Inhabited, west coast, Scottish islands

Foreword.
This is the first of what I hope will be many posts covering my visits to inhabited, west coast, Scottish islands. Gigha was the first, geographically speaking, that I wanted to cover (as I had decided to work through them from south to north and then from east to west). Having already visited many of those islands over my sixty nine years (as I write this during February 2021) I decided, upon retiring, to try and visit all of the ones not yet visited. This was, in effect, a bucket list. Gigha was also the first on this bucket list that I went to. For that reason I’ve included a lengthy background to my first trip and a description of my journey from my home (Greenock) to Gigha. I do this simply because it was the start of my bucket list trips. Future posts on this topic will be far briefer and describe only the island, or islands, visited - not how I got there. The idea will be to try and present my visits as if it was one continuous trip (or, at most, just two or three trips) - so I don’t want to include all my travels, as described in this post, anyway.
Note that I know that much of Islay is actually to the south of Gigha but, as said above, as well going from south to north I also intend to go from east to west. From Gigha I intend to move up through the islands very close to the mainland (Dana, The Slate Isles, Kerrera, Eriska and Lismore) before heading back south and west to continue with Islay and Jura - then out further west to Colonsay then out further west again to Mull and it’s satellite islands of Erraid, Ulva and Gometra. There is an argument that, after Dana, I should do Islay and Jura and then continue with the Slate Isles north to Lismore. This because the geographical line formed by Islay and Jura leads towards the Slate Isles more than the line from Dana does. Choices here - but I’ve decided to stick with going north to Lismore before going back south to Islay and Jura. Apart from anything else, this provides for a more logical way to include Colonsay before heading for Mull.There is also an argument that after Lismore I should continue north and describe the few coastal islands just off the north west coast, like Eilean Shona in Loch Moidart and the Isle of Ewe, but I have decided to leave them in a separate group to be described after my visit to Skye and it’s satellite islands - and then move out further west to the Outer Hebrides. Given Scotland’s geography, there is no clear and totally logical route to follow - and in addition to that, I have so far failed to visit those coastal islands off the north west coast or, indeed, about three of the islands off Skye (Soay, Skalpay and Rhona). I’m hoping that I might have done so by the time I get to Skye. Given the wonderful Spring of 2020 I might have totally completed my visits if it had not been for the COVID-19 pandemic - but failing to complete my bucket list was minor compared to the loss of life suffered by many during this period as a result of the virus.
Note also that I intend in these posts to include all the islands I had already visited before starting my bucket list, to produce a comprehensive description of all the inhabited, west coast, Scottish islands - and that this includes inhabited tidal islands and those linked by bridge or causeway.

Background.
I had been visiting the Scottish islands since, I was told, I was six months old. My mother had relations on South Uist (half cousins about six times removed - or something like that) and my mother had made contact with them in her youth and had maintained that contact ever since. The link, it seems, was a great grandfather (although I don’t know exactly how far back that goes). His name was Neil MacPhee. He was the youngest male in the usual large family (for those times) and there was nothing for him on the island: The oldest boy would inherit the croft, another would become a priest and another would join the army. Neil, it seems, was bright and did well at school and, after that, decided he had to leave the island for university in Glasgow. The story goes that, in those days, you had to get the approval of a clergyman to get into university - and the local Catholic priest refused to approve Neil’s plans - so he went to the local Church of Scotland minister instead and got the required approval there. South Uist is a mainly Catholic island (as is Barra and Eriskay) but it does have a smattering of Church of Scotland adherents. The story then says that Neil was so upset with the local Catholic priest that, on reaching Glasgow, he left the Catholic faith, became a protestant (of some denomination) and then also joined the Orange Order. The background to this is that, in those days, the Catholic church was against education beyond a certain level as it feared those doing so would see through the nonsense of religion and become faithless. I don’t know if any of that is true or, if some was, to what extent the above was true - but it is the story my mother told me when I was old enough to ask why my family was Church of Scotland while our South Uist relatives were Roman Catholic. Anyway, as said above, my mother had renewed contact with her South Uist relatives and started visiting as regularly as she could. This included going out with me and my sister, who was about five years old at that time, when I was only six months old (which would make sense for a summer visit as I was born in early December).
During my early years my mother would take me and my sister out to South Uist for about two months at a time - and my father would join us for his usual two week break, returning home to look after himself when his holiday was over. I presume those lengthy visits only lasted until I went to school and my mother returned to work but the family continued to visit every year until I was about ten or eleven. During this period we had the use of a white house (one step up from a black house since a white house had proper chimneys to take the smoke away) but this gradually became more and more uninhabitable and was eventually abandoned - although regular visits continued but now staying with a local family who had been moved out of their white house to a new council house, with several bedrooms, in the same area.
By the time I was about sixteen I was looking to use my holidays to explore more of the Outer Hebrides by myself and over the next few years managed to visit all of the main islands - from Barra to Lewis - then onto Skye and Mull. The family had also taken shorter holidays (three weeks for working adults becoming granted) and we visited Bute then Islay and Jura. By the time I retired, back in 2016, I felt I’d visited most of the inhabited west coast islands - but not all. I decided that a good project for me (a bucket list, if you want) would be to complete my list of visits to all inhabited, west coast Scottish islands - maybe extending that to all the other groups if I lived long enough. After starting out on this I eventually made a list (thank you Internet) of all the islands not yet visited - and I discovered there was still a long list of islands not visited, not just the half dozen or so I had originally presumed. Note that in making this list I decided, as mentioned previously, that tidal islands joined by causeway or bridge had to be included, that even those that could be walked to at low tide (like Erraid off Mull) had to be included - as long as they were surrounded by water at, at least, high tide.
I had, a few years prior to starting this bucket list, acquired the smallest sized Transit van available (low roof and SWB). The plan was to use this van for Highland trips and use the loading area as a place to sleep if I could not find a private hostel room or a cheap B&B (the loading area of a SWB Transit was longer than six feet and sleeping in it would not be a problem from that aspect). Up until this point I had made a few mainland trips but I had never before slept in the van - so this trip was going to test this idea out. I had added a large sheet of MDF to cover the ribbed metal base of the loading area, a large piece of spare carpet to soften the hard surface and provide increased insulation, a double sized, self inflating sleeping mattress and several spare duvets to add to all the above. All I had to do after this was load my camping gear and clothes etc., for the trip.

The start of the first trip.
So, on the morning of August 15th 2016 I headed off on my first island trip. The plan was to head over to Hunter’s Quay via Western Ferries from Gourock, drive through Cowal to Portavadie via Tighnabruaich. From there I took the ferry to Tarbet Loch Fynne then headed south on the A83 to Campbeltown. After only a few miles I then branched left and took the B8001 down the east coast of Kintyre via Carradale, Saddell and Peniver to Campbeltown. It was a very pleasant day so at Campbeltown I parked up for a while, took a wander around and located a couple of Indian restaurants, one of which I’d visit later for my evening meal. I then took the B842 south to Southend. The only previous time I’d been down that way was many years ago with my parents and sister. My memory was of a wild and rugged land - so I was quite surprised to find a cultivated landscape filled with farms. After visiting the Southend area I decided to take a trip over the hills, via a very minor road, to visit the Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse. Within a short distance it became clear that this road was where my memory of a wild and rugged land came from - because that was the case. The road goes right down to the lighthouse but the last part of it was closed off by a large locked gate. From this point it was clear that the remainder of the road was an incredibly steep and twisted one that was suitable only for the most able of off road vehicle. I decided to take a walk down it to get a better view (and pictures) of the lighthouse. Walking down the road was quite easy - but walking back up again was a lot more difficult. I did however, get a better view of the lighthouse. I also spotted a path leading off to the right which, on looking along this path, I was able to see the spot on the hillside where the helicopter with security personnel had hit the hillside, killing all on board, back in 1994. There is a monument, or cairn, at the site but I decided not to go up to it - but I did stop for a brief moment of contemplation.
From there I retraced my steps to Campbeltown then turned east towards Machrihanish where there was a large camping and caravan site which I thought would suit my purposes for that night. This proved to be the case as there was plenty of room for me and the facilities were more than suitable. I did drive into Campbeltown a few hours later and enjoyed a rather fine curry in one of the two restaurants I’d spotted earlier. Sleeping in the van also proved to be a success - although the bulkhead between the front seats and the loading area was like climbing into a coffin such that, after I got home, I removed this bulkhead before any further trips. Doing this made sleeping in the van much more acceptable.
