Accessibility Links
Home > Uniquely Unspoilt Magazine > Issue 9 > islands
There are almost 100,000 people living on Scotland?s 95 inhabited islands today, but the rate of depopulation on the islands is significant - there are now 10,000 fewer islanders than there were 20 years ago.
Despite the challenges of peripherality that face them, there is a lot going on and you might be in for a few surprises if you venture to some of Scotland?s lesser known isles...
Scotland?s most northerly island ? Unst - belongs to the Shetland archipelago. Unst can be reached by air or sea via mainland Shetland and is home to 900 people and tens of thousands of puffins, along with one of the most luxurious bus shelters in the country! Also worth a visit so that you can say you?ve been to is Muckle Flugga ? the northernmost point in the British Isles.
Another island ? Foula ? was recently the location for the first film made in Shetland for over 65 years. Entitled ?Devil?s Gate?, the production almost didn?t happen when Scottish Screen expressed their reservations about Foula?s ?inhospitable? environment. Good to see them being proved wrong!
Lying between Shetland and Orkney is Fair Isle ? home to a small publishing house responsible for producing the Scottish Islands Explorer magazine ? a must-read for any island lovers.
The Slate Islands lie off the Argyll coast in the West of Scotland. Easdale, Belnahua (now unpopulated), Luing and Seil have been referred to as ?The Islands that Roofed the World?, as they were once at the heart of Scotland?s slate quarrying industry during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Slate Islands Heritage Trust Centre on Seil and the Easdale Island Folk Museum are both worth a visit to find out more about the once thriving industry, its impact and legacy on these islands.
If you visit Easdale during September, you can also take part in the World Stone Skimming Championships ? held in one of the flooded disused quarries.
If it?s a quiet pint or a wee dram that you?re after, then you might like to try one of Scotland?s most remote pubs ? the recently opened Byron Darnton Tavern on Sanda Island. Sanda has one permanent inhabitant - Dick Gannon ? the owner of the island. Over recent years he has renovated several properties on the island, including the new tavern, which is proving to be a popular pit stop for passing seafarers. Sanda has also just become Scotland?s fourth official bird observatory.
Earlier this year, The Centre for World Peace and Health was opened on Holy Island. The island, off the coast of Arran, was bought by the Buddhists of the Samye Ling Tibetan Centre 1992. It was their intention to preserve the island?s spiritual and ecological heritage and make it available to people of all faiths. The island is open to anyone who wishes to go and stay at the Centre ? either on holiday, or on retreat. Courses in meditation and T?ai Chi are also on offer throughout the year.
Hopefully that quick tour has shown that there?s a lot more to Scotland?s islands than world famous whiskies, rare wildlife, unspoilt landscapes, rich history and a cultural tapestry to be jealous of (although that?s not a bad assortment of qualities to be getting on with)!
Go on ? give in to the lure and let the nissologist* within you lead the way! (* From the Greek ?Nissos?, meaning island)
Lisa Stephen
The following holiday cottages are situated within easy reach of the locations mentioned above: