Canna opens the doors to brand-new visitor hub

Transcript

Four speakers: Isebail MacKinnon (Director of the Isle of Canna Community Development Trust); Clea Warner (Regional Director for the Highlands & Islands); Aileen Colquhoun (IoCCDT); Tom Allen (Isle of Canna Ranger)

Isebail
It's part of our development plan and it's  part of our vision for the sustainability of the island, and it's also part of our vision  to create community-owned tourism.
So, we've got the visitor hub and we've got  the shop and we've got the moorings.
That all ties together to provide a good experience for people coming to visit the island.  

We are really, really fortunate. We have a great team.
Obviously, we are the community of the island and we've got the Community Development Trust.
We have Andrew, who is our Development Manager, and Margaret, who's our administrator.
We put it in our development plan that we wanted this to happen and then Andrew obviously built the project and was able to go out and find funding for that. 
There is a range of funders, through VisitScotland, Highland Council and the Scottish government as well.
Obviously it takes quite a long time to make a project like this happen, but we've been really fortunate to get it to this stage.

Clea
Both organisations work as part of the Canna Partnership and have done for at least 3 or 4 years now.
We've worked collaboratively because the community -- with their Development Manager -- have gone out and identified funding sources that can help and support this project.
The National Trust for Scotland has brought its expertise, its project management and contributed, and therefore we now have a fantastic resource and facilities for visitors to the island.

Isebail
One of the things is that it is a base for the ranger, so now that ranger is much more visible and much more accessible.
And it creates a bit of a focal point.
When people are coming off the ferry, they can see the visitor hub and then there's a place for them to go to find information.

Aileen
My name is Aileen Colquhoun and I live on the Isle of Canna.
It's the first building that you see when you come off the pier. 
It's a very attractive design. The architects were Rural Design and it was built by Speyside Builders who did a great job with the stonework.
In addition to all of the visitor services that we have, we now have a GP room, which we're again all thrilled about.
It means that we can make appointments with the GP -- she has somewhere to come over to.
And there's a ranger's office where you can meet Tom, our ranger, and access a whole host of information about Canna.

Tom
Just having a facility for the ranger to offer our services and also answer any questions.  
Previously the ranger has been tucked quite well away from the island, so it's good to be right near the pier to answer any questions, queries or concerns.
Lots of good facilities here. Anybody visiting: we've got toilets, we've got showers, we've got laundry facilities; we've also got the ranger office. 
You'll hopefully find me there a few days a week and if you've got any questions or asking about guided walks, then you can find me.

Isebail
Canna kind of has everything! And it's all very, very accessible.
If you want wildlife, if you want to see a really fantastic community living and working on an island, if you want to just have peace and quiet, you can have that.
You want to climb a hill …
I think one of the reasons people come is because of the community because we're always very welcoming to people.

You can see the harbour here in Canna.
People have been coming here and using this harbour for hundreds of years and always found it like a safe haven here, and people willing to help them if ever they need help.

Clea
It's all about visitor experience and allowing people to enjoy Canna with the right facilities.
We have over 10,000 people a year visit Canna, and they weren't having the best experience because we didn't have those facilities.
With community drive and our expertise, we came together and we've made what I think is a fantastic facility.

Isebail
Well, it's really nice that this project has come to  fruition and, as you can see, we have a fantastic-looking building, really great services that we can provide to people and it is like all our other community-owned tourism here.
It's run on an honesty basis. So, it's just really nice that it's here.
What was our coal shed has been turned into something really, really nice, and it will be part of the island infrastructure for a very long time.

Clea
It contributes because we're all about access.
We're all about people and we want people to come to the Isle of Canna and have a wonderful time.
These facilities really make it a great visit for our visitors.  
The ranger's based here, they can get lots  of information as well as use the facilities, and also for visiting yachties and people that come from all over the place to use Canna's safe harbour.

The Trust contributed but it  couldn't do that on its own.
So, the Islands Fund, Highland & Islands Council, Highland & Islands Enterprise and the Scottish government contributing has really made a huge difference.
It's enabled this project to happen.

I love it. I think it's just beautiful. I love the materials that have been used.
It's an amazing facility in exactly the right place.
And I think for all the visitors to Canna, it's a real bonus.