Island Man
UK Adventurer and Access Rights Campaigner
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Sunday 7 February 2010 A belated Happy New Year to you all. Scottish Islands Access Rights Currently a lot of my “island” time is being spent dealing with access rights. If anyone would like to receive a full copy of the report please email me: info@island-man.co.uk As a result of this report I do not expect the charge to remain in its current format. Shortly I hope to add details of some new islands where members of the public can wild camp. Rockall If anyone would like to join me to either see, land on or even spend the night on Rockall please see the Rockall page of this website for further details. Currently I am also investigating possibilities for a very exciting off shoot to this expedition. Other Adventures In addition to Rockall, I am currently looking into another two further adventures Thursday 5 November 2009 I was most surprised when I noticed how long it has been since I last added a news entry onto this site. Since last I wrote my time has been taken up on three aspects:- Rockall – Plans for Rockall are slowly coming together. To become comfortable in a dry suit I am now training to become a diver at my local club. If anyone is interested in a berth for Rockall there are still a couple remaining on each trip. Interestingly enough there are possibly three very exciting off shoots for the Rockall expedition. I hope to be able to share news of these shortly. Scottish Islands Access Rights – This is turning into a time consuming project, but as I am passionate about it I feel that it is time well spent. If you wish to assist with this project please take a look at my Get Involved page www.scottishislandsaccessrights.co.uk You may also like to take a look at Noss, the first island added. Also I recommend everyone considers the implications stated on the Warning page Other Adventures – Alongside Rockall, I am currently in the process of putting together a proposal for another new adventure. Wednesday 17 August 2009 On Saturday 8 August upon landing Out Stack I became the first person to land the four extreme points of Scotland:-
http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/2009/August/news/North,%20south,%20east%20and%20west.htm Next Rockall!! Friday 17 July 2009 I would like to announce the Island Man Rockall Expedition 2010 http://www.island-man.co.uk/rockall.html Friday 5 June 2009 I now realise that the subject of access rights for Scottish islands is so vast that a page on this site cannot do it justice. So I have launched a new website dedicated to the subject, appropriately named Scottish Islands Access Rights. http://www.scottishislandsaccessrights.co.uk/ I would like to offer my grateful thanks to Dec for his support in making this new website possible. Monday 18 May 2009 As I have previously mentioned I am now working to bring clarity and consistency regarding access issues on certain Scottish islands. Currently I am aware of over 20 islands where access rights may need to be “clarified.” Based on my having taken a full year to gain consistency and clarity concerning the access rights on island number one, I think you will agree, that at this pace, over 20 years is too long a period to wait to resolve all the others! So I have invited the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to work with me on the project bearing in mind that they have a duty to promote understanding of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. I recently met with them and one of the Local Authority Access Officers to move things forward and I hope to be able to report in more detail on this meeting in my next news entry. I have also finally found time to add the report of my recent visit to Lamb, which you can read in the Island Man Magazine http://www.island-man.co.uk/islandmanmagazine.html#lamb I hope that you will find it of interest. News received of the unsuccessful Belgian radio ham trip to Rockall has not deterred my desire to spend a night on the island. I would however approach certain aspects differently to those employed by the Belgians. But for now, I wait. Finally, I was pleased to see Scottish islands gaining coverage during the ITV’s three-part series “Islands of Britain.” Many things in life are stepping stones for that which is to follow and I feel that this will be the case here. The islands covered were certainly of interest, although there are many more exciting Scottish islands than those featured which I’ve never seen covered on the television. Who knows what the future holds for our viewing delight? Thursday 2 April 2009 From past experience I’m aware that when I put things in the public domain others run with my ideas. So I intend keeping thoughts closer to my chest in future and will only share them when the time is right. Owing to the credit crunch, this year more and more people will be holidaying in the U.K. There are numerous uninhabited Scottish islands out there that a family can enjoy for a week free of charge, with transport to and a pick up from a week later at below £200. In fact a drop off can be as little as £10 to some islands and unlike budget air travel you won’t be restricted to 10kg luggage allowance or face the prospect of being delayed in a soulless airport. In the past many would have gone into retreat on these uninhabited islands to be at one with that which is greater. But still, in this modern 21st century world, I know of no one else who is experiencing the awe-inspiring wonder of sleeping alone on an uninhabited island. This I do not understand. Friday 20 February 2009 As I had previously slept on Fidra and Craigleith as well as Inchcolm and Isle of May, last weekend I received the news that Uri Geller had bought Lamb Island with great interest. http://site.uri-geller.com/why_i_bought_lamb_island For information about the collective relevance of these islands please read the following article by Jeff Nisbet. http://www.mythomorph.com/mm/content/2004/0215the_pyramids_of_scotland.php Following communications with Uri and Jeff, with Uri’s blessing I spent last Tuesday night on Lamb. Photos of my visit can be seen at http://www.islandmanphotos.co.uk/lamb.html Amazingly I may be the first person to have spent the night on Lamb. Saturday 7 February 2009 I am currently aware of certain access issues on certain islands. As someone who believes in equal access for all, I feel that the time is right to start asking the necessary questions, which for some reason others do not seem to