With zero pollution, on a clear day, the visibility is insane and because it is so flat you can always see the weather approaching over its finely-cropped grass known as Machair. Like the rest of western Scotland the Island bathes in the warm Gulf Stream, although the prevailing south-westerly winds from the Atlantic bring successions of storms through the autumn and winter months. Around the coast are miles of sandy bays and stunning rocky coves. As the light dips to the west on a windless day, there is a beautiful transformation as the clouds turn crimson and the land below gleams in golden light. Occasionally, on a still morning the land is shrouded in fog where only the spooky outlines of crofters’ farm houses rising through the ghostly mist are visible. On a windy day it’s a completely different story, where anything can happen, from fast-moving clouds, to rainbows against jet-black skies and torrential rain from clouds almost touching the ground. The weather is an ever-changing picture in Tiree, so always be ready for a pleasant surprise as the light dalliances its way across the rocky hillsides and peaks through the black clouds beyond.
