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The Isle of Harris and Tweed

by: AngusMacLeod
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Word Count: 704

Scotland is only a small country in the United Kingdom of Great Britain. For much of it's history the nation and it's people have been incredibly poor but from this impoverished society some of the most influential people came forth to make their mark upon our world. There are few countries in the world that have not been directly influenced by the hands of the Scottish but few consider this when asked to think of Scotland and most of us would rather bring to mind the likes of Tartan and Harris Tweed.

Strangely much of what we consider to be traditionally Scottish, such as Harris Tweed and tartan is something of a Victorian invention created by the likes of Sir Walter Scott. Scott wrote incredible novels which romanticized Scotland and went to great lengths to introduce the British Royal Family to the country they ruled. Queen Victoria fell in love with Scotland and spent much of her life at Balmoral. Throughout her rule new tartan patterns were developed and much of the traditional Scotland we know today grew from this time.

The role of Queen Victoria (and Sir Walter Scott) in the development of the Scottish tourist industry can not be overstated. While the Queen's interest stimulated interest by the English upper classes it was not really until the development of the railways in Scotland that they began to visit the country. When the railways opened up Scotland the country quickly became the playground of the rich who enjoyed the pleasures of fishing and hunting.

To this day the railways have not reached the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides and few in the Victorian era visited this remote island. However, in 1844, the Earl of Dunmore asked the weavers of the island to create a cloth for him. His wife encouraged the weavers to create other patterns and did much to promote the product. Due to the incredible properties of the cloth, Harris Tweed, it was the perfect material for the sporting clothes of the new visitors and very quickly it became the choice cloth of the upper classes.

Harris Tweed is heavily protected, it can only be produced in the Outer Hebrides and the methods used to make it have changed little over the centuries. The cloth is hand made and was used local wool, colored using dyes made from locally occurring plants. The cloth was incredibly tough and it was a long time before other products from abroad encroached into it's markets however the industry eventually decreased.

In recent years there has been renewed interest in this unique material. It has, at various times, made appearances on the catwalks of the world's fashion centers and many still prefer it over other materials. It is still common to see men dressed in a Harris Tweed jacket but use of the material has, most recently, been much more diverse. Not too long ago Nike made a very large order for the material and produced a pair of shoes using it which proved very successful, even though they were often difficult to find.

In recent decades the Isle of Harris has seem a massive increase in the number of people visiting the island and tourism is now a major element of the local economy. Traditionally there have been summer and winter industries in the Hebrides and the production of Harris Tweed has always had a vital role. Unfortunately in the last few years the tweed industry has been in crisis and, at this moment, it is in something of a state of flux with the main mill closing. There is little doubt it will still be produced but the future is uncertain.

People visit the Isle of Harris and the Outer Hebrides for a great many reasons. Some visit to trace their family roots, others to indulge in sports, some to enjoy the Gaelic culture, some to study the flora and fauna, or the many archaeological sites but most of all people visit to take in the spectacular countryside. Getting to the Isle of Harris is something of a journey by car with the last leg of the trip being a short ferry crossing. However you can get there quickly via regular flights arriving on the adjoining Isle of Lewis.