Arnish Lighthouse

MV Isle of Lewis, 13 December 2009

Calmac, our ferry operator, could face prosecution under pollution laws over the exhaust fumes of the Isle of Lewis ferry. Since this boat was converted to burning heavy fuel oil last year, it has been belching out thick fumes every day, prior to departure. Those who are ever in Stornoway town centre at ferry departure time, when there’s a southerly wind, will be familiar with the sight and smell of the ferry’s exhaust fumes. The picture from December 2009 shows it all. Calmac has declined to comment.

New ticket machines are being installed on the main bus routes in Lewis (see this article on Hebrides News). I am pleased that more advanced technology is being installed on our buses, as outlined. I am just wondering whether this will allow cross-operator ticketing. That is a mouthful which simply means: can I buy one ticket which will pay for my journey from (e.g.) Point to Carloway? At the moment, you have to pay Bus na Comhairle for the section to Stornoway, and Maclennan’s Buses for the onward portion to Carloway. If this is not the case, perhaps this possibility should be at least considered and at best implemented.

The MV Isle of Lewis, which plies the route between Stornoway and Ullapool, went into Garvel Drydock at Greenock today for its annual overhaul. MV Clansman is currently covering the route, but it should be noted that this vessel takes longer to sail from Stornoway to Ullapool and vice versa. Calmac has NOT advised any changes in its timetable, but be prepared for slightly later departure and arrival times through the day. I do not know when the MV Isle of Lewis will return on the route, but two weeks from now is a safe assumption.

MV Clansman at Stornoway, 30 January 2007

An expedition to Sandwick Cemetery foundered yesterday on the incredible ice-rink that is the footpath between Lower Sandwick and the Battery, Stornoway. Pavements in that area of the town look like this:

and I have great fun making my way from the turning point at the bottom of Miller Road to the start of the footpath to Sandwick. Once there, I found the length of the path to be like below:

and conditions within the cemetery no better. I did not come bearing skates, so I had to turn back and wait for the Atlantic to whirl some mild weather our way. I think that won’t be very long, bearing in mind that a cargoship with 4,300 tons of roadsalt docked at Stornoway this morning.

I was shocked to learn this morning that a young man of 24 died in a collision on the A859, Stornoway to Tarbert road, at the turn-off for Arnish Point. Five other people were taken to hospital with injuries, one of them was seriously hurt. My sympathies go out to friends and family of the deceased. A report on this incident will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. Because of this, and on account of the on-going investigation into the cause of the collision, I cannot stress strongly enough that it is wholly inappropriate for me or anyone else to speculate.

Road conditions in Lewis at the moment appear to be atrocious (I’m off island at present), and I was severely critical of the council in yesterday’s post. I think we want to bear in mind though, that the lack of gritting in the island is not wholly to blame on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. It is not customary for me to stand up for our council, but on this occasion I am turning my fire on a higher authority: the Scottish Government. One of the sources of income of any council in Scotland (or indeed the UK) is the council tax. The Scottish Government has not allowed councils in Scotland to raise council tax bills since the current administration came to power in 2007. The result is that council budgets have grown tighter and tighter, and cuts are having to be made.

Cutting back on gritting is a bad choice and I maintain my criticism of the Comhairle for that. However, the council tax freeze appears to have been a populist move on the part of the Scottish Government and I’m sure everybody will have relished in the non-elevation of their council tax bills since ‘07. I wonder if that joy will continue, now that we’re all slithering along roads and pavements, either on foot or in vehicles - because the council no longer has the funds to do the gritting.

Following the news in the islands from a distance, I can only conclude that the council’s new gritting policy should be scrapped. It is a disgrace that roads in the island remain more akin to an ice-rink than of the Queen’s Highway. I am reading stories from South Lochs, where a lorry bound for Lemreway is stuck 4 miles away at Gravir, vehicles won’t venture past Garyvard and even the bus won’t go there.

It is the council’s responsibility to keep roads in Lewis passable to all motorists, and the recent reductions in gritting hours is lunacy. I hope that as soon as more grit comes in (apparently, they’re running out) these false economies will be reversed. I will take the liberty to remind readers that the Comhairle’s failure to keep roads passable has cost lives in the past. Do we need to have another fatality to get things moving in the Sandwick Road area of Stornoway?

