Colonsay is a gem. This remote western island offers great variety, with a little something of the best of most aspects of the Hebrides. It is a wonderful place to explore on foot - and well deserves a detailed exploration.
Life on the Scottish islands: ‘If you can’t keep up with the rats, you’ve come to the wrong place’ The Scotsman has a beautifully-produced long-read feature on what life is really like on the beautiful islands of Scotland. For years they’ve struggled with dwindling populations, but as modern life makes us increasingly mobile, that could …
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A beautiful beach and coastal landscape on the west coast of Islay’s neighbour Colonsay, taken during a day trip from Islay in April 2008. I’m not sure if it has a name, it can be found…
MacPhies, MacFie, or MacDuffie held lands on the Isle of Colonsay until the mid seventeenth century but were later scattered by the clearances. They were the hereditary Keeper of the Records to the Lords of the Isles. The present Commander, Sandy MacPhie, lives in Queensland, Australia. The resemblance of this tartan to that of the Camerons may denote the MacFies' allegiance to that clan on the mainland after they were dispersed from Colonsay.
Cave north of Kiloran Bay, Isle of Colonsay Slightly hidden just north of Kiloran Bay is an impressive cave. We visited it with Kevin Byrne during the Islay Walking Week 2019 excursion to Colonsay,…
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MacNeil of Colonsay Tartans MacNeil of Colonsay Ancient
On the western coast of Islay, Saligo Bay showcases turbidites of the Neoproterozoic Colonsay Group. The Smaull Graywacke shows Caledonian (late Ordovician) folding and cleavage superimposed on world-class graded bedding. There's also a nice dolerite dike to examine.
From the remote heights of Stac Polly in the Highlands to Rob Roy’s Bathtub on the Falloch River, here are 10 Scottish gems you may not have heard of
Scotland is a totally beautiful country to visit! From the big cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow to the smaller coves and dramatic mountains of the - 10 Best Islands In Scotland To Visit - Travel, Travel Advice - Europe, Scotland, United Kingdom - Travel, Food and Home Inspiration Blog with door-to-door Travel Planner! - Travel Advice, Travel Inspiration, Home Inspiration, Food Inspiration, Recipes, Photography
Isle of Colonsay.
It’s been quite a while since I have written my blog, primarily due to the fact that on the morning of Monday 9th December (2013) Our wonderful Homestead, burned to the ground. Col Na Sithe At the height of the fire The aftermath Kapitein, Sampster, Wolfie and I escaped unharmed (other than a wee bit smoke inhalation) in only the clothes we stood up in and feel truly blessed to be alive. The fire had started in the Attic, Captain Flack and his team came to the rescue and donned breathing apparatus to source the seat of the fire – which they did, however, they ran out of water (as there isn’t a Hydrant nearby) by the time they returned from filling the tender with water, the fire had spread through the fire wall and the roof was well alight. Sampster, Wolfie and I had been evacuated to safety with our dear neighbour Anne (whom we will be eternally grateful for everything she did for us) and we watched on as the Homestead was decimated by the fire. Captain Flack and the Colonsay fire crew did everything in their power to save the Homestead, their determination was amazing, we will never forget what they did for us, and we fully understand their frustrations, but we never doubted their ability. They are truly amazing…Thank you. I visited the site as they dampened down and each and every one of the fire crew apologised for not being able to save the Homestead, but as we said then, and now, Kapitein, the dogs and I got out and that is the most important aspect. We cannot stress enough, please, CHECK your smoke alarms regularly and ALWAYS have a practiced fire plan/escape route, as you can’t see anything for thick acrid smoke, but if you know where you are going, this makes your means of escape very effective. The UK Fire Service will offer advice and practical support (ie: fitting smoke alarms etc.) so do it!! If it hadn’t been for the smoke alarm, I wouldn’t be writing this now!! What was anticipated to be a short stay with Anne, turned out to be two and a half weeks!! And a better hostess we couldn’t have wished for – we were made to feel so welcome and we did have some laughs. I even found some tools to knit with and produced a wee 'lug muffler' to keep Anne warm whilst walking the dogs with us. Its amazing what you can do with a wooden spoon and a poker!! I think Anne looks lovely... Don't you... Sampster thoroughly enjoyed being 'de-haired' by Anne!! Our heartfelt thanks go to those members of the community who helped us in our hour of need, bringing us much needed clothes, toiletries, dog leads/bowls, waterproofs etc. We will be eternally grateful. Also our thanks go out to our families and close friends, they have been fantastic... We do still have one endearing thought – Gavalus Gavalar (who was on the mainland at the time) shopping for ‘undergarments’ for Kapitein and I, dashing between the Lingerie and Mens Wear departments, it must have been a sight for sore eyes! As our ‘wardrobe’ was interesting