Just when I think the weather is turning another cloudy, rainy day greets me when I awake. Ironically, Tiree is supposed to be one of the sunniest places in the islands. No great photos today but I wanted to capture more of the feel of Tiree so just randomly documented places on the island.

My fascination with the seaweed led me to read up on it and learned that kelp (here referring to the alkaline ash left after burning seaweed) production was introduced to Tiree from Ireland in 1746 and took off in the 1770’s. Although the Spanish produced soda ash of a better quality the Peninsular War (1808-14) saw supplies cut off and the price of the Scottish kelp soared. The boom lasted only until around 1840 when production ground to a halt.  In the 1860’s a brilliant English chemist, Edward Curtis-Stanford invented a new technique for extracting iodine from seaweed and a second wave of seaweed exploitation started. The kelp workers, known as tangle gatherers, were badly treated in many ways. They often were called to get up at midnight for the low spring tides and pick tangle out of the surf as it washed over them. They carried it over rough ground on their backs out of reach of the tide.

With the amount of seaweed I see strewn over all of the beaches it is no wonder that it was an industry that at one time sustained the island.  The minister reported in 1845 that “at one time about five hundred tons were made on Tiree, which employed one half the adult population during the season.” (from Island of Two Harvests  by John Holliday.)