Piers of the Hebrides & Western Isles

The companion volume to West Highland Piers, this fascinating selection of photographs traces the history of piers on the Islands of the West Coast of Scotland.

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From Gigha in the south to Lewis in the north and St Kilda in the west, Alistair Deayton covers the piers of the Hebrides and other outlying islands in the companion volume to his West Highland Piers. Since the 1810s, steamers have provided a valuable service to the communities of the Western Isles. Sometimes operated by independent operators, and by the ships of McCallum, Orme, as well as David MacBrayne's vessels, each island was served by a regular service of steamers and motorships, as well as by the ubiquitous puffers, carrying cargo. Alistair Deayton has managed to accumulate a fascination collection of images of many of the piers, some in islands inaccessible and remote, showing how travel to and from the Hebrides was undertaken, even up to recent times. For some islands, small ferries served the steamers, which anchored off the calling places, until very recent years. Most of the piers of the Hebrides are shown here, with informative captions.