Next morning I headed back into Campbeltown and visited a large store (a Co-op I think it was) to augment my food supplies and buy a couple of sandwiches for breakfast. After that it was back onto the A83 and up the west coast of Kintyre to Tayinloan, where the ferry to Gigha ran from. When I got to the ferry it was about to depart, almost full, but the ferrymen squeezed me on - but so tightly I was unable to get out of my transit. The ferrymen did not seem concerned about that - and I could have got out via the driver’s window in an emergency. Gigha was, finally, about to be visited!

Gigha.
Gigha is a small island. Internet research tells me it’s about seven miles long (north to south) and about a mile and a half wide (east to west). Going by that, I judge it’s about a mile and a half off the coast of Kintyre. It’s a fairly low lying island - but it is not a pancake. There are several small hills dotted around it. Immediately to the west of Arnish (the only real village) there is a small, unnamed hill, standing at 69 meters. To the west of that, nearer the west coast, there is Meal a Ghlamaidh at 79 meters - and a bit further up the west coast there is Creag Bhan at the dizzy height of 100 meters. In addition to those three there are also a few other small hills dotted about. The coast line, like most other west coast islands, is mainly rocky but, going by the map I looked at and some photographs I’ve seen, there are several white sandy beaches dotted about. I presume it is possible to get to the more remote beaches with a short walk. I should note here that due to Scotland’s ‘right to roam’ law (properly called ‘The Responsible Use Of Land Act (Scotland) 2006’ that getting anywhere within Scotland should be possible - within certain restrictions. This law relates to walking or cycling, not a motor car of any description. It also restricts access. For example, a private, cultivated garden or a private dwelling house (and I presume holiday cottages) are not included in this freedom to roam. It also legislates against damage to gates and fences and any crops under cultivation - and, of course, interfering with activities such as lambing and deer stalking (although I would not want to do the latter anyway, just in case I got a bullet in the head). If you have any doubts then it’s always advisable to check with a local and even determine if there any paths to where you want to go that ensures you don’t breach any of the above rules. The southern part of the island looks fairly lush and cultivated - but it becomes more rugged towards the north end (my included photographs demonstrates this, I hope).
Unless you mainly want to do nothing much more than relax then I figure that a week on the island is more than enough time to spend on it. There are several activities to enjoy and spots of interest to visit - but not very many. There are a couple of standing stones and other ancient monuments, like forts, duns and cairns to see. There is also a nine hole golf course - but I don’t know if that is still in use or not. There is also Achmore Gardens to see. I understand this had gone pretty wild but that a trust had been set up to bring it back to it’s former glory. I don’t know if that has been completed but, if it has, a visit would seem a worthwhile idea. There are, of course, several walks that could be undertaken (but see above re the ‘right to roam’ law). There is also a hotel with, no doubt, a pub and a highly rated restaurant, both in Arnish - but who knows what effect the COVID-19 restrictions will have had on these. I will not go into any more detail about all of this but leave it up to anyone who is thinking of visiting to do their own Internet, or book, research.
Although served by a car ferry, I found the island to be very quiet and peacful - but my visit was over lunch time and that might have resulted in it being quieter than at other times.
My visit to Gigha was a brief one - not quite a flying visit but not much more than that as I had other plans for the afternoon. Although, obviously, not an island, I wanted to include a trip through the Gulf of Corryvreckan on my bucket list. I did not plan to do that on this trip but I wanted to go to Crinan and Seil, where some Corryvreckan trips left from, to check these out. I also wanted to visit Nether Logie, just north of Crinan, to have a wander around the several ancient monuments there. A couple of years previously I had stopped there briefly with a couple of friends but time constraints on that trip had prevented me from exploring the site - and, since I was passing it, I wanted to take the opportunity for a good look. I also wanted to stay that night in an Oban camping and caravan site but since I was not booked in I wanted to get there early before all the spaces were taken. With all that in mind I decided that a two hour visit to Gigha was all that I could manage - and this would, anyway, satisfy my bucket list requirement to have visited it. With that in mind, I left the car ferry, turned left at the main road and headed straight down to the South Pier. From there I retraced my route back up north to where the road petered out - and then back to the ferry. I did not venture up any of the several roads heading west from the main drag. These seemed to lead to farms and houses. They might also have led to ways to get to the west coast but, since I had no time to explore, I decided not to follow any of them. I did stop from time to time to enjoy the scenery and take photographs - but that was about all.
So, from there it was back onto the ferry and back to Tayinloan to continue my journey north towards Crinan, Seil and Oban.