The smallest islands often have the biggest stories. The Isle of Eriskay tells of extremely expensive whisky bottles from a shipwreck, a royal visitor, and many small ponies.
They came in the dark. Nimbly they climbed aboard, their women’s dresses rustling, as they made straight for the ship’s cargo hold. Cotton, medicine, clothing … all of it they pushed aside. They were after just one thing. They wanted the whisky!
It was the year 1941, and the Second World War was raging across Europe. Yet Eriskay was spared Hitler’s bombs, and knew nothing of the Battle of Britain overhead. The war did have one effect on the islanders of the Outer Hebrides, though: whisky grew scarce. For a Scot, that’s a disaster.
So wasn’t it surely fate when a ship ran aground on a sandbank right off the island and broke in two? Wasn’t it God’s grand design that the splitting hull released over a quarter of a million bottles of the finest Edradour whisky (currently only available in German)? And weren’t they entitled to salvage whatever the sea washed up?
The men searching for whisky aboard the stricken freighter SS Politician certainly thought so, though they knew full well the customs officers would later see it differently. So there was to be no evidence. To keep their everyday clothes free of incriminating stains like oil marks, the looters had put on their wives’ dresses.
The Politician’s sailors, of course, fared well. All of them had been rescued by the locals, taken in at their homes, and soon began telling tales of the delicious cargo. Word got around on Eriskay too – and not only there. Some looters made the long journey from the Isle of Lewis across the sea. 200 kilometres just for whisky! Their thirst must truly have been great …
Some 24,000 bottles are said to have made it into the hands of the people at the time; whatever wasn’t drunk straight away was hidden. And so the residents of Eriskay had made quite a haul. Or so they thought – until, that is, customs officer Charles McColl set foot on the island. He had farms searched, and often found what he was looking for. And so, despite the ruse with the dresses, many of the looters ended up in court. The sentences, however, were lenient: up to six weeks in prison, no more.
Still, there was one punishment that was arguably even worse. Once the customs officer realised that no further attempts could be made to salvage the remaining cargo, he had the ship blown up without further ado – right in front of the thirsty islanders. “Blowing whisky sky-high? You wouldn’t think there were people in the world so mad!” one onlooker is said to have remarked of the spectacle.
But not everything was lost. Bottles from the belly of the SS Politician have kept turning up over the years, some washed ashore, some found by divers who tried their luck in the wreck. Just this year, two of the bottles were auctioned at Christie’s – together they fetched £12,050.
Know: Land of ponies and a prince’s landing
The Outer Hebrides too were for a long time under the rule of Vikings and Norwegians. The name Eriskay comes from Old Norse: “Eiriksey” simply means “Eirik’s island”.
Around 130 people live on the island at the southern tip of South Uist, along with a good number of ponies. The small horses are used to people, having been bred here as working animals. You can read our story about visiting the Eriskay ponies (currently only available in German).
There is also a small, picturesque church on the island, with a German ship’s bell in front of it. You can find out more in the article on St Michael’s Church (currently only available in German).
Eriskay is famous for a second reason too. It was here, on the beach, that Bonnie Prince Charlie first set foot on Scottish soil, before travelling on to organise the Jacobite rising at Glenfinnan. The beach is therefore known today as Coilleag a’ Phrionnsa – the Prince’s Beach.
Eriskay has been reachable comfortably by a causeway since 2002, and there is also a ferry connection to the neighbouring island of Barra.
Personal note: With tears in my eyes
Yes, I had tears in my eyes as I stood on Coilleag a’ Phrionnsa. Mostly, though, that was because the fierce wind that day blew sand straight into my eyes. Oddly enough, the wind was strong but offshore, so there wasn’t a wave to be seen. Instead, every step crunched underfoot: the whole beach was covered in shell fragments. Astonishing.
One of the flying grains of sand, incidentally, lodged itself so firmly in my eye that I kept bursting into spontaneous tears for a whole week afterwards.
Tip: See the bottles on Eriskay
Naturally, some of the bottles remained on the island. And where better to house them than the island’s pub, which was named after the wreck itself: “Am Politician”. The pub is very close to the Prince’s Beach. You can see bottles here, though you can’t sample any – the contents are probably undrinkable by now anyway.
Getting there:
With a sat nav: enter “HS8 5JL”, which takes you onto the island.
Without a sat nav: on South Uist, first take the A865, then just before Lochboisdale turn onto the B888 towards “Eirisgeidh” – that’s how Eriskay is spelled in Gaelic. Follow the B888 until you cross the causeway onto the island.