Taransay

Taransay, or Tarasaigh, is an island in the Scottish Outer Hebrides. It is famous for being the host of the British television series Castaway 2000.

Taransay lies on the west coast of Scotland at latitude 57.8995°N and longitude 7.0167°W. It is part of the Harris parish and governed by the Western Isles council. Taransay is in the traditional county of Inverness-shire and lies two miles (3 km) from the Isle of Harris, separated by a stretch of sea called the Sound of Taransay. Crossings between the two islands are dependant on calm weather and there no harbours for large boats on either island. Taransay is four miles (6 km) long, and, at its widest point, 3 miles (5 km) across, covering over 3500 acres (14 km²).

Taransay is made up of two 750 ft (230 m) heather-covered hills connected by a white sandy isthmus in the south of the island. It overlooks the bays of Luskyntyre and Seilibost bay to the east, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The bays are bordered with sandy beaches and machair dunes. The island hosts a variety of birds, but other wildlife is limited to Red deer, mice and mink. It is, however, noted for its flora, with an abundance of wild flowers growing on the island's grasslands. The area is mostly gneiss rock, with granite veins. The highest point of the island is Ben Raah at 876 feet (267m).

History

The Isle of Taransay has been inhabited since 300 AD. Originally home to Celtic pagans, Christianity was established on Taransay around 750 AD. In 900 AD, Taransay was taken over by Vikings when they invaded Scotland. 1544 saw the Massacre of Taransay by the Morrisons of Lewis. Inhabitants from the island of Berneray retaliated against this, forcing the Morrisons to retreat to a rock where they were executed. The rock was later called Sgeir Bhuailte, meaning smitten-rock.

Taransay was once made up of three villages; Raa, Uidh and Paible. Rent increases in 1835 caused a large decrease in the population of Taransay, made worse in 1883 by new orders that cotter households were no longer allowed to keep livestock or grows oats or barley. By 1961, the island was left with only one family; The MacRae's, living in the village of Paible. They departed in 1974 following the death of Ewen Macrae.

Taransay remained uninhabited until 2000 when the island was revived in order to host the television programme Castaway 2000. During the uninhabited years, the island had been used as a sheep-farm, run from the Harris mainland.

From 2001, when the Castaway show ended, Taransay has been a tourist resort, with the buildings being let as holiday accommodation, and boat trips to the island.

Evidence that Vikings settled on the island can be derived from its name, as the word is an old Norse translation of "the Isle of Taran". The island was most probably named after the Irish Saint Ternan (also known as Taran or Torannan, see also Taranis), although another theory, reported by Saint Adomnan of Iona, suggests that Taran may have been the son of a Noble Pictish family. The first is generally seen as the more plausible, backed up by the fact that a chapel on the island is named after the Saint.

The village of Paible had two ancient chapels; the chapel of Saint Taran and the chapel of Saint Keith. The former was used for the burial of women, and the latter for men. A traditional myth on the island suggests that if this was reversed, the dead would rise and the bodies would be disinterred. The remains of Saint Keith's chapel can still be identified on the ground, but the site of Saint Taran's was destroyed by coastal erosion some time in the late 1970s.

Castaway

Taransay became well known following the BBC show Castaway. The show, organised by Lion Television, featured a group of 36 people marooned on the island for a year starting January 1 2000. Castaway was broadcast internationally, including to audiences in Germany, America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The show reached nine million viewers at its peak. The cast was made up of volunteers hand-picked from 4000 applicants. They lived in temporary accommodation built especially for the show, known as 'pods', which were based in the former village of Paible. Existing buildings on the island included a Farmhouse, also called the Mackay house, and a School Chalet, were renovated for the show. As of 2004, these are available as self-catering holiday cottages for tourist use. According to the BBC website, the aim of the project was to "create a new society for the new millennium".

Unlike the original inhabitants of the island, the "castaways" had access to electricity and a water supply, as well as limited modern conveniences. Of the 36 who joined the show, 29 remained on the island for the whole year, including Ben Fogle who went on to be a presenter for a number of BBC shows, including Countryfile. The show was reported to be a social experiment, focusing on how this group would form a community.

External links

• The Isle of Taransay: A Harris island in its historical setting. Lawson, Bill (1997). Bill Lawson Publications. ISBN 1872598277.
• Information for visitors to the island (http://www.visit-taransay.com/)
• Photos of Taransay (http://www.scotland-photo-library.co.uk/photonet/taransay/taransay.html)