Minister to attend 'crisis' meeting on Uist ferries

Scotland's transport secretary, Fiona Hyslop, is to attend a "crisis" meeting later, called by islanders on South Uist over disruption to ferry services.
The direct route to the mainland from the second largest island in the Outer Hebrides is currently served by a ship restricted to carrying just 45 passengers.
A business group said the island's economy had been suffering from years of unreliable ferry services due to lack of investment.
On the eve of the meeting, the Scottish government announced it was creating a £4.4m resilience fund to help islanders during the current difficulties.
'Exceptional' pressures force CalMac fleet reshuffle
CalMac cuts passenger numbers over safety failure
South Uist has been under particular pressure recently as state-owned ferry operator CalMac struggles with a shortage of ships while it awaits replacements for its ageing fleet.
Winter maintenance has uncovered new problems with several vessels, forcing CalMac to rejig its schedules and move ferries onto different routes.
MV Lord of the Isles, which normally sails between Lochboisdale on South Uist and the mainland port of Mallaig, is deployed elsewhere until mid-May.
A replacement vessel, MV Isle of Mull, although designed to carry 900 passengers is currently restricted to just 45 - the number that can fit in the traditional lifeboats. This is because of a fault with its emergency evacuation chute system.
Instead of sailing to Mallaig, it travels to Oban, 85 miles away from the normal scheduled port, which adds more than four hours to the crossing time.
John Daniel Peteranna, from the South Uist Business Group which is hosting what it calls a "ferry crisis summit", said the island's economic potential in areas like seafood, distilleries and tourism was being stifled.
He said businesses had suffered five years of reputational damage due to unreliable transport links to the mainland.
"When we set up the business group three years ago we didn't think things could get any worse but they have surprised us," he told BBC Scotland News.
The meeting will be attended by local MSPs as well as representatives from CalMac, although the operator's chief executive and chairman will not be present.
The business group will be asking for more details on the resilience funding and whether more can be done to improve services until the return of Lord of the Isles in May.
It will be also be seeking an update on plans to replace the 36-year-old vessel and upgrade the harbour facilities at Lochboisdale.
The Scottish government said it was working out eligibility criteria for the resilience funding, and this would be discussed at the meeting.
Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: "We know that the current situation of delays and ongoing maintenance to some vessels has created real difficulties for some.
"We are determined to do everything we can to support islands, their local businesses and employers through these challenging times."
CalMac said it had put on extra sailings from South Uist to Barra, which offers an alternative route to Oban on the mainland.
The firm's chief operating officer Diane Burke will attend the meeting.
A spokesperson said: "We recognise the current challenges with our major vessel fleet has led to disruption on a number or routes, particularly on South Uist.
"We've been in regular contact with local representatives throughout this period of disruption to ensure the community is kept informed about the service."
Two ageing vessels MV Hebrides and MV Caledonian are currently undergoing repairs, while MV Hebridean Isles was retired from service late last year.
Ferries procurement body CMAL is awaiting the arrival of the first of four new CalMac ferries being built in Turkey, but these are delayed and the first vessel MV Isle of Islay is not expected until later this summer.
The long-delayed MV Glen Sannox, built by the Ferguson Marine shipyard, is now in service on the Arran route but its sister ship MV Glen Rosa is still under construction and a new update on its delivery is awaited.
CMAL said the redevelopment of Lochboisdale and the replacement of MV Lord of the Isles were both dependent on funding approval by Transport Scotland.
'Island ferry problems meant my child could not travel'
'Exceptional' pressures force CalMac fleet reshuffle
CalMac cuts passenger numbers over safety failure

