Things you didn't know about... the Isle of Tiree

The Isle of Tiree is one of the sunniest places in the British Isles. Frosts are rare and summer evenings are warm and balmy—but there can be a bit of a breeze...

The Isle of Tiree has held the Tiree Wave Classic for the past 20 years, and in 2007 held the Professional Windsurfers Association World Cup. If you are ready for a board meeting, there are few better venues than the Isle of Tiree.

Unique "pudding" or "spotted" houses, built of dark stone and white-painted mortar, are found on the Isle of Tiree. Traditional thatched roofs made from muran (grass)—which grows on the island's beaches—can still be seen.

There might be fewer than 800 people living on the island, but 48 per cent of them still speak Gaelic.

With no woodland and only gentle hills, it's a place for walking, not climbing. The Isle of Tiree's name comes from the Gaelic for "land of corn".

The Isle of Tiree has wonderful examples of Machair, the low-lying sandy plains that are one of the rarest habitat types in Europe. Machair sand is made of up to 90 per cent shells, which is why the beaches on the Isle of Tiree are so white.

John Archie MacKenzie grew up on the island between the wars. He became a crowd favourite in the 1950s with Partick Thistle, where he was known as the Firhill Flyer, and as a Scotland international he played against the likes of Hungary's Puskas, and Stanley Matthews, before retiring back to the Isle Of Tiree.

The council runs a "ring and ride" service, which anyone can use, to help people get around the island.