The Isle of Struay is a fictional Scottish island, home to Katie Morag. Here is where she has all of her fun adventures with her little brother and two grannies. Watch the video below to take a tour of this beautiful island with Katie Morag herself! Chilton, Martin. "Katie Morag: Charming in print and on TV". The Telegraph . Retrieved 3 January 2014.

If you would like to experience the world in which Katie Morag lives there are many many adventures to be had in any of the Scottish Hebridean Islands, Move On Up is based in Cromarty, North East of Inverness. From the outset we were determined to keep as much of the production in the Highlands as we could, beginning with the writing. Discover Coll and you will find a hint of Struay, the island home of the redoubtable Katie Morag; a house here, a beach there and, most definitely, the row of whitewashed cottages by the old jetty of ferryboat days. Nowadays the word `ferry’ translates into floating cafeteria and car park. Katie Morag and her Grannie Island would find the concept most disturbing. Alexandria Patience, Artistic Evaluation: Katie Morag at Ardross Hall, Scottish Arts Council, 5 October 2005During the discussions we talked about doing an episode that explored the theme of death, even in a small way. Our series already portrayed all kinds of emotional, sometimes uncomfortable feelings, and we didn’t want to leave out grief. But we couldn’t have one of our human characters die; it would be far too traumatic for our young viewers. We felt we couldn’t even have a beloved animal die for the same reason. But we could perhaps allude to the inevitability of one dying, thereby creating a natural setting for the big questions that might emanate from any child. It’s difficult to find words of comfort - especially for those of us who have no religious faith. But the more we talk about death and dying the more healthily we can expect our children to cope with it when, in due course (but hopefully not for a very long time) they encounter it. I thought I wouldn’t be involved to be honest and as a writer you have to know when to let go of your characters to another medium. But as it turned out, the production company Move on Up have been so inclusive and invited me up to see the sets on the Isle of Lewis. I’m very happy with all the casting, especially Cherry, she is totally natural; she’s even got Katie Morag’s fleeting facial expressions which you can’t dictate to a child actor.

Study the map of the Isle of Struay (The Big Katie Morag Storybook) and you will find that the indent of Village Bay is the only geographic similarity to Coll. Scattered about are a few local place names but further study will show that the majority are stolen from neighbouring islands and mainland locations personal to me. There are several references to Powell and Pressburger’s I Know Where I’m Going, filmed on Mull in ’45. The mountain range called the Five Sisters of Struay have their mainland counterpart in Kintail. In fact their illustration is inspired by Rum. There are no Katie Morag official experiences, and we do not endorse any initiative over another. Mairi and Move on Up wouldn't like any island to claim that theirs had any kind of Katie Morag-ness any more than another because it isn't true. Although Coll can for ever claim to be the inspiration! From Oban you can take the ferry to Coll, where the books first began, where you will find beaches and castles, seals and birdlife a-plenty. You will even be able to see the little row of cottages that Mairi used in her first drawings. Hepburn, Stuart (25 April 2013). "The Search for Katie Morag is Over". The Creative Space . Retrieved 13 July 2014. The series won Best Children's Programme or Series at the 2014 Freesat Free TV Awards. [22] The judges said, "Beautifully and authentically shot, it was a key move by its host channel into scripted drama, delivering self contained stories that felt sweet and, more importantly, real to their young audience." [23]Those early inspirational islanders are long dead. Not many on Coll today would know who they were. Yet their familiar Hebridean identity as individuals still lives on, albeit with new accents and new ways, because, then and now, we are all islanded, bound by the sea. And CalMac. Some things never change. I really liked going to hair, make-up and costume every morning. My favourite costume was my wedding dress costume. That was really nice. I wore my wellies with it though! Some of the existing stories would prove impossible for us to adapt; some of the scenarios were totally impractical, which is why it was really excellent to have the director and producers there, for their practical reigning-in of the blue-sky thinking! Jaine Lumsden, Artistic Evaluation: Katie Morag at the Citizens, Scottish Arts Council, 20 October 2005 The biggest difference is that there are more episodes than there were stories. The scriptwriters have taken the characters, the locations and the relationships and created six brand new stories and six special episodes. They have come up with new original ideas while still being very faithful to the original stories. I have written one script myself which was a very different process because I had no illustrations to rely on.

In June 2014, it was announced that Katie Morag would be returning for a second series. Cheryl Taylor, Controller of CBBC, said: "This is the first time that CBBC and CBeebies have co-commissioned a series and I am really pleased to be working so closely with CBeebies. The exclusive episodes to be shown on CBBC will allow us to develop more multifaceted storylines for the older CBBC audience." [5] For many years there was talk of adapting the tales for television – the character was first optioned by Scots filmmaker Don Coutts in 1997 – and, by 2005, there was the first talk of filming such a series on Lewis.Family: Katie Morag lives with her parents Isobel and Peter, her little brother Liam and her baby sister Flora Ann. Mr McColl is the shopkeeper in the village shop and Mrs McColl is the postmistress. In The Times, Helen Rumbelow suggested viewers, "Draw the curtains, pour a whisky and enjoy one of the most realistic child performances of the decade, the butchest grandma on screen, and the best Hebridean landscape in the world. It's as close as you can get to not watching TV without having to give up TV." [17] Awards [ edit ]