Island Going

by Robert Atkinson

This text tells how in 1935, John Ainslie and Robert Atkinson set out on an ornithological search for the Leach's fork-tailed petrel. Their search was to last for 12 years and took them to many remote and often deserted Scottish islands.

Genres: Travel, Scotland, Nature

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

Robert Atkinson (d. 1995) first came to the Hebrides in 1936 when he was twenty-one and was immediately smitten by the islands and their people, returning every summer up to the outbreak of WW2. In those years he travelled throughout the islands, reaching even the remotest of the uninhabited outliers. As an escape from the stresses of wartime he wrote both Island Going and A Stag from Rum while on active service in the RNVR. The former became a travel classic and is still in print while A Stag from Rum lay unknown and unread until just before his death.

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Islands are often inhabited by quirky people. The islands in this authors tale are uninhabited, tiny remote rocks off the northwestern coast of Scotland. The nearest lands are also islands: Skye and Harris. The author and his pal spent eight amateur field seasons of varying durations, on several of these rocky, windy and weather dominated lands studying the colonies of sea birds and wildlife. Their dicky-bird of obsession is the Leach's fork-tailed petrel. Reading this book, I am left noting that islands seem to attract the quirky of our species.

The author and his pal and local supporters endure all manner of setbacks and delays due to weather, limited budget and fishing boat captains that seem rightfully wary of these guys and their hare-brained notions of getting to and remaining on these absolutely remote places.

As a work of natural history, the book is filled with anecdotes and descriptions of the island habitats. The author seemed somewhat obsessed with every word ever written by his quirky predecessor visitors to these islands. The text is filled with reprinted passages by them. As natural history, it is of an age, the 1930s when the discipline we now call ecology was not even defined. Work of this era was largely undisciplined description narrative. I'm unclear whether the author ever published a more scientific narrative of their observations but for today's ecologist the narrative gives little more than "such and such species of sea bird was found among the cliffs of such and such island". There are occasional bird counts. But quantification of individual species reproductive success, or nestlings etc were more or less absent. Number of fish regurgitated seems to have been of some interest to the author. But I don't mean to judge it by today's scientific standards, it just seems to me that the information described is a quirky choice of natural history factoids from a quirky character.

I did enjoy the book, but it was a trifle too long-winded for my liking. I bought and read it, because I am interested in islands too. I know. That's quirky. :-)

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was July 1935 that Robert Armstrong and John Ainslie, both naturalists in their late teens, determined to embark on a search for the rare Leach's fork-tailed Petrel that had been seen on the remote Scottish island of North Rona. The Petrel should perhaps have been named Bullock's fork-tailed Petrel as it was originally discovered by a Mr Bullock as the first-known specimen was brought back from the island of Soay in the St Kilda group in 1818. The British Museum later acquired the bird and the curator, Dr Leach, decided to name it after himself.

Armstrong and Ainslie were fascinated by the story of the Petrel but they had no knowledge of the Scottish islands, never even having heard of North Rona where it was thought that the Petrels lived in holes in the ground. made strange noises in the night and had mainly nocturnal habits. So, acquiring a battered old car for the princely sum of £3 and with limited food supplies and a worry about poor and exposed accommodation, off they set.

Thus began a quest that saw them traipse over many of the lesser known Scottish islands discovering and exploring many varieties of wild life, more particularly of the birds of the area. They suffered many hardships, living in ruined cottages with no roofs, fending desperately at times for food, continually getting a drowning through persistent rain and occasionally being stuck on an island because no ship would attempt to get them off due to the inclement weather. But they persevered to such an extent that Atkinson in particular became obsessed with the Scottish islands.

Ainslie, who was a poor sailor and suffered badly from sea-sickness, which afflicted him when travelling to an island in one of the less than luxurious craft that they sometimes had to use, was not quite obsessed as his companion and one the treks up north became more regular, there were times when he had more pressing engagements down south!

Atkinson relates the activities that they got up to over a period of 10 years, 1936 to 1946, with amusement even when events and conditions conspired against them and to elaborate his environment and to give some historical background to the various island he visited, he uses detail from previous visitors, particularly using the words of the legendary Martin Martin. In addition to the travelogue side of the adventures, he presents a vivid portrait of the way of life of the islanders, past and for those that still remain, present, and their history and traditions and also takes an ecological view of the environments visited and overall it makes for a fascinating, and sometimes intimidating, read.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In his mother's car, on July 25th, 1935, John Ainslie and myself set out from Oxfordshire for the north-west corner of Sutherland.

A twelve year ornithological search for the rare Leach's Fork-tailed Petrel.

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