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

7 hours ago

• Yahoo

Celebrities and rugby stars complete cycle for MND research in Dublin

Sports stars and celebrities have completed a cycle around the island of Ireland to raise funds for research into motor neurone disease (MND). The 555-mile cycle set off from Belfast on Sunday in memory of the late Scottish rugby star Doddie Weir. Weir died of MND aged 52 in November 2022, after years of campaigning to raise awareness of the condition and funds for research. Scottish rugby star Kenny Logan and broadcaster Gabby Logan were among those who took part in Doddie'5 Lions Challenge, cycling around 100 miles a day for six days. The husband and wife said thinking of how the 'cruel' disease takes away a person's control of their body inspired them to keep going along the most gruelling parts of the cycle. There were joyous scenes in Dublin as the team completed the journey, celebrating by popping bottles of pink prosecco and ordering rounds of Guinness. Among those who crossed the finish line in Stillorgan were ex-footballer Ally McCoist, actor Jamie Bamber, former Harlequins player Mel Deane, and cancer campaigner Iain Ward. The journey will continue at the British and Irish Lions' 1888 Cup clash with Argentina at the Aviva Stadium, with the cyclists delivering the match ball which travelled along the 555-mile cycle with them. McCoist said he had a view of the ball at the back of Kenny Logan's bike 'going up every hill'. He added: 'I know for a fact the one thing about these people over here, they love their sport, they love their rugby, and they love good people attempting to do good things, and I think when they get with that match ball tonight, I think the reception will be absolutely fantastic.' Speaking to the PA news agency, Kenny Logan thanked the people of Ireland for cheering them on along the way by beeping horns and donating any amount they could. He said: 'We went to one coffee shop, told her what we were doing. She said 'My uncle died of MD'. She gave us 50 coffees and all the food for free. So it's been amazing.' Gabby Logan said the final day was 'really physically challenging', as they climbed 1,250 metres in a few hours, but also provided a profound moment for the cyclists through stunning scenery in Co Wicklow. 'There was quite a lot of solitude today, because we weren't going through villages and towns, we were going through beautiful scenery. (It gave) a lot of time for people to think about why they're doing this today, and you can see the outpouring of emotion at the end,' she told PA. 'It's about finding cure and a solution to a terrible, terrible disease which just rips away people and their lives and at the moment, there's no hope.' Asked about the cruel effect the disease has on a person's control of their body, the couple said it helped get them through the tough parts of the cycle. Gabby Logan said: 'When you're out there and you're on the bike, and it's tiring, your body's aching, and I think 'how lucky am I that I could do that', you know? So that's why you keep going.' Kenny Logan added: 'What Gabby said, think 'you can do these things, people with MD can't'. 'The mind is so powerful. If you get your mind right, your body will follow you, and the one thing with MD, you can have the strongest mind in the world, but your body ain't gonna follow you. 'In those dark moments, when you're up the hills, and you're really struggling sometimes, I just think I just want to get off my bike and I was determined not to off my bike because we can move our legs, we can control ourselves. 'So it's been amazing. Everybody has been amazing. It's just incredible.' Asked what Weir would have thought of on Friday, he said: 'He'd think we're idiots, genuinely.' He said it was 'amazing' to have Weir's wife Kathy on the cycle on the final day, and to have Doddie's son Hamish following the cycle for the week, who was originally meant to take part but had broken his shoulder. Gabby said: 'He'd love this now. He'd love what's going to happen next with everybody going to the game tonight. 'He was so synonymous with the British and Irish Lions and loved in this country as (he was in) every country that he went to. Doddie was one of those people that just really resonated with people.' The challenge has raised more than £557,000 for the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, which Weir set up in 2017, a year after being diagnosed with MND. Kenny Logan said: 'When he first started the foundation, he was thinking 'how can I find a cure?' 'And very quickly he realised it wasn't about him. He realised it's his job to try and find a cure for the person who will get it today or tomorrow.' McCoist, while holding a celebratory pint of Guinness, said that they had been well looked after while on the journey. He said the scenery of the island was a highlight, saying that it reminded of home. 'I'm a west coast of Scotland man, and it's so similar, absolutely beautiful, green – in some places it's almost lunar with the rocks – it was fantastic. The weather we've had last couple of days, beautiful greenery over the Guinness Lake,' he told PA. 'So we're gonna come back, no bikes involved, I'm gonna take the car and we're gonna do a little bit of tour. No bike next time, I can assure you.' Asked about MND, he said: 'It's arguably the cruellest and most horrible of diseases when you see what it does to you, it eats away at you. 'Big Doddie, what a figure, not just in the rugby world throughout the UK and Ireland, all over. He's just a lovable, big character, and it shows no mercy, the disease. 'You see what it's done to a lot of people, you know, top sports stars, and it doesn't matter who you are, any walk of life, it doesn't pick and choose. It's a horrible, horrible disease. 'I think we're all duty bound to attempt to do something about it. If we can help, no matter how small you might think it may be, you've got to do it, because we have to find a cure for it.'

