An
Island Parish - the latest series of the BBC series revealed more of
life on Barra, Erislay and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides.
 After
its debut in the Isles of Scilly, "Island Parish" moved to the
southernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides, to follow the three
Fathers, John Paul in Barra, Fr. Calum in Eriskay and Fr, Roddy in
South Uist.
In the second series,
Roddy moved on to his new parish in Fort William and we met the
new priest at St Peters, Canon Donald MacKay.
Sadly, Fr. Calum passed
away during July 2012, aged 86. A wonderful man who will be greatly
missed by the people of Eriskay and nearby islands.
Father John Paul is
frequently seen around the island of Barra and lives alongside the
beautiful Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea. It's well worth a
visit (and maybe a donation to the repair fund, too!).
Of particular interest in
the other two churches featured, the Church of St Michael
in Eriskay and of St Peter in Daliburgh, are the boat
shaped altars - illustrating the importance of fishing in the area.
If you're looking for the
tiny Post Office shown on An Island Parish, it's not actually on
Barra, but on Vatersay. It may be the smallest PO in Great
Britain and is surely the most westerly. The rocky beach at the
causeway to Vatersay is the one where you see Aggie seeking cockles and
mussels.
Those of us who have
enjoyed the two series are all hopeful of a third - however, Nigel
Farrell, who produced the earlier series, died during September 2011
and, as he was the driving force behind the series, another now seems
unlikely.
The areas are so small that a drive (or bike ride)
around will make it easy for you to see where An Island Parish was
shot. Ask your accommodation host and you're sure to get a good
list of places to visit.
As part of our inclusive
packages, we offer a selection of excellent hotel and bed and breakfast
accommodation in Barra - this is a wonderful place to start or finish
an end-to-end tour of the Outer Hebrides, during which you can explore
many other island parishes, not featured in An Island Parish,
but just as delightful.
Follow this external link to the BBC An Island Parish website
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