to say the least, we contacted various businesses in and around Oban to restock items such as waterproofs, shirts etc., and low and behold, our ‘shopping’ arrived on the next flight from Oban. We will never forget all that Oban Airport, Hebridean Air and those business outlets that helped us – thank you. Now it was the onerous task of packing up our few possessions that remained in the shed, primarily, Kapiteins tools – we know how important tools are, don’t we! And thankfully, the Firecrew and Kapitein had managed to rescue some unusual items from my workroom before the roof collapsed. Namely, the original Colonsay Gansey and my Grandmothers circa 1948 sewing machine, a couple of chairs and some books. With everything packed, McQueens from Oban sent over their trusty driver, Gary, on the Friday (before Christmas), with a couple of small containers to store our things. He duly arrived amidst rain, hail, snow and sunshine, we packed everything in double quick time and watched on as he loaded the containers back onto the wagon. Then… News came that the Saturday ferry was cancelled! And the weather wasn’t looking good for the Monday ferry either! Oh dear me… what to do…and how to get Gary home in time for Christmas. Saturday morning came and Kapitein had a brainwave, he asked me to contact Hebridean Air Services to see if there was any chance of booking a charter flight, poor Gary needed to be with his own family for Christmas, even if this meant leaving the wagon to go on the next ferry unaccompanied. Andy, at Hebridean Air, said no problem, but we had a tight weather window. As it turned out, there were 3 folks who wanted to get back to Colonsay and a total of 5 wanting to leave – including Gary and another stranded, wagon driver. At 2.00pm, Sebastian arrived (a perfect landing) with the 3 folk from Oban, and then took off again 15 minutes later with the passengers wishing to leave, so everyone was where they wanted to be for Christmas. Brilliant!! Sebastian taking everyone home for Christmas. The ferry managed to make it into Colonsay on the Monday, McQueens and the other two wagons were on their way to back to the mainland. So, what next! We had, through sheer luck, managed to source an available letting property, which was vacant, on the Isle of Skye. And as Christmas Day arrived – which was superb; Kapitein and I had smoked bacon sandwiches for our Christmas dinner, just what we wanted, Kapitein spoke to Cameron and Struan from Coastal Connection, as our only weather window to leave Colonsay, was Boxing Day and sure enough, they were more than happy to come over. As it turned out, on the morning of Boxing day, the weather was wonderful. We packed our cars with our few possessions, hitched up the sheep handling system and headed to the pier – our vehicles would leave Colonsay on the next available ferry. Anne came to see us off and off we went on a fabulous journey on the Coastal Connection RIB.Even Sampster and Wolfie enjoyed the ride, they are following in Kapiteins footsteps and becoming salty sea dogs indeed. Leaving Colonsay Arriving in Loch Feochan My 3 salty sea dogs Coastal Connection - Cameron and Struan We arrived at Loch Feochan where Cameron and Struan’s father met us to take us onwards to Oban, what kindness, we can’t thank them enough either. We highly recommend Coastal Connection a very professional service indeed. The following day, the ferry brought our cars over and we headed North to the Isle of Skye to our temporary accommodation - a very warm house, overlooking the sea, what more could we ask for... So now it is onwards and upwards - working our way through endless lists of things to do, amidst replacing commissions! I managed to complete a Braveheart Waistcoat in double quick time and posted it off to the customer - they are delighted with it. Back to the knitting needles to finish the next... We couldn't start our new lives without offering our heartfelt thanks to all those who supported Hebridean Isles Trading Company during our time on Colonsay. We would like to thank Pauline, owner of Colonsay Cosmetics who supplied us with the most delightful toiletries for our guests. Then we needed to think about quality food for our guests, that's when we sourced as much 'local' produce as was possible. We must thank: Forteiths -Oban J.M. Breckenridge - Oban Booker - Oban Jackson's Butchers - Oban D. Watts Fishmongers - Oban For the best locally sourced produce in Argyll... Knitting courses took off at an unbelievable pace, we would like to thank all of the participants and our wonderful sheep for adding to the whole 'woolly' experience, including, of course, their wonderful fleeces. But how to get products to Colonsay? Helmut & Michelle of Etive Taxis were just the best, they went over and above our expectations, collecting orders from the Oban businesses and taking them up to Oban Airport, we highly recommend them, they even transport people too!! Oban Airport. The staff at Oban Airport are the most professional, courteous and obliging group of people I have ever met. Thanks go to them for everything they have done for us. From the delightful Dixie at reception, to the 'big fella' (wor Tom) and all of the fire crew/freight handlers, without whom, all of our hard work would have been in vane. I cannot recommend this establishment highly enough. If and when Skye gets