Inhabited west coast Scottish islands - Seil

Seil (pronounced in English, as far as I can tell, as ‘seal’) is the northern most of the Slate Islands. It is the second largest of the group by area but also the most populous. It lies about fifteen miles south of Oban. To get to it you leave the A816 at Kilninver and take the B844. This road is marked as leading to the Luing Ferry at North Cuan or The Atlantic Bridge. The more official name for this bridge is Clachan Bridge and on crossing this you are immediately on Seil. As far as I can tell the name The Atlantic Bridge is nothing more than a good marketing ploy by those on the island seeking tourists to come see it - and then continue to tour the island and spend some tourist bucks. I say this because the bridge does not really cross the Atlantic as, as far as I can tell, the bridge crosses the point where Seil Sound, to the south, joins with Clachan Sound, to the north, and it no more crosses the Atlantic than the causeway between the mainland and Danna does or, more recently, the bridge between Harris and Skalpay Harris or the Skye Bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh. Still, it has been known as the Atlantic Bridge for a long time - and what’s wrong with a bit of marketing?
It also needs to be mentioned that this bridge is not only single track but very highly arched. When approaching it (from either side) it is a good idea to look towards the approach road on the other side (while also keeping your eye on the road!) as doing this will help determine if there is a vehicle coming the other way as it’s otherwise impossible to tell, until you are already on the bridge, if another vehicle is coming towards you. With this in mind, it is wise to cross the bridge very slowly in case you need to stop very quickly! On crossing the bridge onto Seil there is a large vacant area on the left suitable for pulling into and stopping. This allows for walking back up to the bridge summit (there is a narrow pavement which makes this safe enough) for views, and photographs, both up and down both sounds. It also allows for a fine photograph of the bridge itself without blocking the passing place immediately before the bridge on the mainland side. This area might or might not belong to the Inn across the road (the Tigh An Truish) but if so I did not spot any signs indicating this or saying it was for the sole use of customers - and, on the two or three times I’ve stopped there, I was never asked to move on.  
Unlike Luing, which is torpedo shaped, Seil is more like a closed fist with a stubby forefinger (on the east side) pointing south towards Luing. The land, like Luing and just about all of the west coast islands and much of the west coast in general, does not look to be of great quality with areas suitable for sheep and cattle, other areas suitable for only sheep and much of it pretty wild and suitable for only deer herds (although I don’t know if there are deer on Seil). Like Luing, Seil is also fairly low lying but lumpy - the highest point, Meall a Chaise, is less than five hundred feet (146 meters). This is higher than the highest point of Luing and still not particularly high but certainly not a pancake.
On crossing the bridge the road (which remains the B844) turns hard left and heads south down the east side of the island until shortly after the turn off to the village of Balvicar. It then swings to the right (west) and continues to the village of Ellenabeich - where the crossing to Easdale Island runs from. Just before the road swings west there is a left turn which leads to Balvicar Farm. At the point the road swings right there is another road which, more or less, continues straight on. This is the B8003 which runs down the centre of the ‘finger’ to the village of North Cuan - where the crossing to Luing runs from.  About two thirds of the way between the Atlantic Bridge and Balvicar there is another road which heads north west past Oban Seil to Ardencaple House and then on to Ardfad - but more about this road later.
The main habitations on Seil seems to be in four places; Clachan Seil, Balvicar, North Cuan (South Cuan being on Luing) and Ellenabeich. Clachan Seil, immediately over the bridge, can hardly be described as a village as it does not appear to have a centre or any facilities apart from the inn already mentioned. It appears to be only a long straggle of houses, on both sides of the road, although I did notice a sign for a school. Similarly, North Cuan appeared to be no more than a few houses scattered along the coast facing Luing with, again, no facilities likes shops or inns and with not much to entice anyone, apart for those seeking the ferry to Luing. Balvicar is more of a village with houses clustered together. There is a shop where you turn left off the main road and I saw a sign for a restaurant called The Fisherman’s Kitchen. Seil golf course is also situated in Balvicar. I have to say, however, that I was rather disappointed in Balvicar as the road through the village twisted and turned and rose and fell without offering any clear view of the place. To make matters worse, the road to the pier was blocked by a gate which advised that no unauthorised entry was permitted. This prevented access to the only spot where a proper view of the village might have been obtained - and the road just seemed to end at the entrance to houses with no parking places (that I could see) that allowed one to get out of their car and wander around. Although I might return some day for another look I have to say that there was nothing about Balvicar that would particularly entice me to do so. According to my map there are a couple of patches of water that might be small lochs or, maybe, flooded quarries - but with no parking immediately obvious I was unable to explore to determine which was the case (although I have read that a slate quarry was opened at Balvicar, so there’s a good chance that at least one of those was once a slate quarry).  