±«Óãtv

8 September 2017

In 1954, Richard Dimbleby and a ±«Óãtv film crew visited the Isle of Skye to record an episode of the early British television series About Britain.

In the programme, he gave viewers an insight into life on the island, meeting local characters and gaining an understanding of the lifestyle and culture of islanders.

The key themes uncovered by the programme demonstrate how much much life on Skye has changed over the last 60 years.

The lyrics of the famous song tell of sailing over the sea to Skye.

But most visitors now arrive on the island by .

If you still dream of crossing the water, that option is still available if you go to Mallaig.

From there you can on the south of the island.

In 1954 the mountain rescue team had to do it all themselves and the only technology they had were telephones — landlines, of course!

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These days, the team of volunteers receive regular training in skills such as first aid, navigation, rope-work, working with helicopters and winter mountaineering.

The population was in decline when Dimbleby visited in 1954, with just 8,000 living on the island.

But that trend stopped and the population is now around 10,000.

Even more incredibly, the population is said to jump to 66,000 in the summer tourist peak. More on that below.

Skye attracted tourists, even back in 1954.

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Unlike the systems in England and Wales, Scottish law has always allowed Sunday trading.

Observing the Sabbath has therefore been a cultural decision.

In 1954, Sundays on Skye were quiet. But over the years there has been a change that means there’s often little difference between Sunday and any other day of the week.

Dimbleby saw the importance of Gaelic culture when he went to a ceilidh on the island.

But there’s now a college on the island where people can study and research the language.

It has around 90 full-time students as well as .

The diatomite mining industry – 1954’s ‘moon shot’ on the value of fossilized algea – .

But other industries, beyond tourism, are developing on the island.

A new distillery has opened at in Sleat, .