its own Airport - I hope it is as wonderful as Oban, thank you. Hebridean Air Services. What can I say, as a 'frustrated' Pilot (or so they say) my first few times flying with Hebridean Air Services had me perplexed! I couldn't understand why no-one was using the plane to bring in freight! That is where it all began, with the first air freight regularly coming into Colonsay... The three pilots, Julie, Allan and Sebastian are just brilliant, our thanks go to them all, to Andy Jolly, and of course, the owner, George Cormack. It has been a privilege, flying and working with you all - I do miss seeing that lovely yellow plane flying overhead... Last, but by no means least, we would like to thank all of our guests, customers and stockists, we have met some lovely people and we do hope to meet customers old and new in the very near future. So what now... As the search for our new Homestead continues. Hebridean Isles Trading Company is beginning to 'rise from the ashes' and with new designs hot off the needles very soon, there are very exciting times ahead, I will keep you all posted - watch this space...
Dubh Artach (gaelic for 'the Black Rock') is a remote rock 15 miles SW from the Ross of Mull and 18 miles west of Colonsay. The lighthouse was designed by Thomas Stevenson (father of Robert Louis) and was first lit in 1872. One of the Stevensons' finest achievements - the lighthouse was a real feat of engineering. A shore station was set up on the island of Earraid for the construction of the lighthouse prior to works commencing on the rock. Construction began on the rock itself in 1867 and work was only possible over the summer months. An iron barracks sitting on open metal legs was used to house the workers on the rock during construction. At one point the summer storms brought waves crashing on the roof of the barracks 77 feet (23 m) above sea level and 14 workers were trapped inside for 5 days – the waves broke open the door to the barracks and soaked those inside, ruining their provisions in the process. Robert Louis Stevenson visited both Earraid and the construction works on the rock itself. He describes the situation in the barracks “The men sat high up prisoned in their iron drum, that then resounded with the lashings of the sprays ... It was then that the foreman builder, Mr. Goodwillie, whom I see before me in his rock-habit of indecipherable rags, would get his fiddle down and strike up human minstrelsy amid the music of the storms” He also describes the rock as "an ugly reef this . . . no pleasant assemblage of shelves, and pools, and creeks, about which a child might play for a whole summer without weariness . . . but one oval nodule of black-trap, sparsely bedabbled with an inconspicuous fucus, and alive in every crevice with an insect between a slater and a bug. No other life was there but that of sea-birds, and of the sea itself, that here ran like a millrace, and growled about the outer reef for ever, and ever and again, in the calmest weather, roared and spouted on the rock itself”. Dubh Artach was an unpopular posting for lightkeepers due to its hostile location (which meant frequently delayed reliefs) and the cramped conditions inside the tower. This was part of the reason that it was one of the first offshore lighthouses to be automated in 1971. A helicopter pad was also constructed at the same time to avoid landings by boat. The lighthouse continues to function and it visited annually by NLB engineers for maintenance work.
Balnahard Bay on Colonsay
Captured in bold strokes and vibrant hues, this exquisite print is a striking interpretation of Kiloran Bay, a picturesque gem on the Isle of Colonsay, Scotland. The artwork brims with the essence of Expressionism, a style known for its emotional resonance and energised application of paint; this piece is no exception. The dynamism in the composition reflects the untamed beauty of the Scottish coast. Lush greenery fringes the foreground, depicted in a patchwork of vivid greens, yellows, and hints of purple that suggest the wildflowers and grasses swaying to the rhythm of the island's breezes. These expressive daubs and splatters of colour converge to form an almost palpable texture, inviting the viewer to feel the wind's dance across the canvas. In stark contrast, the azure waters of the bay are rendered in sweeping, serene strokes of cerulean and turquoise, capturing the tranquillity and clear depths that characterise these serene shores. White highlights mimic the sun's reflection on the water's surface, lending the scene a dazzling luminosity. Jagged outcrops of rock punctuate the seascape, their dark, solid forms anchoring the composition. These elements are skilfully balanced with the softer, undulating lines of the shoreline, displaying the artist's talent for merging representation with abstraction to evoke a sense of place. In the distance, the horizon meets the sky in a tranquil line of deep blues, with dashes of white suggesting clouds drifting lazily in the expanse above. This vastness of sky instils a sense of freedom and the timeless, elemental connection between land, sea, and air. This print, part of the 'Scottish Beaches' collection, promises to be a captivating addition to any space, resonating with those who are drawn to the wild and evocative landscapes of Scotland, and the emotive power of Expressionist art.