One other aspect, which has me gritting my teeth from afar, is the fact that pavements are a hazard to pedestrians as well. It has come to my attention that some of the pavements in the Newton area of Stornoway were gritted by a private citizen.

C’mon guys, get real. Grit those roads and do it now.

Our MP has asked for the ferry summer timetable to be extended into November. Its current validity runs out next Saturday, October 24th. He states that the slashing of ferry fares, due to RET, has promoted ferry traffic last summer. Mr Macneil appears to be unaware though that the tourist season tends to end at the close of the midterm break, i.e. by the penultimate weekend in October. Five years ago, when I was travelling western Scotland, I could not help but notice that everything ground to a stop by October 24th or thereabouts, and that was not related to the ferry services. Being in the Isle of Skye at the time, which can be reached by bridge, it was very noticeable. Also, the Stornoway to Ullapool ferry service is the same right through the year. Other services in the Western Isles do see a reduction in service though.

However, if the summer service is extended in November and leads to an increase in tourist traffic to the islands, I’ll be the last to complain.

After following a link from Fletcher Saga (Stronsay) about inter-island flights in Orkney, my jaw dropped. S1/S2 pupils from Eday are flown to school on Mondays on a dedicated flight. Similarly, itinerant teachers are flown round the islands on dedicated flights as well. Oh well, go to Orkney for unusual air movements…

Scottish Citylink have advised their passengers to pre-book their seats, or run the risk of not being conveyed on their chosen service. This applies (of course) to the Ullapool to Inverness (and vice versa) service. Please note the date of this post: 24 September 2009.

On Friday 3 October 2008, I journeyed from Stornoway to Kirkwall, and this included the 55 miles bus trip from Ullapool to Inverness. On alighting from the MV Isle of Lewis at Ullapool in the morning, the busdriver was shouting at the top of his voice that only passengers with tickets would be allowed on board. Anyone without tickets had to wait until 5pm (7 hours later).This summer, the demand for travel to the Western Isles has been some 30% above that seen last year. Frought scenes have been played out at Inverness Bus Station, with people being left behind - with or without pre-booked tickets. Those with tickets were later conveyed to their destination by taxi, paid for by Citylink.

I am very displeased that it has taken Scottish Citylink TWELVE months to finally publicise their advice to the public in the Northwest Highlands.

Sound of Harris ferry MV Loch Portain at Leverburgh

Ferry traffic across the Minch has boomed this summer. The customary three-sailings-a-day routine between Ullapool and Stornoway on Wednesdays and Fridays is coming to an end on the 28th, this coming Friday, and on not one day has the service run to timetable on those days, this summer. Reasons for this are the RET-scheme, which has seen fares slashed by half on some routes, and a favourable exchange rate for visitors from the Eurozone. Which in turn made it less attractive for British holidaymakers to go to Europe - so all flocked to the Western Isles.

RET does not apply to the ferry routes between islands in the Western Isles; more specifically, the Leverburgh to Berneray ferry (which links Harris and Uist), and Eriskay to Ardmhor (Barra). It was reported on Hebrides News tonight that fares, already much higher than on the cross-Minch routes, could be increased by another 40%, as a local subsidy scheme comes to a close on August 31st.

It appears that Comhairle nan Eilean Siar had put forward £75k, on the understanding that Highlands and Islands Enterprise would also pay out £75k. HIE have now announced that they will not honour that apparent promise, saying it is no longer part of its remit. The Scottish Government appear to have been less than helpful on their part.

Local businesses have complained that the increased transportation costs between islands could drive them to the wall. It is from my viewpoint rather unfair to have different fare-structures on different routes of the Calmac network. Yes, I know the RET is a pilot-scheme to see how it goes (roaring success), but I am also looking a bit further afield, to the Northern Isles. Orkney and Shetland are excluded from RET, and are complaining bitterly, justifiably so.

In my opinion, the Scottish Government should close the pilot for RET and implement it forthwith on all ferry routes in Scotland, if only for the sake of common fairness and equality to all islanders, irrespective of their location.