THE island's famous airport runway may be au naturel, but some residents draw the line when the population follows suit.
It was hoped a new tourism advertising campaign would provide images of Barra as dramatic and memorable as those of planes landing on the island's runway, which doubles as a beach.
However, the idea that Barra could be promoted around the world
by the sight of naked surfers cavorting on their celebrated sand was too much for some of the 1,200 residents and the local clergy.
Their protests have forced VisitScotland to abandon its plans to use the cheeky footage for a promotional film to highlight the adventure tourism market.
The footage was to be used to produce a viral video – footage which is spread by e-mail – to target youth websites such as Bebo, YouTube and Facebook.
The filming drew widespread attention for the island when it started last week, not least because the three naked male surfers had to endure freezing Hebridean conditions.
Using just surfboards to cover their modesty, they were filmed against the backdrop of a Loganair plane landing on the stretch of sand at Barra's beach airport at Traigh Mhòr.
But after a complaint from local priest Canon Angus MacQueen, the filming was stopped and will now not be part of the promotional material.
One islander said: "The rest of us had a good laugh. The surfers were posing and positioning the surf boards in front of themselves. They must have been freezing.
"They were hanging around the airport at Traigh Mhòr and were being filmed as the plane landed. Everybody here was laughing at it but the priest complained to VisitScotland."
The film was to back up a main cinema commercial, part of VisitScotland's £15 million UK marketing campaign, which shows a London couple flying in to the beach runway and enjoying Barra's stunning scenery and outdoor activities. The cinema advert was directed by director Peter Webber whose film Girl With a Pearl Earring was nominated for an Oscar.
A spokeswoman for VisitScotland said that the concept behind the "edgy and quirky" web video was to get a buzz going on YouTube. She added: "We did receive some feedback that some people were quite offended. The video has been destroyed and will never be shown. We have apologised. Our intentions were good but we got it wrong."
She stressed that VisitScotland worked to "deliver benefits for local communities" and acted immediately when concerns were raised.
Canon MacQueen, who has been on Barra for 56 years, confirmed he complained to VisitScotland but said: "They already had a complaint ahead of me.
"These surfers were naked and running down by the island's airport carrying surfboards. Many people were outraged. We don't want to attract this kind of tourism to Barra. We are overbooked in the summer as it is."
Canon MacQueen said the surfers had moved to the island and were involved in canoeing tourism.
He added: "They are not real Barra men. Barra people would not have done what they did. Local people were quite shocked. I had lots of complaints. I am delighted (VisitScotland agreed to scrap the advert]."
FAMOUS FOR A FILM CLASSICBARRA is home to about 1,200 people, most of them Catholic. It is the stronghold of the Clan MacNeil which is said to have lived on the island for nearly 1,000 years.
The island now has the only beach airport anywhere in the world to be used for scheduled airline services.
It was the setting for Whisky Galore, the film based on Compton Mackenzie's book, although the event that prompted the story happened off the isle of Eriskay.
In 2003, the ownership of the Barra Estate was passed by the owner, Ian MacNeil, to the Scottish Government.
The full article contains 642 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
