Inhabited west coast Scottish islands - Shona

Eilean Shona, or just Shona, is a tidal island at the mouth of Loch Moidart, which is just north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula and about twenty five miles south of Mallaig. I’ve read that it’s about two miles long and one and a half wide - but if so then I suspect that relates to the larger section alone as the whole island looks to be about twice as long as it is wide. It almost fills the mouth of Loch Moidart with the main entrance to the loch, to the south, being less wide than the island itself. Shona is almost split into two with Shona Mhór to the west and the smaller part, Shona Beag, to the east. (Note that I’m not sure if the name Shona Mhór actually exists as it’s usually just Shona and Shona Beag that’s indicated - but I’ve decided to call the larger part of the island Shona Mhór just to make it clear which part I’m referring to). The island is joined to the mainland via a causeway to Shona Beag, which does not appear to offer a great amount for the visitor with only one track from the causeway which heads south towards a house at (or called) Invermoidart. There appears to be little else to see on the island - apart from the all round views as you climb above the treeline.
Shona Mhór looks a lot more worth visiting and exploring with what appears to be a proper track up the east side and a bit along the north coast, with quite a few hill tracks and houses (many of which seem to be available for holiday lets). The highest hill on Shona Mhór is called Beinn a’ Bhàillidh, which reaches a height of 265 metres, with several satellite summits tumbling off to the west. The highest point of Shona Beag would appear to be a lot lower at maybe only about 100 metres - although it’s not all that easy to read the contour lines on my phone maps.  
The two parts of the island are separated by a narrow neck of land which is not far above sea level - but high enough not to separate both parts at even high tide. There appears to be no tracks or paths which link both parts of the island but it would also appear to be easy to ‘wild walk’ around the north channel coast from one part to the other. Apart from the causeway to Shona Beag, the other method of reaching Shona is via a boat from (as far as I can tell) near Doirlinn, which is near the ruin of Castle Tioram (pronounced more like Chiram). I suspect, however, that this route is only available to the owners and those renting a holiday cottage - although I did read in one article about a ‘free’ ferry on a Wednesday which crosses over early and returns late afternoon, so maybe access is available for the general public?

Shona (both parts) is a typical, west coast island in that it is mainly rough hillside lacking in much tree cover. At the same time, and unlike many other islands, there are areas of it which are well covered by trees - both pine and native of many species (as some of the photographs below will show). There is not much information on the Internet about the fauna on Shona (Mhór or Beag) but I did read in the island’s own site that it was home to pine martins, red squirrels, otters and red deer. There is the usual variety of birds to be spotted, including, according to the same article, golden and sea eagle along with buzzards, herons, curlews, oystercatchers, owls, woodpeckers, cuckoos and several others along with several species of butterfly. I could find nothing about the flora on the island so I presume that there is nothing unusual or rare. There would also appear to be a couple of sandy beaches, Shoe Bay at the south western tip and at Barramore on the northern coast (although there might well be more). I did not read about any ancient monuments or ruins to seek out and nor did I spot any marked on my maps - so one must presume that there are none to see. There are no cars on Shona Mhór - although there might be farm vehicles or quad bikes. Some of the cottages are a fair distance from the jetty and it would be pretty difficult getting your luggage to some of them without a quad bike, at least, being available. Given that Shona Beag has a causeway, I suspect the resident at Invermoidart  keeps their vehicle on the island, but I cannot say for sure (although the track is wide enough for a vehicle). Either way, if there are any vehicles on the island, either part, then there are very few and it is therefore very quiet and peaceful. Those on holiday there will be able to enjoy relaxing, hill walking and many water sports. With next to no facilities, I would think that a holiday of any length on Shona would require reasonably good weather unless staying indoors and reading a book is all that’s wanted. This because getting on and off Shona Mhór is not easy and day trips are, therefore, not an option (unless you have your own boat). I am not sure, if staying for a week or more, what one would do about food supplies. 

My own trip to Shona was only to Shona Beag - for a couple of hours. I walked across the causeway and followed the off-road vehicle track to Invermoidart before turning back and heading west (and slightly north) to the highest point of the ridge above the narrow neck of land separating Mhór from Beag. This provided a very fine view of the eastern end of Shona Mhór and the surrounding countryside. The walk to this location turned out to be one of the most difficult I’ve ever done. There was not much of an incline but the ground was very spongy and covered with large tufts of rough grass. If I stopped moving for even a second or two it became almost impossible to avoid ending up on my butt! After enjoying the view from that spot, and taking a few photographs, I then headed north east towards the ridge above the north channel, avoiding the difficult ground by staying above it, and then down the steep hillside to rejoin the track shortly before it reached the causeway - and that was the end of my visit to Shona. 

The usual selection of photographs follow.

 

The above photo is of the track to Shona Beag taken from the mainland (Shona Beag on the left) along the north channel with the Sgurr of Eigg beyond. The crossing to Shona is just ahead on the left of the picture.

The shot above is of the crossing/causway to Shona. 

 

The photo above was taken while crossing the causeway. As in the first photo, it is looking west along the north channel towards Eigg.

The photo above was also taken while crossing the causeway to Shona - but this time looking east towards the head of Loch Moidart.

The photo above is of the gate to Invermoidart. It did not, beyond the gate, look like a private garden to me so I climbed over it and continued. However, and only a short distance further on, the surrounding ground had clearly changed to a garden with a lawn (being mowed). I decided at that point to retrace my steps, climb back over the gate and head west towards the hill looking over towrds Shona Mhór.

The shot above was taken approaching the top of the hill on Shona Beag. It is looking south towards the start of the ardnamurchan peninsula and over castle Tioram area (the castle being hidden by trees).

The photo above was taken from the hill above the gap between Shona Beag (foreground) and Shona Mhór beyond, and over Loch Moidart towards Ardnamurchan.

The photo above was taken from the same spot as the previous photo but looking more to the west and over to the summit of Beinn a' Bhàillidh on Shona Mhór,

The above (zoom) photo was taken at the same spot as the previous two shots. The hills in the distance are the mountains on Rum - also known as the Rum Cuillins. The fine view of them is the reason I took this photo - and why I included it here.