The Edge of our World
There is no need to travel to the far side of the world to find a landscape totally different from that of rural southern England and a people whose daily lives have been moulded by very different forces from those of most of the British Isles. Perched at the north-western extremity of the British Isles the Outer Hebrides face the full force of Atlantic gales and the rigours of long northern winters. The landscape seems hostile - barren mountains, a wealth of lochans, very poor soils. Yet there is a wealth of historical evidence of settlements from a time when the sea was the prime means of communication and basic farming and fishing sustained tiny communities. The wealth of flora and fauna is possibly unequalled in the British Isles and the way of life fashioned less by the modern global economy than anywhere we have visited in Britain. Our slides aim to capture the history, natural world, lifestyle and essence of this unique region of the British Isles.