Tiree
Location
OS grid reference:	NL999458
Names
Gaelic name:	Tiriodh
Norse name:	Tyrvist
Meaning of name:	Gaelic for 'land of corn'
Area and Summit
Area:	7,834 ha
Area rank (Scottish islands):	17
Highest elevation:	Ben Hynish 141 m
Population
Population (2001):	770
Population rank (inhabited Scottish islands):	17 out of 97
Main settlement:	Scarinish
Groupings
Island Group:	Mull
Local Authority:	Argyll and Bute
References:	[1][2][3][4]

Looking West to Balephuil Bay, across the famous Hebridean Machair. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Scotland covers an area of 78782 km² or 30341 mi², giving it a Population density of. The Isle of Mull (or simply Mull; Muile in Scottish Gaelic) is the second largest Island of the Inner Hebrides, off the For local government purposes Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as This article is about the council area For the constituencies see either Argyll and Bute (UK Parliament constituency or Argyll and Bute (Scottish Parliament constituency This article is about a geographic landform For the TV series see Machair (TV series The Gaelic word machair or machar refers to a fertile

Tiree (Scottish Gaelic: Tiriodh) is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides southwest of Coll. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Inner Hebrides ( Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan a-staigh - the inner isles is an Archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, to the south Coll ( Scottish Gaelic: Colla) is a small Island, west of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It has an area of 30 square miles and a population of around 800 people. The low-lying island is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, are the main sources of employment for the islanders. A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land usually small and arable with a crofter's Dwelling thereon Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee.

Geography

The main village on Tiree is Scarinish, from which ferries sail to Arinagour on Coll and to Oban on the mainland. A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a Town or City. Scarinish ( Scottish Gaelic: Sgairinis) is the main Village on the island of Tiree, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. See also Merchant ship A ferry is a form of transport usually a Boat or Ship, used to carry (or ferry) passengers and Arinagour ( Scottish Gaelic: Àirigh nan Gobhar) is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Coll ( Scottish Gaelic: Colla) is a small Island, west of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Oban ( An t-Òban in Scottish Gaelic meaning The Little Bay) is a Resort Town within the Argyll and Bute council area There is also an airport in nearby Crossapol. An airport is a location where Aircraft such as airplanes, Helicopters and blimps take off and land The island's other settlements include Hynish and Sandaig, both of which boast small museums. A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the

The roads on Tiree, in common with many other small Islands, are nearly all single-track roads. A single track road or one lane road is a Road that permits two way travel but is not wide enough to allow oncoming Vehicles to pass There are passing places, locally called 'pockets', where cars must wait to enable oncoming traffic to pass or overtake.

The highest point on Tiree is Ben Hynish to the south of the island which rises to 141 metres (463 feet).

History

Tiree is known for the first century BC Dùn Mòr broch, for the prehistoric carved Ringing Stone and for the birds of the Ceann a' Mhara headland. The 1st century BC started the first day of 100 BC and ended the last day of 1 BC. A Broch is an Iron Age Drystone hollow-walled structure of a type found only in Scotland. Tiree is also popular for windsurfing, having hosted the Corona Extra PWA World Cup Finals in 2007, and has a radar station which tracks civil aircraft. Windsurfing is a surface water sport using a windsurf board also commonly called a sailboard usually two to five meters long and powered by a single sail Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range altitude direction or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as Aircraft, ships Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying representing all non- Military aviation, both private and commercial

The Ringing Stone - a Cup and ring mark stone in 1892. Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of Prehistoric art found mainly in Northern England and Scotland as well as Ireland Brittany and North West Spain although ^[5]

In 1770, half of the island was held by fourteen farmers who had drained land for hay and pasture. Year 1770 ( MDCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Friday Instead of exporting live cattle (which were often exhausted by the long journey to market and so fetched low prices), they began to export salt beef in barrels to get better prices. In the US and Canada Corned beef has two meanings One refers to a cut of Beef (usually Brisket, but sometimes round or silverside) The rest of the island was let to forty-five groups of tenants on co-operative Joint Farms: agricultural organisations probably dating from clan times. Field strips were allocated by annual ballot. Sowing and harvesting dates were decided communally. It is reported that in 1774, Tiresians were 'well-clothed and well-fed, having an abundance of corn and cattle'.

Its name derives from Tir Iodh, 'land of the corn', from the days of the 6th-century Celtic missionary and abbot St Columba (d. WikipediaPersondata --> See Columba (disambiguation and St Columb for other uses 597). Events By Topic Education The King's School is founded in Canterbury. Tiree provided the monastic community on the island of Iona, south-east of the island, with grain. Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland that has an important place in the history of Christianity in Scotland and is renowned for its tranquility A number of early Christian monasteries once existed on Tiree itself, and several sites have stone cross-slabs from this period, e. g. St Patrick's Chapel, Ceann a' Mhara (NL 938 401) and Soroby (NL 984 416).

A large RAF airfield was built on Tiree during World War II; this became the civil airport after the war. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Tiree Airport is located 25 Nautical miles (46 km north northeast of Balemartine on the island of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides off the west There was also an RAF Chain Home radar station at Kilkenneth and an RAF Chain Home Low radar station at Beinn Hough. Chain Home was the codename for the ring of coastal Radar stations built by the British before and during World War II. These were preceded by a temporary RAF Advanced Chain Home radar station at Port Mor and an RAF Chain Home Beam radar station at Barrapol. Post war there was RAF Scarinish ROTOR radar station at Beinn Ghott. ROTOR was a huge and elaborate air defence Radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet Bombers

A restored 'spotted house'.

Satellite image of Tiree.

Climate diagram of Tiree

Culture

The island is known for its vernacular architecture, including 'blackhouses' and 'white houses', many retaining their traditional thatched roofs, as well as its unique 'pudding' or 'spotted houses' where only the mortar is painted white. Vernacular Architecture is a term used to categorize methods of Construction which use locally available resources to address local needs Mortar is a workable paste formed by mixture of Cement, Water and fine aggregate Masonry to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between

Tiree has a considerable percentage of Gaelic speakers (48. 6% from the 2001 Census^[6]) which is high for the Inner Hebrides.

References

1. ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
2. ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish. This is a list of the Islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate.
3. ^ Ordnance Survey
4. ^ Anderson, Joseph (Ed. ) (1893) Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9
5. ^ Harvie-Brown, J. A. and Buckley, T. E. (1892), A Vertebrate Fauna of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides. Pub. David Douglas. , Edinburgh. Facing P. LXIV.
6. ^ 2001 Census

External links

• Summit of Tiree - a computer-generated panorama
• Gordon Scott's website keeps people up to date with Tiree events
• Tiree Images - large collection of photographs