Scotland’sInnerHebridesandwildwestcoastareblessedwithruggednatural
beauty, rich history and magnificent seafood.Ute Junkerenjoys the feast.ISLAND FLING
T
herearetworemarkablethingsabout
thescallopsinfrontofme.Oneis
theirsize,eachonebiggerthanmy
hand.Theotheris thefactthattheyseem
tobespittingatme.
I shouldn’ttakethispersonally,according
toGuyGrieve.Grieve,whorunstheEthical
ShellfishCompanyandknowsa thing
ortwoaboutscallops,explainsthatthis
spittingeffectis actuallyhowscallops
move,ejectingjetsofwatertopropel
themselvesforward.Atthemoment,
however,clusteredtogetherina net
floatinginseawater,theseparticular
scallopsaren’tgoinganywhere.
We’restandingona wind-whipped
pierontheIsleofMulloffthesouthwest
coastofScotland.Timemovesslowlyhere- therugged,sparselypopulatedlandscape
hasbarelychangedsincetheVikingssailed
throughherea thousandyearsago.Grieve
saysoneofthebestpartsofhisjobis
getting to enjoy the island’s natural beauty.
“Insummer,thesunshinesfromfourin
themorninguntilmidnight– thelight
makesthewaterevenmoreblueandthe
hillsa vibrantgreen,”hesays.“Inwinter,
seasmokeclingstothewaves,butthe
waterbelowis ginclear.”
InScotland’straditionallyimpoverished
westcoast,waterwastheonethingalways
foundinabundance.Thefree-flowing
rainwaterwasusedtomakewhisky;thesea
provideda bountyforthetable.Bythe
20 thcentury,overfishinghadleftthat
once-richharvestdevastated.Fortunately,
a fisheriesmanagementprogramwas
institutedin 1980 andfishandshellfish
populationshavelargelyrecovered.
Eco-consciousproducerslikeGrieveare
makingsurethatstaysthatway.“Weharvest
byhandandalwaysleavethesmallones,
soit is completelysustainable,”hesays.
TheIsleofMullis thesecond-largest
islandintheInnerHebrides,anarchipelago
with dozens of islands scattered offScotland’swestcoastlikeoversizedmarbles
discardedbygiantchildren.Fringedwith
beautifulbaysandbeaches,Mullis home
toancientstandingstones,grandbaronial
castles,andthecharmingtownof
Tobermory,wherebrightlycoloured
buildingslinethestreets.
AshortferryrideawayfromMullis the
tinyIsleofIona.Itsmainattractionis Iona
Abbey,oneofEurope’soldestChristian
sites.Foundedasa monasteryaround 1200
AD,theAbbeywaspracticallydestroyed
duringtheReformationin 1560. Happily,it
wasrestoredintheearly 20 thcentury.
AdifferentsortofspiritrulesontheIsle
ofIslay,thesouthernmostislandintheInner
Hedbrides,wherewhiskyhasbeendistilled
forsixcenturies.Theisland’sdistilleries–
someofScotland’sfinest– arerenowned
fortheirfinesingle-maltwhiskieswith
signaturepeatycharacter.
Somevisitorsaredrawnbythelocal
wildlife, including seals, sea eagles, minke“Insummer,thesunshinesfromfourinthemorninguntilmidnight– thelightmakes
the waterlookevenmoreblueandthehillsa vibrantgreen.Inwinter,seasmokeclings
to the waves but the water below is gin clear.”Guy Grieve, Ethical Shellfish Company Photograph from Alamy. Ute travelled courtesy of Visit Britian; visitbritain.com.