The jetty on a small Lochaber island has a brand new look – thanks to a £100,000 makeover.
A major project has transformed the jetty area on the Isle of Muck, the smallest of the Small Isles, which is reached by ferry from Mallaig.
Marine Harvest – which opened a fish farm off the coast of the island three years ago – has laid more than 17,000 square feet of concrete to tidy up the surface around the jetty and improve the experience for visitors to the island as well as the local community.
Muck is just two miles long by one mile wide and tourists visiting the island must take a one hour 40 minute ferry journey to land at the island’s only jetty.
But the existing facility was restricted in size and, because it is surrounded by farmland, the ground also became very boggy underfoot when passengers were disembarking.
Now, the new concrete surface will make arriving on the island a lot less hazardous.
But construction work on the project has not been straightforward.
Marine Harvest Scotland’s construction manage, Stephen McCaig, said: “It involved moving 650 tonnes of material and we couldn’t rely on bringing concrete from the mainland because of potential bad weather conditions.
“We did all the concrete batching on-site with the materials all brought across in one tonne bags, so it has been a fairly difficult and lengthy operation.
“We’re pleased to have been able to make these improvements which have been welcomed by the local community.
“It’s always good to be able to give something back to the communities who host our operations and it will make it easier for us to transport materials back and forth in the future.”
In addition to installing the fish cages and developing a shore base for the fish farm off Muck, the company also built five houses to accommodate staff.
A total of six people are employed at the Small Isles salmon farm.
