Into the spray, across the bay: Crofter’s Staffin herd heads for winter pastures

CATTLE belonging to crofter Iain Macdonald, from Staffin on Skye, move across the bay to their Staffin island grazing ground for the winter.

Iain Macdonald, 80, first swam the cows over to the island in 1950. His 19 cows took 15 minutes to make the trip, which Mr Macdonald often made with them when a younger man.

The 19 cattle struggled more than 150 yards in the choppy waters of the Atlantic to reach tiny Staffin Island, off the east coast 15 miles from Portree.

Mr Macdonald is Britain’s last drover to still swim his cattle.

A group of around 50 locals and bemused tourists gathered at tiny Staffin beach yesterday for the cows’ annual swim.

Crofter Mr MacDonald timed the swim to exactly 2.30pm yesterday to coincide with the lowest tide in the stretch of water between the coast and Staffin Island.