Looking north towards Eilean Traighe
Looking south from Eilean Traighe
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| This is one boat, which won't be going anywhere any time soon! |
Looking east from Eilean Traighe
Monday 29 December 2014
Island 271 - Eilean Traighe, Argyll and Bute
Eilean Traighe is a very small tidal island located on the south side of Loch Etive, which is a sea loch, about halfway between Connel and Taynuilt. It is about 50 metres long and 30 metres wide and is only cut off for a short while at high tide. The area between the mainland and the island is almost all covered in grass but there was seaweed strewn across all of it, so it must get cut off at some high tides. The island itself is covered in grass and is obviously sometimes grazed by cattle, judging by all the cow pats around but that is about all there is to say about it! There is a handy layby on the busy A85 road and a stile over a fence to enable easy access to it.
Island 270 - Eriska, Argyll
Eriska is located 12 miles north of the town of Oban and 3 miles north of the village of Benderloch on the west coast of Argyll and Bute and at the end of a no through road. It is linked to the mainland by a bridge.
Eriska is home to a 5 star luxury hotel. I wasn't sure about how Scottish access rights apply to private bridges, so I emailed the hotel a few weeks before my holiday asking for permission to visit the island. However they never bothered to reply. I made the assumption that if they wanted to refuse me permission, they would have replied. I parked my car at the end of the public road, ate a few blackberries off the bushes nearby, put on my smartest coat. so that I might possibly look like a paying guest and walked purposefully down the drive. A few cars drove passed me but no one stopped and asked what I was doing.
The bridge is covered in planks of wood, which were quite loose and made a loud noise as cars drove over them - not a very grand way to access a posh hotel!. It was also impossible for me to walk across it without making a noise. I didn't venture far onto the island and didn't see the hotel, which is in the middle. I spotted a lady walking towards me and decided it was time to go in case there were any awkward questions.
Should you happen to have a seaplane or helicopter at your disposal, you can land both at or near the hotel! The prices for rooms and meals are way out of my price range. Dinner is £50 but afternoon tea is a more affordable £15. Self-catering accommodation is also available and there is a spa and a 6 hole golf course, both of which are open to non-residents.
The public road ends here
The notices say Private Property and Access for Residents Only. As the entrance to a luxury hotel, I thought the entrance wasn't very grand or welcoming and perhaps a tub of flowers on either side would have been an improvement or maybe a coat of white paint on the walls?
Eriska is home to a 5 star luxury hotel. I wasn't sure about how Scottish access rights apply to private bridges, so I emailed the hotel a few weeks before my holiday asking for permission to visit the island. However they never bothered to reply. I made the assumption that if they wanted to refuse me permission, they would have replied. I parked my car at the end of the public road, ate a few blackberries off the bushes nearby, put on my smartest coat. so that I might possibly look like a paying guest and walked purposefully down the drive. A few cars drove passed me but no one stopped and asked what I was doing.
The bridge is covered in planks of wood, which were quite loose and made a loud noise as cars drove over them - not a very grand way to access a posh hotel!. It was also impossible for me to walk across it without making a noise. I didn't venture far onto the island and didn't see the hotel, which is in the middle. I spotted a lady walking towards me and decided it was time to go in case there were any awkward questions.
Should you happen to have a seaplane or helicopter at your disposal, you can land both at or near the hotel! The prices for rooms and meals are way out of my price range. Dinner is £50 but afternoon tea is a more affordable £15. Self-catering accommodation is also available and there is a spa and a 6 hole golf course, both of which are open to non-residents.
Looking east from the Eriska side of the bridge
Drive to the hotel
Looking towards the mainland from Eriska
Looking west from the Eriska side of the bridge
Looking towards Eriska across the bridge
Wednesday 17 December 2014
Island 269 - Eileanan nan Gad, Kentra Bay, Highland
Eileanan nan Gad is a tidal island located in Kentra Bay, which is located at the north east end of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. The island is shaped like a backwards letter C and the highest point on the island is 10 metres above sea level. The island is approximately 400 metres from north to south and 300 metres from east to west at the widest point.
There is a small and somewhat potholed car park at the end of the road at Arivegaig. The car park was full on the day I visited but there was no sign of any people. From the car park a track heads west along the shore and it is about half a mile walk to the point on the mainland opposite Eileanan nan Gad. The Ordnance Survey map shows that the 250 metres between the mainland and the island is mud and sand, which didn't sound very promising. However Peter Caton had reported no problems with soft mud in his book No Boat Required: Exploring Tidal Islands and in reality there is about 220 metres of flat and very firm salt marsh grass and only a 20 metre gap between this and the island and the mud was firm. However the mud to the east of the island by the channel made by the river Allt Beithe looked much softer.
