The poor state of the island roads throughout most of the nineteenth century did nothing to encourage regular mail deliveries and it was not until 1863 that the Post Office contracted a boat the (S.S. Chieftain) to carry mails once a week from Tobermory to Coll and Tiree. A post office was actually established on Coll as early as 1805 but was later reduced to ‘sub’ status owing to the paucity of business. A proper internal delivery service was started in 1886; it connected Cliad and Sorisdal to Arinagour and, later, stretched as far as the Roundhouse and Totamore.

Coll’s postal service ‘reached its peak’ in 1904, according to James Mackay’s booklet on Island Postal History, but it was drastically curtailed during the first World War and never restored to its former glory.

This year, locals and visitors to Coll can participate in the Scottish Islands Passport Scheme which is being jointly administered by The Post Office and The Highlands and Islands Development Board. The passports can be obtained free from the Coll P.O. and then date-stamped for a fee of 50p which covers administration costs and helps support the island’s vital postal network. A total of 90 Scottish Islands are involved. Collect” only 3 islands in ’88 and you will qualify for free air/sea/rail travel and island accommodation prizes Details on the passports.

So start bagging your islands now but you will remember to come back to Coll after all your island hopping is done, won’t you?

Below (reproduced from Mackay’s booklet) are some of Coll’s datestamps. That of 1880, called a ‘thimble’, (No. 146) was superseded in 1904 by a larger on fitted with clock-time (No. 147).