‘Use it or lose it’ is a very true expression. British Telecom has started a consultation process which might lead to 194 telephone boxes disappearing from the Highlands this year. The number of calls being made from phones on the hit list has dropped by over 50% in the past 3 years due to the continued growth in the usage of mobile phones.
It probably makes sense on a commerical basis to get rid of the phone boxes however mobile phone coverage in the Highlands isn’t complete and is still very patchy in some outlying areas. I had included the location of the nearest telephone box for trips in the guidebook where the launching / landing location doesn’t have great mobile phone reception so you could make a quick call to your loved one / shore contact / Coastguard. However a quick glance at the list relieves most of the coastal telephone boxes in the NW Highlands are very likely to disappear.
It’s maybe worth mentioning in the guidebook that many BT phone boxes now don’t take coins - they only take credit cards! I got caught out by this in Mull recently - I always make sure I have change for the phone in my kayaking emergency kit - but the phone didn’t take coins. Lucky it wasn’t an emergency….