I remember thinking how much easier it would be to travel by the time I was an adult… how wrong I was.
We don’t expect sympathy because of where we choose to live. We understand that a trip to the mainland requires a boat trip and entirely accept that we have to put up with a certain amount of inconvenience for the privilege.
We also accept that when there is bad weather the boat may not leave.
But we cannot be expected to accept such a short window to leave the island just because of the time of year. It’s not as if ferries cannot sail in the dark.
It is only fair that our concerns are listened to and taken seriously.
If something is not done, and quickly, we will see a depopulation on this island. I went away to college but I made the decision to come back here. The next generation may not.
We love our home but don’t know if we can manage winter again