National Geographic

a day ago

• National Geographic

7 unmissable UK beaches to visit this summer

This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Don't believe anyone who says the United Kingdom is a poor comparison to the likes of Australia, or South Africa when it comes to beaches. What the country lacks in palm trees or exotic wildlife, it makes up for in the sheer variety of its coastline. Somewhere in its four nations, your perfect beach awaits: places with birdlife or wild beauty and destinations where fish and chips with your feet in the sand is an essential part of the beach-going experience. You may need a windbreak but what could be more British than shrugging off a bit of weather? 1. Porthcurno, Cornwall All of Cornwall's magic is concentrated in these couple of acres. The sand is a deep wedge, which expands at low tide, the sea is of a blue that would make a peacock blush and pillar-like granite cliffs ripple along the coast like fortifications. There's culture, too, at the open-air Minack Theatre, where the backcloth is the horizon of the Atlantic. The price of such beauty is crowds in the summer months — traffic jams on the approach lane are legendary. Arrive early- or mid-afternoon or try the quieter sister-beach, Pedn Vounder. It's accessible on foot around a headland at low tide. Porthcurno beach is located at the very tip of Cornwall, in southern England. Photograph by Getty Images, John Harper 2. Weymouth, Dorset For 12 years, George III holidayed at Weymouth, transforming a fishing village into a resort for flaneurs — then, in the late-1800s, for the public arriving on the London train. Come for a classic English seaside experience — deckchairs on the promenade, donkey rides on the pampered beasts of West Hill Donkeys, pedalos, Punch and Judy shows twice a day and sand perfect for castles. Factor in toddler-friendly shallows and you have a favourite with young families. And for fish and chips? There are over a dozen options in town but there's a reason why family-owned Marlboro has been around since 1974. (Welcome to Weymouth, the British seaside resort with a twist.) 3. Sanna Bay, Ardnamurchan The Highlands are an idea of isolated beauty as much as a real destination. Enter Sanna Bay, the most westerly point in Britain. To get there, you take a pretty drive snaking along the shores of Loch Sunart. Beyond Kilchoan village, you're on a single-track lane — over moors and past white smallholdings, sheep and Highland cattle — to reach a remote carpark at the end of the road. Even so, you won't be prepared for the impact of walking through dunes to these icing-sugar sand arcs before turquoise shallows. Smaller beaches notch beyond headlands and sunsets are otherworldly. Better still, there's usually a breeze, which means none of Scotland's infamous midges. The isolated beauty of the Scottish highlands is what makes the beach at Sanna bay so appealing. Photograph by Getty Images, Simon Hodgkiss 4. Bamburgh, Northumberland There's a debate to be had about the appeal of cosy coves versus epic beaches. If you lean towards the latter, this is your spot. Bamburgh beach is vast: four magnificent miles from Seahouses harbour to a monster castle at Bamburgh, all backed by silver-green dunes and dotted with rockpools to poke at with a shrimp net. Walk the lot and you can stop for king prawn chilli burgers at Creel & Reel food truck at the carpark in Waterford. You will also deserve a pint of Bamburgh Blonde at the Bamburgh Castle Inn back at Seahouses. 5. White Park Bay, Antrim A public campaign raised £15,000 to safeguard this beauty for the National Trust. Now, otters gambol at dusk (a sure sign of eco-health), 17 species of butterflies and countless rabbits flit in the grasslands behind. Not forgetting the most-photographed cows in Northern Ireland, known for grazing on the beach, swaying along sands whenever a local farmer moves his herd. The squeaky 'singing sands' (the sand is known to produce a humming or buzzing sound) hold fossils — bullet-like squid and the shells of extinct mollusks, commonly known as devil's toenails. The absence of people will put you in mind of Australia rather than Antrim. Just be wary of swimming: the current can be vicious. 6. Holkham, Norfolk On summer weekends, when up to 1,000 cars fill the parking area, it can seem like half of Norfolk has arrived. Through a fuzz of pine trees and a small sea of dunes, you will wonder where they all went. Holkham is big — two-miles long and 1,640-foot wide at low tide. Co-ordinate a visit for that time because it's the scale that wows at Holkham. This is a beach for cricket and kite-flying, to throw balls for madly excited dogs or to lie behind a windbreak and watch vast cloudscapes roll past like galleons under full sail. The beach at Holkham is one of the longest stretches of sand in the country. Photograph by Getty Images, Jackie Bale (How to spend a weekend in North Norfolk, UK.) 7. Whitesands Bay, Pembrokeshire Wales has bigger beaches like the Gower's Rhossili and pretty coves like Mwnt or Porth Iago. This stretch of coastline near St Davids wins because it has all you need from a beach. The pale sand gets emptier the further you go from the carpark. There's surfboard rental to ride friendly summer waves, plus seasonal lifeguards. Footpaths track to St Davids Head, the Land's End of Wales, marked by a neolithic tomb or to the rocky ridge of Carn Llidi hill, which rises above the beach. Save an ascent till dusk to see islands scattered in a sheet of golden sea. To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).