On the western coast of Islay, Saligo Bay showcases turbidites of the Neoproterozoic Colonsay Group. The Smaull Graywacke shows Caledonian (late Ordovician) folding and cleavage superimposed on world-class graded bedding. There's also a nice dolerite dike to examine.
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Dubh Artach (gaelic for 'the Black Rock') is a remote rock 15 miles SW from the Ross of Mull and 18 miles west of Colonsay. The lighthouse was designed by Thomas Stevenson (father of Robert Louis) and was first lit in 1872. A shore station was set up on the island of Earraid for the construction of the lighthouse prior to works commencing on the rock. Construction began on the rock itself in 1867 and work was only possible over the summer months. An iron barracks sitting on open metal legs was used to house the workers on the rock during construction. At one point the summer storms brought waves crashing on the roof of the barracks 77 feet (23 m) above sea level and 14 workers were trapped inside for 5 days – the waves broke open the door to the barracks and soaked those inside, ruining their provisions in the process. Robert Louis Stevenson visited both Earraid and the construction works on the rock itself. He describes the situation in the barracks “The men sat high up prisoned in their iron drum, that then resounded with the lashings of the sprays ... It was then that the foreman builder, Mr. Goodwillie, whom I see before me in his rock-habit of indecipherable rags, would get his fiddle down and strike up human minstrelsy amid the music of the storms” He also describes the rock as "an ugly reef this . . . no pleasant assemblage of shelves, and pools, and creeks, about which a child might play for a whole summer without weariness . . . but one oval nodule of black-trap, sparsely bedabbled with an inconspicuous fucus, and alive in every crevice with an insect between a slater and a bug. No other life was there but that of sea-birds, and of the sea itself, that here ran like a millrace, and growled about the outer reef for ever, and ever and again, in the calmest weather, roared and spouted on the rock itself”. Dubh Artach was an unpopular posting for lightkeepers due to its hostile location (which meant frequently delayed reliefs) and the cramped conditions inside the tower. This was part of the reason that it was one of the first offshore lighthouses to be automated in 1971. A helicopter pad was also constructed at the same time to avoid landings by boat. The lighthouse continues to function and it visited annually by NLB engineers for maintenance work.
Capturing the vibrant essence of the Isle of Colonsay during the summertime, this abstract print is a dynamic symphony of color and texture that evokes the wild, natural beauty of Scotland's Inner Hebrides. Set against a backdrop of a clear azure sky, the composition is dominated by vivid hues of lemon yellow and lime green, representing the untamed meadows and rolling hills characteristic of the region. The interplay of these lively shades with splashes of sunset pink and intense red suggests a landscape ablaze with the bloom of wildflowers. Juxtaposed with these warm tones, cool patches of turquoise and seafoam green give a sense of the surrounding waters, serene and inviting. Bold, confident strokes of white and pale yellow convey the sun's reflection dancing on the surface, while dark accents hint at the rugged outcrops and deep, mysterious pools found throughout the Hebrides. Off in the distance, minimalist shapes form the silhouettes of neighbouring islands, their contours softened by atmospheric perspective yet standing as timeless sentinels overseeing this seascape. This piece is less about precise geographical accuracy and more an artistic interpretation that conveys the feeling of a breezy, Scottish summer by the coast. It's an immersive experience for the viewer, inviting one to step into a world where the boundaries between land, sea, and sky are harmoniously blurred by the artist's vision. The abstract nature of the work enables each onlooker to find their own connection, whether it be a memory stirred, a dream kindled, or simply an appreciation for the wild and whimsical world rendered in paint. Perfect for anyone seeking a touch of Scotland's natural grandeur infused with a modern, artistic twist, this print is a celebration of colour and form, promising to be a striking addition to any space that cherishes imaginative interpretations of the world's landscapes.
