The owners of Taransay in Scotland’s Western Isles are seeking a visionary partner(s) to continue to carry forward a nature restoration project on Britain’s largest uninhabited island, and to revive its social and cultural heritage, encompassing sustainable eco-tourism and community benefit.

Taransay became a household name in 2000 as the location for the year-long BBC series Castaway featuring Ben Fogle and 35 other volunteers. The programme was intended as a social experiment with the group learning to adapt to island life. As an early foray into ‘reality tv’, it was the first of its kind.

Savills is offering the opportunity on behalf of Adam and Cathra Kelliher who purchased Taransay in June 2011 attracted by the breath-taking beauty of the island, but also by the potential for long-term ecological and historical restoration. The Kellihers are proud of what they have achieved over the last 12 years but the couple are now looking for a partner with the appropriate expertise, vision and passion to continue the journey with them in order to restore Taransay’s biodiversity and social history whilst leaving a light carbon footprint.

Measuring around 1,395 hectares and encompassing 21.5 miles of spectacularly varied coastline, Taransay’s breath-taking landscape is split into two distinctive areas. It is effectively two separate islands, dramatically joined by an isthmus lined, on either side, by fine white sand beaches, further examples of which are found all around the island, intermingled within the strikingly rocky coastline. From the gentle curve of its beaches to the cliffs providing a nesting place for eagles, Taransay is an island of contrasts including a natural archway over the sea on the Atlantic side, made of rock formed around 2.5 billion years ago. From its high peaks, awe-inspiring vistas unfold: the Uist island chain falling away to the South, the spectacular Luskentyre Estuary directly East, the Flannan Isles out to the North West and the distinctive and mysterious outline of St Kilda far out in the Atlantic to the West.                            

Adam said: ‘Taransay evokes a sense of timelessness and mystery. We have found its sheer vastness and raw beauty touches everyone who visits. Being an island in the north Atlantic 1.6 miles offshore, it presents a unique opportunity to carry forward the project in splendid isolation, unaffected by neighbouring land or other concerns’

Lucy Stanfield-Jenner, Savills Head of Natural Capital in Scotland said: “This opportunity would suit a visionary partner who is passionate about supporting the Kellihers towards creating a genuinely unique nature restoration project on Britain’s largest uninhabited island, whilst ensuring social inclusion and celebrating the island’s geological, archaeological, historical and cultural heritage.”

Savills natural capital team has created a prospectus summarising the current status of the island, as well as its multiple ecological and social regeneration opportunities. These include supporting and enhancing a variety of habitats and wildlife; drawing down atmospheric carbon; attracting sustainable tourism; and providing a once in a life-time opportunity to deploy ecological restoration on a UK island with distinct biogeography whilst being mindful of the social and historic context.

Background

Cathra fell in love with Taransay over 40 years ago.  She visited the island as a child with her father, David Horrobin, who had bought Borve Lodge on nearby Harris. Cathra and her New Zealand husband, Adam, a former war correspondent turned life-science entrepreneur, have been travelling to Harris together since they met in 1992 and their four children have grown up spending much of their lives there.  When Cathra’s father died in 2003, she and Adam took over Borve Lodge and in 2011 when the local owners put Taransay on the market, a sale was concluded in a matter of days with a bid from the Kellihers accepted.  Cathra and Adam oversaw the removal of sheep from Taransay in 2019 and, to date, have employed a number of experts to advise on the island’s ecology, wildlife and the planting of native trees. They have also delved into the early stages of an ecotourism venture with the introduction of highly popular day trips to the island.

History of the Island

It is believed that Taransay was inhabited thousands of years ago. Around  300AD there were three villages - Uidh, Raa and Paible, the latter being the largest settlement on the island. The Vikings took over in 900AD following their invasion of Scotland, with evidence that this is where the name Taransay derived from, being an Old Norse translation of ‘the Isle of Taran’.  Whilst the last inhabitants of Taransay left in 1974, their historical remnants and presence are prevalent across the island, from the remains of their black houses above the beach at Paible to the ruins of the iron age crannog in the middle of the uppermost loch. There is a standing stone, sporting a mysterious swirl, above the beach at Uidh, as well the mound of an old doune, as yet unexcavated, near Paible. There are many local stories of adventure and intrigue as well as of battles.                                                        

Nature Restoration

Taransay plays host to a charismatic range of species including wading birds, sea birds, a colony of seals, dolphins, whales and basking sharks:  it is a rare day on the island when you do not catch sight of either a golden eagle or a sea eagle hanging on a thermal.  The island is home to iconic and rare machair grassland as well as coastal dunes, sea cliffs, grassland, peatland and heath.

However, despite the remote nature of the island, few parts of Taransay have been unimpacted by human intervention in the past. Decades of overgrazing by sheep and deer have led to a loss in the variety of habitats and species which would once have thrived there. Coastal Atlantic rainforest or scrub is no longer present. However, the peatland soils which cover a significant part of the island are in good condition and are a notable carbon sink whilst also being the base for wider bio-diversity. There is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate nature restoration alongside social involvement and an innovative partnership.

Community Inclusion

It is evident from historical and archaeological records that Taransay and the wider Harris communities were at the heart of the island. Communicating the human history on Taransay is important in order to acknowledge the past, whilst providing the opportunity to connect with the current communities and allow the continuation of the link between Taransay and the Outer Hebrides. The Kellihers have initiated community connections by providing regular boat trips to the island. There is wide scope to enhance this, for example by establishing educational programmes and encouraging volunteers - from local communities, schools, colleges and universities, and the provision of jobs in the rebuilding of some of the island’s black houses and various aspects of tourism and wild-life restoration.

Eco-Tourism

Increasing awareness of environmental issues has resulted in changes in consumer behaviour with new travel attitudes favouring eco-tourism opportunities. The owners have welcomed responsible tourists over the years and the island, with its striking geology and rich heritage, offers great potential to extend this.  A model for responsible travel and tourism could be developed on Taransay which may provide additional revenue sources.  This might involve creating a programme of ecological and archaeological restoration activities, or sensitively developing wild spa and digital detox enterprises.

The Kellihers feel that in this era of climate crisis and environmental degradation, the time is right for a model combination of land ownership and third-party involvement, pooling resources in partnership to achieve regeneration goals, whilst being mindful of the social context. Taransay presents the ideal opportunity.