Inhabited west coast Scottish Islands - Islay
Islay is Scotland’s fifth largest island. It is also the southern most of the Inner Hebrides - with only Arran and Holy Island in the Firth of Clyde being further south. From the southern tip, at the Mull of Oa (the ‘a’ is not pronounced), the coast of Northern Ireland can clearly be seen (on a good day with no clouds obscuring the view). Having been to Islay several times (three that I can recall - but see below) it was not on my bucket list but it is, of course, an inhabited, west coast Scottish Island, so (like many others I had already visited prior to creating my bucket list) I have to include it in my list of islands which meet the above criteria. Islay, in many respects, is a very varied island. There are low lying areas which are farmed and other hilly areas which are home to sheep and deer herds. The hills are not particularly high, with the highest, Beinn Bheigeir, reaching to only just over 1600 feet (which, I suppose, is high enough). The island’s population is about 3200 w