Inner Hebrides
Consider these islands as a menu where you can
sample flavours that include Islay’s peaty whiskies and the oysters
farmed on Colonsay. Romantic, rugged, and wild in varying degrees,
there is something magical about these peaceful gems.
Enjoy Mull’s breathtaking seascapes and
soaring sea eagles, spot otters on Jura, or head to the Small Isles
to really get away from it all. Rum boasts a population of Manx
Shearwaters which return to Scotland in late February, early March,
and dig nesting burrows in the ground.
As the ferry casts off to the isolated Inner
Hebrides you will feel a certain sense of adventure...
Tell your friends when you get back
Formed from basaltic columns, the eerie echoes of
Fingal’s Cave, reached from Jura, inspired the great composer
Mendelssohn to write the beautiful ‘Hebrides Overture’ that evokes
the rolling waves and solitude found here. Wordsworth, Keats and
Lord Tennyson all spent time on the Isle of Staffa and J.M.W.
Turner painted ‘Staffa, Fingals Cave’ in 1832.
Hidden Gem
Follow the track up the east side of Loch
Gruinart on Islay to see seals hauling themselves out onto the
sands.
FACT
Islay is reckoned to have the very finest
surviving Celtic carved cross, the extraordinary Kildalton Cross.
This 8th century ringed cross was carved from a single
piece of epidiorite rock. Find it near the end of the road running
east from Port Ellen, after seven miles, well beyond the Laphroaig
and Ardbeg Distilleries. Continue just a little further for the
sheltered east-facing Claggan Bay.
Food Tip
The award-winning Tobermory fish and chip van
on Mull serves the best of seafood, landed fresh from the
surrounding waters, that is cooked to order. The setting on the
waterfront is just fantastic.
Myths and Legends
Rum is famous for its breeding colony of Manx
Shearwaters, birds of the open ocean, which breed at heights of
around 400m on the Rum Cuillin. Burrow nesters, they arrive
at night to feed the chicks. In the darkness, they make distinctive
calls, and local people used to believe these were the souls of
dead sailors crying out. Fledgling shearwaters are attracted to
bright lights and every year, in September, young birds from the
Rum colony are found on Mallaig.
Real People Tips
Born and bred on Islay, and running a local guiding business,
Christine Logan lives in Bowmore and does not hesitate to name her
favourite walk on Islay. 'For me, it is undoubtedly seeing the
cliffs at the poignant American monument on the Mull of Oa. There
is also a Geocache there for the modern day treasure hunter.'
Find out more about visiting the
Inner Hebrides.
