By Sandra Dick
The lilting Skye Boat Song with its call to head “over the sea to Skye” has
lured countless travellers to the edge of the Kylerhea narrows, to board
the tiny car ferry for a short but exhilarating journey.
Rather than whizzing across the Skye Bridge, those opting to take the tiny
MV Glenachulish for the brief voyage between Glenelg and Kylerhea have a
floating view of the scenery, and the chance to chat with the locals who
for years have strived to keep the traditional crossing alive.
Now, however, the tightknit community that runs the ferry, believed to be
the last manually operated turntable ferry of its kind in the world, fear a
suggestion to site 15 ‘super’ pylons on the Kylerhea side could spell the
end for the historic and romantic crossing.
They say 50m tall pylons would overshadow the ferry route, and drive
visitors away from the tiny communities which rely heavily on visitors to
stay afloat.
The community has now launched a petition urging Scottish ministers to
throw out the idea.
Instead, they say the new pylons, part of a major transmission upgrade
project, should follow the same route as the pylons they are intended to
replace.
The work is part of Scottish and Southern Electricity Network’s Fort
Augustus-Skye Reinforcement project, a £400 million transmission network
investment spanning some of the UK’s finest scenic areas.
SSEN say the upgrade, which includes 160km of new overhead line and
underground cabling, is vital as the current overhead 132kV transmission
line from Fort Augustus to Ardmore is reaching the end of its operational
life.
It is the sole connection from the mainland electricity transmission system
to Skye and the Western Isles. The upgrade is also needed to meet demand
from new renewable energy projects.
0 Comments