Eileanan nan Gad is covered in rough grass, heather, juniper, moss and bracken and when I visited in late September 2014 most of the island was quite boggy, except for the low ridge, which forms the highest part of the island. I found the remains of a manmade stone wall.
Eileanan nan Gad is obviously visited by other people, as I found this dinghy on the eastern side of the island by the channel of the Allt Beithe.
There are lots of warning notices at the beginning of the track leading from the car park. They warn about unexploded munitions, shooting during the deer stalking season and theft from cars but reassuringly not soft mud or quicksand.
There is a small and somewhat potholed car park at the end of the road at Arivegaig. The car park was full on the day I visited but there was no sign of any people. From the car park a track heads west along the shore and it is about half a mile walk to the point on the mainland opposite Eileanan nan Gad. The Ordnance Survey map shows that the 250 metres between the mainland and the island is mud and sand, which didn't sound very promising. However Peter Caton had reported no problems with soft mud in his book No Boat Required: Exploring Tidal Islands and in reality there is about 220 metres of flat and very firm salt marsh grass and only a 20 metre gap between this and the island and the mud was firm. However the mud to the east of the island by the channel made by the river Allt Beithe looked much softer.
Eileanan nan Gad is covered in rough grass, heather, juniper, moss and bracken and when I visited in late September 2014 most of the island was quite boggy, except for the low ridge, which forms the highest part of the island. I found the remains of a manmade stone wall.
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| Looking east from Eileanan nan Gad |
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| Looking north up Kentra Bay from Eileanan nan Gad |
Eileanan nan Gad looking south towards Acharacle
Looking north up Kentra Bay across the salt marsh to Eileanan nan Gad
Friday 5 December 2014
Island 268 - Eilean Mor, Glenborrodale, Ardnamurchan, Highland
Eilean Mor is a tidal island located at Glenmore a couple of miles west of Glenborrodale on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. The hardest thing about getting there is the long and very winding single track road from Salen. When I visited the road was quite busy and the locals seem to drive along it quite fast, so you have to concentrate very hard.
Eilean Mor isn't cut off for long at each high tide and it is very easy to pick your way through the bog to get to it. The name means Big Island and it is reasonably large - 1 kilometre long by about 500 metres wide at the widest point and 40 metres high at the highest point in the south of the island. It is obviously grazed by cattle, as there were lots of cow pats but I saw no cows. The northern part of the island is covered in rough grass, heather, scabious and bracken. There is an area of woodland in the south east corner of the island.
The Nadurra Visitor Centre (formerly known as the Ardnamurchan Natural History Centre) is located half a mile to the north of Eilean Mor. As well as an exhibition about the natural history of the area, they have a gift shop and an excellent tearoom. I was very pleased that their cream tea is served with clotted cream. Living as I do in the south west of England a cream tea is only a genuine cream tea if it is served with clotted cream but quite often outside the SW it is served with squirty cream.
Eilean Mor isn't cut off for long at each high tide and it is very easy to pick your way through the bog to get to it. The name means Big Island and it is reasonably large - 1 kilometre long by about 500 metres wide at the widest point and 40 metres high at the highest point in the south of the island. It is obviously grazed by cattle, as there were lots of cow pats but I saw no cows. The northern part of the island is covered in rough grass, heather, scabious and bracken. There is an area of woodland in the south east corner of the island.
The Nadurra Visitor Centre (formerly known as the Ardnamurchan Natural History Centre) is located half a mile to the north of Eilean Mor. As well as an exhibition about the natural history of the area, they have a gift shop and an excellent tearoom. I was very pleased that their cream tea is served with clotted cream. Living as I do in the south west of England a cream tea is only a genuine cream tea if it is served with clotted cream but quite often outside the SW it is served with squirty cream.
Looking north towards Glenmore and the Nadurra Visitor Centre from Eilean Mor
Looking west from Eilean Mor along the Arnamurchan Peninsula
Looking south towards the island of Oronsay
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| Looking east towards Glenborrodale. Eilean Mor is on the right hand of the photo. |
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| Looking south towards Eilean Mor from the mainland at Glenmore |
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