Come and visit the real Western Isles community and sample the Castaway experience.

The Island of Taransay, the now famous Castaway 2000 island, lies off the west coast of Harris, about 10 miles north of Leverburgh.Although the distance between Taransay and the Harris mainland is under two miles, it makes for an interseting crossing as a strong swell runs through the Sound of Taransay , not advisable with a small boat unless you get calm sea and weather conditions. The best plan for those wishing to cross over would be to charter a fishing vessel from Leverburgh.

The beautiful Island of Taransay, with its beautiful white sands and colourful machair, has been inhabited since the Bronze Age and at one time had three villages on Taransay Raa, Uidh and Paible , the mainstay of the island was fishing and crofting. The last family moved of Taransay in the 1970s as the isolation and the severity of the weather became to much for the ageing family. The island is now owned by the MacKays of Horgabost,Harris and is used to graze sheep, it is also home to a herd of deer.
Castaway 2000 has taken a group of people from a cross section of society, and put them in an isolated situation, Taransay, that removes them from the everyday aspects of modern life, ( except for helicopters that is ). The idea was that around 30 people would be selected to set up a new community on the island of Taransay . During the year, they would use video recorders to film each other and, professional cameramen would also return to the island to do additional shots. The results of this experiment are to be shown throughout the year on BBC television.

For further information on Castaway 2000 visit the BBC website