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Tiree Images > Other Collections > Crossapol

Crossapol, with Traigh Bhagh's huge sweep of brilliant white sand, lies at the southwest corner of The Reef - the flat expanse of machair in the middle of Tiree. Machair is a unique environment found in Ireland and the Scottish Islands. Machair is uncultivated coastal pasture with a soil comprising largely of wind blown calciferous (crushed shell based) sand. Tiree's machair is the most extensive in Scotland outside the Outer Hebrides and one quarter of the island is considered machair. The Reef comprises wet machair grading into marshland at the eastern edges.

During WW2, The Reef was chosen as an ideal location to build a military airbase providing aircraft cover well out into the Atlantic. Tiree Airport now uses the site and runway. Based too on the infrastructure derived from the original base, Crossapol provides Tiree's other main centre of services (along with Scarinish). In addition to Tiree Airport, Crossapol has two general stores, a garage, Tiree Rural Centre & Livestock Market, Business Centre and local government offices. The standby power station here acts as a backup to the submarine electricity cable from Coll and ultimately from mainland Scotland.

An Talla, Tiree's new Community Hall, lies at the western end of the bay. Checkout Important Buildings photographs.

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Tiree Images .com - Jim Murdoch © 2007