Description

10p value from the 1981 Summer Isles Royal Wedding issue, used on piece with a clean 2001 “Summer Isles” cancellation, as pictured.

About the Summer Isles

Unlike a lot of the labels that purport to come from islands off the coast of Britain, Summer Isles stamps have always performed a genuine local postal function.

On 1 September 1970, due to the lack of an official postal service to and from the largest and only inhabited island, Tanera Mòr, the Summer Isles Estate was permitted to launch a private, year-round mail service to and from the mainland at Achiltibuie.

Attractive stamps were issued until 1986, before the service fell dormant until its relaunch under new ownership in 1996. The first new issue in three years was produced in 2016.

Today, the island hosts several holiday lets and the cafe and post office. Mail posted on the island must bear both a Summer Isles stamp (for transportation to the mainland) and a Royal Mail stamp (for its onward journey). After several years on the market, the island of Tanera Mòr was purchased by businessman Ian Wace in 2017.

The Summer Isles website includes more details about the Post Office.