PART ONE: SUMMER
Summer on Tiree can be captivatingly beautiful. We all know it. It’s what brings most of us here. Tiree has to be one of the easiest islands in the Hebrides to sell. It is picturesque, provides ideal conditions for outdoor pursuits, has countless accessible sandy beaches, and offers an easy-to-reach remote escape from the busy-ness of city life. It is often warm, welcoming and peaceful. Even at its busiest, in peak season, its beaches in the main are deserted. We talk of Balevullin beach - the ‘surfers’ beach - being oh-so busy when it never, ever contains more than 100 people at one time whilst beaches all over mainland Britain regularly host 1,000s on a daily basis. Tiree is a haven for those looking to stop, just for a while, to breathe fresh, clean, clear sea air. Even so, there are days when the weather prevents the hardiest among us from getting out and about. Sometimes for several days in a row during what ought to be the height of summer. Those are the days when Yellow Hare is busiest with families, couples and solo campers simply looking for a place to use time; anywhere to escape forced confinement.
Our seasons are fickle. It can be gorgeous (though crisp) throughout January and blowing a hoolie in July. This was April 2024...
And this was exactly one year ago, August 19th 2023.
PART TWO: WINTER
For those who haven’t visited Tiree between December and March, try to imagine having to tie everything down with ropes and anchors in preparation of what you know is coming. The wind is getting stronger, the rain heavier, the days darker. Your bins, outdoor furniture, tools, ladders, children’s slides, trampolines, etc, etc., all must be firmly secured or put away. And that’s for those who’ll be seeing it through on a daily basis; those who remain. Those of us who run for cover on the mainland may add having to cable-tie our gates closed, ensure fences are robust and not at risk of being storm-beaten, and what-seems-heavy plant holders in gardens given shelter - because they too will move, rattle and damage if left untethered. If things must remain outdoors, it’s not sufficient to weigh them down with a heavy stone or throw a tarpaulin over them. A tarpaulin will last a month if you’re lucky – the wind will whip and lash at it relentlessly, leaving it in tatters, and a boulder as an anchor will prove useless. You need a large concrete slab at the very least to hold down anything that may move, if not during the first storm then perhaps the second, third or fourth. Force 6-9 storms are not uncommon during winter months, and particularly February. Not getting a ferry for perhaps a week or so really is not the worst scenario for a Tiree winter.
PART THREE: THE LINK
Winter and summer on Tiree are so extreme that they rather undermine autumn and spring with their polar opposite behaviour. Autumn and spring are the ‘meh’ seasons. Sure, we enjoy them – the new life offered by spring, the colours of autumn – but they sit forever in the shadow of more talked-about summer and winter.
You can’t imagine living here all year round. You believe you can; vocalising it during a holiday, adding that one day you’ll move here permanently – but in truth you can’t imagine it. Whatever you imagine won’t be it. This is not to suggest that it won't be fabulous and possibly the best decision you ever made. Only that it's impossible to imagine until you've lived it.
What you may well imagine more accurately, however, is how one passes time in winter on those days when inclement weather is relentless. Where do you go if outside is off-limits? The answer is nowhere. There are worthy events once or twice a month through winter, organised by local committees; bingo, whist, church coffee-mornings, the occasional craft fayre, but mostly it’s quiet. Severe weather will curtail those things too. Good or bad, the weather is the boss.
Many people baulk at the thought of gyms. As a way of combating this, local councils across the UK introduced them outdoors but they’ve not really taken off, chiefly because the weather often doesn’t play ball. Even the word ‘gym’ is off-putting to some. But Tiree wants one.
A few Tiree residents have been putting a plan into action for some time now. The seed has been germinating for two years or more and is now a seedling. In order to continue to grow and reach its full-blown potential it requires you, the reader, the visitor, the lover-of-all-things-Tiree, to be convinced that it’s something worth buying into.
During summer months it will provide a place to escape the wind and rain and cabin-fever when you have children to entertain and it has been incessant for three days running. When the board games have become boring, you’ve exhausted the parlour games and read every book you brought with you. We all know that Tiree sorely needs alternatives to outdoor pursuits (and the new 'Makery' at Crossapol will be a marvellous addition). This is that alternative. It’s not a family thing, or a solo thing, or a group thing – it’s all of those things combined at any time of day.
Those of you who already attend one, or have a home-gym, need no selling. You are already sold. The idea of coming on holiday and having somewhere indoors to run, cycle, or do weights as well as having a range of activity classes to choose from is something you know and appreciate the value of. This is not for you – although it will be by the end of this piece….
No, this is for the naysayers, deniers and the yet-to-be-initiated in the joy of sport and exercise which is not weather-dependent. This is for all of those who believe the great outdoors offers all one may ever need in the way of natural exercise and who consider gyms to be the creation of a sad and soul-less loner.
If executed successfully, this could prove a game-changer for Tiree. Adults aged 19 to 99, children and young teenagers, will have somewhere to exercise all year round. It will be a one-stop spot for a range of exercise classes. You, the holiday-maker, win by having somewhere to go to let off steam or bulk up at the bench, or join in a calming yoga or Pilates class; and year-round islanders win by having somewhere to exercise over winter (because there really is very little opportunity to do anything outdoors between December and March). If a gym ever belonged anywhere, surely a place like Tiree, where wind and rain frequently curtail outdoor activities, is the ideal location? And don’t even get me started on the mental health benefits. The calming effect and health benefits of exercise outdoors isn’t reduced when taken indoors, it’s exactly the same.
You’ll be able to roll up, let yourself in, turn up the music in your ears and you’re off. Or, if it’s a class, catch up with others you haven’t seen since your last visit to Tiree and leave 45 minutes later, floating on a cloud of calm rather than walking or cycling beneath one, sodden and fed up.
Talk is that there will be a very modest annual joining fee (much too modest, in my opinion) and that it will be code-accessed and located in a large room at the village hall, An Talla. The only time it’ll be off-limits, I’m told, is during Tiree Music Festival, because they use it.
You don’t need to donate towards this, but by doing so you will greatly increase the chances of the gym happening, because it needs a stash of cash if it's to be match-funded as the organisers hope. You can donate via the JustGiving link on the Tiree Gym logo below or directly to their bank account, details below on the right, openly or in confidence. A small amount - £20 or £50 – or a large amount - £5k or £10k – will be equally lauded, because you will be the diamond in the rough, the rain that nourished the seedling, the shining star in the darkest night and the Maker of Things That Happen.
CLICK TIREE GYM LOGO TO GO TO JUSTGIVING...FB LOGO TO GO TO FACEBOOK... AND HERE ARE A/C DETAILS
Do it. And feel very proud of yourself when you return next year to see – and enjoy – what you helped provide. And if you are not in a position to donate, join when it’s up and running. By donating and joining, you'll be boosting the island's population in the best possible way.
See you on the treadmill… the dancefloor… the pilates mat…the bench… Breathe innnnn…!
Kate MacLeod 2024
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