Named after Saint Tarran, this island of Taransay is home to the remains of two chapels. Ancient tradition is that if women were buried in the graveyard of St. Keith's chapel or men in St. Tarran's, the bodies would be disinterred overnight. From the west coast of Harris you can see that the island has a nice-looking stretch of golden sand at its middle.
At the turn of the century, 70 people lived here, but by 1961 this had dwindled to 5 members of the Macrae family, and later the island became uninhabited. The BBC
used the island as the home for a 'social experiment' by getting 36 people
to live as a community on Taransay for a year. Only 29 lasted the whole 12 months. Check out the BBC Castaway 2000 web site.
Following public interest in the island, the owner is now offering boat trips so you can stay on the island for a day (depending on the weather) and also self catering accommodation - check out
visit-taransay.com
For more local info, see the Isle of Harris page
For photos of Taransay to view online and to purchase - visit Colin Palmer's Scottish Photo Library
For historical information about the island, see Wikipedia.
