Photos and the City

Slow travel & photography

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Let´s go for a little walk and visit one (of two?) brochs in the Isle of Tiree. Dún Mór Bhalla – Vaul Broch lies on the north coast of Tiree.

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

This is the best example of a broch on Tiree and the only one that has been excavated. The broch was built in about 60AD as an emergency refuge and then inhabited for 200-300 years. (Isle of Tiree)

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Following that time it was used as accommodation only intermittently until the Vikings arrived. In later years the walls were lowered to near the present height and the interior was converted into a farmhouse with outhouses built outside the walls. (Isle of Tiree)

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

It is a short and easy walk to the broch, but might get a bit muddy in places.

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Walking to Dùn Mòr Broch in the Isle of Tiree

Visiting Hynish in Tiree, Scotland

The reason Hynish exits lies 11 miles further out in the sea – the Skerryvoe Lighthouse, which I visited one year later one, in 2023. (Little spoiler)

Visiting Hynish in Tiree, Scotland

The buildings at Hynish were started in 1837 and comprised a dock, workshops and lodgings for those involved in the building of the Skerryvore Lighthouse.

Over 80 stonemasons worked here precisely shaping over 4,300 blocks used in the building of the lighthouse. In 1842 the Skerryvore Lighthouse was completed and in the following year the Hynish pier was extended to allow the lighthouse vessel to berth. (Isle of Tiree)

Visiting Hynish in Tiree, Scotland

The dock was often filled with sand, so Stevenson designed a flushing system using water from a reservoir up the hill.

The lighthouse keepers had their quarters in the Upper Square and used walled gardens to grow their own produce.

Visiting Hynish in Tiree, Scotland

In 1987 the Hebridean Trust started to renovate the buildings and give them a new purpose. There are apartments, a museum about the Skerryvoe lighthouse, holiday accommodation, and a cafe.

Visiting Hynish in Tiree, Scotland

The former signal tower.

Visiting Hynish in Tiree, Scotland

Visiting Hynish in Tiree, Scotland