THE skipper of a historic Scottish ferry facing an uncertain future due to an absentee landowner has called for a change in the “ludicrous old law” that means they must pay him thousands of pounds each year just to be allowed to run.
The MV Glenachulish, which is thought to be the last manually operated turntable ferry in the world, serves the route between Glenelg on the mainland and Kylerhea in Skye. It has been run by the Isle of Skye Ferry Community Interest Company (CIC) for two decades.#
However, the CIC’s chief executive Jo Crawford told The Sunday National last week that it was now facing an uncertain future due to ancient “rights to ferry” (thought to date back to the time of the Lord of the Isles) held by the Skye-side landowner, Richard Oliphant of that Ilk.
An agreement signed with Oliphant of that Ilk means that he must be paid a percentage of the CIC’s annual turnover each year, and can never be paid less than a previous year.
After a bumper 2025 saw him paid £10,000, the CIC has rung alarm bells about having to pay him at least that amount every year moving forward, saying it could put the financial viability of the service at risk.
The CIC currently employs 22 people either part- or full-time, and without the ferry, the Glenelg road would become a dead-end.
Scott Cameron, the captain of the MV Glenachulish, has called on politicians to step in and help his Highland community.
“It’s an absolutely ridiculous situation,” he said. “The ferry company is a real community facility. We have a tea room that is open all year round and the ferry itself is a well-run facility for this community. All the money the CIC makes is ploughed back into these facilities. We are a non-profit organisation.
“To lose £10,000 per year is a huge blow to us. It creates a huge uncertainty. We have plans for development and improvement and losing £10,000 means we might well lose these developments.
“What we need is a change in this ludicrous old law. This ancient legislation is the root of the problem and it needs to be addressed.”
Community Land Scotland – a charity which supports and promotes community ownership of land and buildings – backed the calls.
CLS policy officer Darren Wisniewski said: “The community in Kylerhea and Glenelg have clearly done great work, providing a fantastic service for local people, as well as bringing wider tourism benefits, and contributing to a thriving community.
“It is beyond comprehension that a small not-for-profit organisation is effectively being held to ransom by an absentee landowner under this ludicrous law to the tune of thousands of pounds.
“This obscure legal right is archaic. We need bold action now from politicians and government to prevent this small, hard-working yet fragile community from being undermined by the interests of one city banker.
“The Scottish Government and relevant bodies should be working to address these legal anachronisms that have no place in the 21st century.”
Oliphant of that Ilk is reported to have spent years as a child in Hong Kong before a career in finance. He is understood to live in Edinburgh and has been described as a millionaire.
He made headlines in 2003 after hiring Hugh Peskett – the acclaimed genealogist who traced Ronald Reagan’s family to the tiny Irish village of Ballyporeen – to prove his claim to the chiefship of Clan Oliphant.
Crawford, the CIC’s chief executive, said: “In the 15 years I have been dealing with him, I’ve never met him face to face. I do know of one occasion very recently when he came up to Skye and, of course, exercised his right to cross on the Kylerhea-Glenelg ferry for free.
“The rights to ferry on the Glenelg side were owned by the Burton Property Trust. A similar lease was signed with them 20 years ago. However, with understanding of how important the ferry was to the sustainability of the community, they never charged us any money and have recently transferred ownership of the rights to the ferry company, meaning that, on the mainland side at least, the rights will forever be in community ownership, as should be.”
Earlier this week, Green MSP Ariane Burgess said her team would look at “loopholes” in land reform laws.
Oliphant of that Ilk has not responded to repeated requests for comment.
