Sheep, I mean cheap, vacations

OBAN, Scotland - Some residents of the Hebridean Islands off the west coast of Scotland have found the secret of cheap vacations - travel with sheep.

Ever since the ferry company Caldonian MacBraynea introduced discounted fares for farmers taking their livestock to market, some vacationers crossing to the mainland have packed sheep with their suntan lotion and passports, the company said.

Throughout the summer, members of the ferry staff said they were puzzled by the number of sheep traveling in cars filled with bulging suitcases.

After monitoring a succession of farmers who returned weeks later with a tan and a woeful tale of beasts that couldn't be sold at market, the ferry company realized it had stumbled on a scam that saved islanders more than $170 a journey.

The drivers paid $4 per sheep to leave the animals in the care of cooperative farmers on the mainland before heading off on vacation.

The discounts were introduced in April to help farmers on the islands of Uist, Barra, Mull and Colonsay who transport their livestock to market in Oban, 60 miles northwest of Glasgow.

''Because of what would appear to be abuse by a very small number of people in these islands, the company is going to have look again at how it works,'' Cal-Mac spokesman Stewart Riddell said.