Campaign call to fund trips over the sea to Skye… and beyond

THE Scottish government is being urged to help everyone in the country to cross the sea to at least one of Scotland’s islands.

Dr Michael Foxley, leader of the administration on Highland Council, has raised the idea with Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland, as well as First Minister Alex Salmond and the tourism minister Fergus Ewing.

He wants people in Scotland to be given a voucher providing free ferry travel to an island, as part of the Year of Scotland’s Islands which ends in April.

Murdo Mackay, project leader the Year of Scotland’s Islands, said it could provide an excellent legacy for the themed year

“Any initiative that encouraged Scots to get out and explore their own country would be a great thing, said Mr Cantlay.

Ferry fares can cost from around £3 return on Caledonian MacBrayne’s Argyll to Bute route up to £76.20 return on NorthLink’s Aberdeen-Lerwick service. Providing 60,000 vouchers a year would cost anywhere from £180,000 to £4.5 million.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We are happy to feed into discussions aimed at boosting accessibility, tourism and the economies of Scotland’s island communities.”