be prepared to ask, about access rights on Scottish islands. As I undertake this, I do so in full knowledge that I could become black-listed in certain quarters. As a man who believes in that which is morally correct, I have no choice but to accept that risk. Access rights have been gained over many years by those who had a lot more than myself to lose and all those today who enjoy those hard won rights due to the sacrifice of others should never forget this. Upon my completion of what ultimately became the Strangeways, I had a moral obligation to help in any way I could to halt depopulation across the Scottish islands, by sharing my experiences with as large an audience as possible. This I have done by being proactive with various media outlets and open to all the media enquiries I received. Late in 2008 I also realised that I could help others in facilitating their Scottish island ambitions. My plan was to facilitate climbing on St Kilda; landings for Marilyn baggers on the St Kilda wall islands and tourist visits to North Rona and Boreray. With each one I had managed to secure permission where required plus the services of skilled boatmen and all of these adventures were offered on this site. Unfortunately, as a consequence of my putting the trips together, I have received numerous accusations of self interest bordering on the liable. Yet the nominal profit I might have made from any of the trips did in fact mean that I would have made a loss, as the sum earned would have been significantly less than I would have made as a decorator. How that can be interpreted as self interest is beyond me. I am sure that most of you reading this would be amazed if you knew the real extent of this attack on my character. You will see that I have now removed all these adventures from this site to avoid a repeat of such accusations in the future. However, I am still more than happy to facilitate Scottish island adventures for others but only on a bespoke commissioned basis. Tuesday 23 December 2008 I would like to thank everyone for their feedback following the re-launch of this site. In the next few weeks I hope to secure the services of two yachts in readiness for two expeditions to Rockall during 2009. Details of the berths for Rockall and other trips to extreme Scottish islands have now been added to the Island Man Adventures site. http://www.island-man.co.uk/islandmanadventures.html I am also very excited to be able to facilitate the re-opening of climbing on St Kilda in 2009 http://www.island-man.co.uk/stkildaclimbing.html The Strangeway Hall of Fame has generated a general “I didn’t realise how few islands I had slept on”. Those of you who read my first book will be aware of how I started from a very naive base. Please do not be put off from joining the Hall of Fame by believing your total is “too low” in comparison to others, as I genuinely believe only a maximum of 10 people have slept on more than 25 Strangeways. For me, like everyone else, 2008 has seen its highs and also its lows. In March I was honoured to be invited to give the Annual Munro Society Lecture. In May I witnessed the enormity that is Rockall, there observing six people’s highs as they each achieved their own ultimate, whilst I was only able to watch and experience my first Scottish island failure and a low which previously I had been unaware of. By the time I had arrived back in port I knew my destiny still awaited me and that one day I would be back with my Yorkshire flag on top of Rockall. In the Autumn I was fortunate to sleep on some of Scotland’s smaller islands with the assistance of the RSPB, Historic Scotland, Scottish Seabird Centre and the respective island owners for which I am most grateful. Some wonderful new friends have been made throughout the year. I have finally learnt to switch on a computer and have even bought my first mobile. But entrance into the 21st century for a man who is firmly based in 1965 was surprisingly not my most amazing occurrence of the year. This highest accolade is awarded for my not only joining the gym but actually enjoying it! 2009 has potential to be even more exciting than the collective five previous years. Rockall is fixed firmly in my sights but of equal importance are other’s ultimate island goals, which I now find myself in a position to facilitate. The boatmen of Scotland continue to be there whenever I need their assistance and I thank them for their support. My lows of the year, with the exception of the very public Rockall, were experienced within, in private and known only to myself and my wife Ruth, who continues to amaze me with her love, understanding and acceptance of a very focused man. My spiritual life is very much an unfolding journey and through my continued study of Buddhism I realise that I will need many more lives to achieve my true ultimate. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year filled with adventure and peace. Excitedly I await 2009. Wednesday 26 November 2008 I would like to welcome you all to my new website. This year I had hoped to publish my second book, covering islands 43 to 103, but alas the credit crunch has also hit Yorkshire so unfortunately this has had to be shelved until the economy improves. After it does appear, a third and final book will conclude the story of my visits to the 162 Scottish islands that are 40 hectares and above. I am sure most of you are aware that my journey is still continuing around Scotland’s smaller islands. This left me with the challenge of how best to share my experiences with the widest audience possible amidst the current economic climate, and is the main reason for the launch of my new website. I have decided to do a feature on the smaller islands that I visit and publish it in the Island Man Magazine area of the site. In conjunction, the photos of these islands will also appear on my photographic website http://www.islandmanphotos.co.uk The Strangeway Hall of Fame section will be of interest to those of you who have slept on some of the Strangeways. I look forward to seeing many of your names appearing on the list and hopefully to meet the second person to complete the Strangeways one day. For those of you seeking the ultimate of adventures on Scottish islands, I suggest that you take a look at the Island Man Adventures section. My intention in introducing the Strangeway Hall of Fame, the Island Man Magazine and the Island Man Adventures sections is to help others achieve their own goals on Scottish islands.
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