Taransay: Castaway Island

Taransay lies a little more than a mile off the west coast of Harris and is the largest of the nearby islands. With stunning golden beaches and dramatic views of Harris, Taransay also boasts one of the most spectacular natural sea arches in the Outer Hebrides. 

In common with the nearby island of Pabbay, Taransay has a sizeable deer population as well as a fabulous array of iconic Scottish wildlife. Its human population stood at 140 in 1794, but it wasn't long before the best arable grounds were being cleared to make way for sheep farming, marking the beginning of a steady population decline until the last family left the island in 1974. 

Today Taransay is probably best known as the location of the BBC's real-life documentary series 'Castaway 2000' where 36 people from all over the UK came to live as island community under the gaze of national television cameras. More recently, Taransay was once again thrown into the limelight when it was used as the film location of the motion picture 'Rocket Post' telling the story of German scientist Gerhard Zucker, who experimented in delivering mail from Harris to Scarp by rocket prior to the Second World War.