Ellenabeich, and the bit of coast leading to it, is another matter. On hitting this bit of coast you are presented with fine views out to the Garvellachs and down the west coast of Luing towards Scarba - and there is a large area to park your car (if you are driving) and enjoy this view. There is also An Cala Gardens along this road which, from what I read, is worth a visit. The village of Ellenabeich is also well worth a visit and a wander around in. There is a reasonably sized parking area (free when I last visited) - but you have to drive through the whole village, past several rows of houses, to get to it as it’s hidden away, after three sharp turns (right then left then right again) at the far west end of the village. The village centre itself is mainly of old slate miner’s houses in a couple of terraces - all very quaint looking. There are also facilities including The Oyster Bar (which I think is as much restaurant as a pub), a shop and a museum all about the slate mining industry - and at least one flooded slate quarry to take a look at (another small patch of water might just be a small lochan). There is also a pier, built of slate, where you can catch the passenger ferry to the island of Easdale or join one of the sea adventure tours to see whales etc., or take a trip through the Gulf of Corryvreckan to see the famous whirlpool (although it has to be said that all these tours are very popular and probably need to be booked well in advance - and might well end up being cancelled if the sea conditions are adverse). For those who don’t know, the Corryvreckan whirlpool is one of the largest largest in the world when in full flow with a Spring tide (I’ve read it’s the fourth largest but I’ve also read it’s the third largest). It appears that the Royal Navy once designated it as ‘unnavigable’ - but I suspect that was back in the days of sail.  Unlike with Balvicar, I would be more than happy to pay return visits to Ellenabeich. Not only was the village picturesque and quaint but the views from it were simply outstanding. Note that Ellenabeich is sometimes called Easdale. This, as far as I can tell, is because the whole area, including the island, is also called Easdale - but the correct name for the village on Seil is Ellenabeich.
Like Luing, Seil offers a few possible walks and historical sites that might be worth a visit: duns, forts, cairns and there is a ruined castle indicated at Ardfan. There is also the church at Kilbrandon (half way down the ‘finger’) which apparently has exceptional stained glass windows that are worth seeing. Also like Luing, Seil does not appear to have any family friendly, sandy beaches. There might be one exception to this close to the castle at Ardfan - but I did not investigate either the beach or the ruined castle. This due to the fact that the road to both runs past Ardencaple House. Dropping down the road from Oban Seil I spotted a sign saying that the road only went to Ardencaple House and that there was no turning. With this in mind I pulled into a large area off the road in front of a very large, open sided barn. I guessed that this area was used to load sheep and cattle onto trucks to take them for sale and slaughter (or maybe deliver them) but I was easily able to park without causing an obstruction of any sort. I then took took my camera and headed off towards Ardencaple House to see what I could see. Before long I came to a couple of stone gate posts, very close to which was a house which looked like it was a lodge/gate house (or had once been). Attached to one of the stone gate posts was a notice which read ‘Ardencaple House only - please respect our privacy’. In the grounds of the gate house was a very professional looking row of dog kennels - with several large, brown hounds jumping about and barking as if I was a member of the Taliban or some other terrorist group. The road was not marked as ‘private’ but, given the notice on the gate post and the dogs, I decided not to proceed further. If I had not been alone then I would have done so. However, I also noticed from my map that the road did seem to stop right in front of the house - although a double track seemed to continue past the house, past several other buildings then north towards the coast, then east past several more buildings then past what could be a small sandy beach before coming to an end at Ardfad and very close to what was marked as a ruined castle on my map. Being on my own, I decided it best to avoid any confrontation (or dogs) so I was unable to visit either the beach or the castle. I later discovered that I had taken a long distance photograph, with my camera set to it’s highest zoom factor, of what I believe are the ruins of the castle. If my photograph is of the castle (see photograph below) then there would not appear to be much of it left standing. I was also unable to determine if the buildings past Ardencaple House were inhabited, ruined or simply farm buildings of some sort. I believe it would have been within my legal right to continue my walk to the end of the track (under various land reform acts commonly know as ‘The Right To Roam’) - but I decided that discretion was the better part of valour. Is the owners’ request for privacy genuine (given how close the road ran to their front door) or are they seeking to keep a nice beach for their own private enjoyment? Who knows? I would like to return some day with a companion and perhaps also have the recorder on my phone switched on - just to be able to record anything said to us.
If I have a complaint about Seil it is that, if driving, finding a place to park up and explore was not easy (apart from at the Atlantic Bridge, Balvicar shop, where the road to Ellenabeich first meets the south coast, at Ellenabeich itself and at North Cuan). Finding parking space for other explorations and adventures was not easy - apart from passing places which should not be used for this. This is fine if walking or cycling but restricting if coming by car.
I had, at this point, originally planned to include Easdale Island in this post - but I’ve decided to leave this for a separate post. So, I conclude this post with a few photographs of Seil.

The above photo is of the Clachan 'Atlantic' bridge taken from the mainland towards Seil.

 

 

 

The photo to the right is looking south from the 'Atlantic' bridge down Seil Sound.

 

 

 

The photo to the left is from the 'Atlantic' bridge looking north up the Clachan Sound.

 

 

The photo above is what I believe to be what's left of the castle at Ardfan. This photo was taken with my camera on full zoom as the ruins are about one mile away from where I was standing. I then used photo software to select the small area on top of a rocky outcrop - and then zoomed in even further. I believe this is the remains of the castle simply because the remains of man made walls can be seen - and it would be unusual for a simple house to be built in such a location.

 

 The photo above was taken from the jetty at (north) Cuan.

The above photo is of the flooded slate quarry at Ellenabeich.

The above photo of one of the terraced rows of old miner's cottages at Ellenabeich.