Читать книгу Walking on Harris and Lewis. 30 day walks exploring the islands онлайн

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Since feldspar melts over a wide temperature range, depending on its composition, it is used in the manufacture of ceramics. When mixed with the clays it makes them easier to work and produces a stronger and more durable product. The peak of Roineabhal at the southern end of Harris and other outcrops around the nearby Lingreabhagh are made up of a rare type of whitish igneous rock known as anorthosite, which consists almost entirely of feldspar. During World War II a quarry at Sletteval on the north-east slopes of Roineabhal provided most of the feldspar that the UK needed to manufacture porcelain electrical insulators. However, the cost of extracting the feldspar proved to be greater than the cost of foreign imports and its colour meant that it produced inferior porcelain; therefore, as has been the plight of most commercial activity in the islands, it was a short-lived venture.

But this was not the end of quarrying in South Harris. Although small-scale quarrying restarted in the 1960s but again soon petered out, other people had ideas on a far larger scale. Starting in 1974, plans were produced to develop a coastal super-quarry to extract ten million tons of aggregates each year for 60 years, much needed, it was argued, to satisfy growing demand on mainland UK. Thirty years later in 2004, the developers eventually made a dignified retreat but by then the case had become the longest running and most complex planning case Scotland had ever seen, with more than 100 witnesses and over 400 written submissions heard during 83 days of advocacy that were part of the public inquiry. If planning permission had been granted, and once the quarry was exhausted, almost a third of Roineabhal would have disappeared. Fortunately it is still with us and remains one of the best.