Boston Globe

3 days ago

• Boston Globe

Home of the Week: History preserved in former Roslindale mansion

Year built 1900 Square feet 3,835 Bedrooms 5 Baths 2 full, 1 half Sewer/Water Public Taxes $12,836 (2025; does not include residential exemption) Settle in. There's a lot to unpack about this Queen Anne Victorian, the only Roslindale home designated by Boston's Originally built around 1900 for newspaper executive Albert Fox and his opera-singer daughter, The home is surrounded by porches. By 1943, the Fox family had moved on, and a developer actually cut the house in half, installing the severed portion nearby. A series of owners and tenants occupied the original home until 2016, when Legally, the biopharma executives purchased the house, but in reality they treated it like a family member. They spent nine years restoring and preserving it, leading to the landmark selection by the city this year. Shutes also researched the home's history and Advertisement From the sidewalk, a small white gate opens to a gravel driveway, with at least six parking spaces, that cuts through the front lawn, passing peach, pear, apple, and cherry trees before ending on the right of the home. A wide stairwell leads to the massive wrap-around porch, offering more than one spot just to be still. Advertisement Those entering the home will be greeted by an original red brick fireplace. The doorway opens to an antechamber and a mahogany-paneled foyer, anchored by an original red brick fireplace with the Scottish proverb 'East, West, Hame's [Home's] Best.' There is also a coffered ceiling of dark wood beams and an antique brass and etched-glass chandelier. This area and the grand stairwell on the right are protected by the landmark status. Emerging on the left, past working pocket doors, is the entry to the double parlor, which starts with a 275-square-foot living room that has a three-window bump-out at the front of the home. There is thin crown molding and oak flooring. The front living room retains its period charm. Heading deeper into the home and through a second set of pocket doors connects to what was once the music room but is now an exquisite formal dining room. It's 303 square feet, and it contains a built-in China cabinet in one corner, a tiled fireplace in another, and a columned nook with a lyre-themed stained-glass window. The dining room has space for a large table. The 292-square-foot kitchen is next. It's fully updated and includes a tile backsplash in a herringbone style, personally installed by a craftsman from Viglietta's Italian hometown. The cabinets are white, the countertop on the island and counter is black Corian quartz, and the appliances — including the gas stove — are stainless steel. A slider connects to the porch in the front of the house. Tied to the kitchen is a 178-square-foot family room with a slider to the rear yard of the 17,384-square-foot lot. The kitchen is the most modern space in the house. The grand staircase leads to a home office on the mezzanine level before completing the ascension to the second floor, where a two-room suite awaits. Advertisement The second-floor bedroom has hardwood floors and a three-window bump-out. It's a mix of old and new: The 431-square-foot bedroom has hardwood floors, a three-window bump-out, and a single window on the other exterior wall. The closet has white bifold doors. The 'new' is a 302-square-foot conservatory with two walls of windows and a large skylight built by the current owners with the help of Viglietta's father. A built-in wet bar, made by the elder Viglietta, incorporates an antique porcelain sink. The flooring is patterned cement. A few steps away is the updated 151-square-foot bathroom, which has a repurposed dresser for the vanity inset with a single sink. It's shower-only but without a door and has black subway tile for the backsplash and marble tile flooring. It was built using the The second bedroom on this floor is 219 square feet and has three windows. The flooring is hardwood, and there's a built-in armoire and a closet. Heading to the third and final floor, there is yet another home office on a mezzanine level. The 431-square-foot third floor primary bedroom has walls dramatically shaped by the home's roofline. On the top floor, there is a 431-square-foot primary bedroom with walls dramatically shaped by the home's roofline. There are windows on all three exterior walls, plus a ceiling fan. A door connects to both the final bedroom (138 square feet) and the shared full bath. The bath is shower-only, with a white subway tile backsplash. The single vanity is a repurposed dresser with a sink placed on top. The laundry is located in the unfinished basement, which has a workbench and loads of storage space. The original foundation is granite boulders. The home is heated by gas-fed forced hot water that adjusts in six zones. Advertisement John R. Ellement can be reached at . Follow him . Send listings to homeoftheweek@ Please note: We do not feature unfurnished homes unless they are new-builds or gut renovations and will not respond to submissions we won't pursue. Subscribe to our newsletter at and follow us on X @globehomes. The rear patio has space to entertain. The front porch is a good place to watch the world go by.