Seil, coast near Ellenabeich, looking to Mull
Overview map
Seil
Set in the Firth of Lorn, Seil is the most northerly, populous and accessible of the Slate Islands, being linked to the mainland by a fine stone bridge since the late eighteenth century. Known as the ‘islands that roofed the world’, the economy of the group was dominated by slate production, though despite a quarry at Balvicar briefly reopening in the 1950s and 1960s the economy is now largely dependent on tourism. Seil has a choice of bed and breakfasts as well as self-catering accommodation, an inn and a couple of bars/restaurants; the main grocery shop is at Balvicar.
Cross the ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’ 
While it could never live up to its grand nickname, the bridge more properly known as Clachan Bridge is certainly a magnificent structure. It dates back to 1792/3; originally intended by designer John Stevenson to have two arches, the plans were amended by Robert Mylne to include the single graceful arch that carries traffic over to Seil to this day. Next to it is an old inn, the Tigh an Truish (or House of Trousers). When kilts were outlawed in the aftermath of Culloden, Seil’s residents would leave their kilts here before crossing to the mainland.
Discover Ellenabeich 
Across the far side of the island is its picturesque capital of whitewashed former slate workers’ cottages. The village was named after the island of Eilean-a-beithich which was just offshore, but was quarried away until nothing remained. Today Ellenabeich is a visitors’ delight, but the livelihoods of villagers ended abruptly in 1881 when the sea broke into the main quarry pit – which had been worked to well below sea level – ending the industry here. The Scottish Islands Heritage Trust displays tell the sad story. If you’re feeling energetic, the village is a great place to start a walk – either up grassy tracks to the north to visit the west coastal cliffs and their stunning views to Mull, or south-east along the coastline to the Luing ferry at Cuan.
See the stained glass at Kilbrandon Church
Just over a kilometre along the road from the Cuan ferry pier is this isolated church, its plain exterior dating back to 1866 when it replaced an earlier church in Cuan itself. It’s well worth visiting for its striking stained-glass windows made by Douglas Strachan in 1937. The church can be included in a circular walk from Ellenabeich, following the coast to Cuan, along to the kirk and then back to the village over the moors; the route is mostly unmarked.
Easdale
Tiny Easdale is the smallest permanently inhabited island in the Inner Hebrides, and it must rank amongst the Scottish islands most comprehensively altered by man. The whole land area was heavily worked for slate, and away from the cottages its surface is completely pock-marked with old flooded pits and spoil. Now quiet, most visitors find it to be a slice of heaven. To reach it, a tiny but regular passenger ferry operates from Ellenabeich on Seil – carrying just ten people at a time. Easdale has a bar that doubles as a restaurant and tea room, and a bed and breakfast as well as several self-catering cottages.
Seil, ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’
Seil, Kilbrandon Church
Easdale, wheelbarrows
Luing, quarries
Easdale, summit
Seil, Ellenabeich
Luing, ferry
Explore the village
While some of its picturesque cottages are inevitably holiday homes, Easdale’s village is today home to around sixty people, having almost become completely deserted a few decades ago. The fact that there are no cars helps give it a truly special atmosphere, and the first thing you’ll notice when embarking from the ferry is the multicoloured fleet of wheelbarrows that the locals use to transport goods and belongings to and from the boat. There’s the ‘Puffer bar’ – which also serves as restaurant and tea room – and a tiny museum amidst the rows of whitewashed cottages, arranged around a central green and several old flooded quarry pits, all with great sea views. The beautifully modernised community hall is a great concert venue and has hosted some of Scotland’s finest folk musicians.
Climb the wee summit
You might think that an island of less than ten hectares wouldn’t have a walk worth the name, but you’d be wrong. Don’t miss the chance to take a walk on old slate paths and across the great heaps of spoil over towards the western side of the island. A path climbs up to the highest point, and although just thirty-eight metres above the sea the outlook from the view indicator – both over Easdale and across the sea to the surrounding islands – is sensational on a fine day.
Take part in the World Stone-Skimming Championships 
More than 300 people from around the world flock to Easdale each September to take part in this truly unique sporting event. Taking advantage of one of the old flooded quarries which makes for a perfect arena, and the plentiful flat, thin slate fragments, the world championships have been held here every year since 1997. Anyone can enter, and each contestant is allowed three skims. Throws are judged on distance, not the number of bounces, but to be a valid skim, the stone must bounce at least twice. With barbecue, craft stalls and a live music bash the preceding night, this is truly one of the quintessential Scottish island experiences.
www.stoneskimming.com
Luing
Viewed on a map, Luing is almost a twin to Seil, being a similar size and with the same history of slate quarrying. However, the lack of a bridge means it is much less visited than its better-known neighbour, and the population has declined to a couple of hundred. It takes just five minutes for the CalMac ferry to carry cars and passengers across the Cuan Sound between the two islands, and once over there’s a store and post office on the road into Cullipool, a cafe at the Atlantic Islands Centre, a bed and breakfast and some self-catering cottages.
Walk the quarry coast
This rugged hike begins from the ferry pier, initially following a grassy track to Cuan Point. It then heads along the west coast all the way to Cullipool, passing through the main old slate quarrying areas. Some parts are boggy, and at one point the slate route has fallen into the sea, now requiring a detour down and across awkward boulders, submerged at highest tide and overshadowed by cliffs. The largest quarries are reached just short of Cullipool, where 150 workers would produce 700,000 slates a year; quarrying here continued until the 1960s. After exploring the village you can return the same way or continue round the quiet roads for the return to the ferry.
Catch a Cullipool sunset
Like Ellenabeich and Easdale, Cullipool is a beautiful cluster of old whitewashed stone slate workers’ cottages, but it receives far fewer visitors. It’s a sleepy place, little changed in decades, but recently the Atlantic Islands Centre has brought a new lease of life, with a cafe and exhibitions. If you can, it’s worth staying in Cullipool to witness one of its memorable sunsets, sinking into the Firth of Lorn behind the Garvellachs and Mull.
Shuna
Lying in a sheltered position to the east of Luing, Shuna is green and richly wooded, with a single farm and a permanent population of just two people, though there are plenty of deer, seals and otters. The impressive ruined castle here was built in just 1911 as a private home, but it fell into ruin in the 1980s as it was too expensive to maintain. There is no regular ferry or boat trips to Shuna, but it is possible to hire one of several cottages for a week-long stay; the owners collect guests from nearby Arduaine on the mainland.
Lunga
On the opposite side of Luing is Lunga and its several smaller neighbours – Rubha Fiola (which is tidal), Eilean Dubh Mor and Eilean Dubh Beag, and Belnahua. Lunga was for many years used as an outdoor pursuits base but is now uninhabited; there is no regular boat service but it may be possible to visit the island by charter from Cullipool. The most northerly of the group, tiny Belnahua, was once a larger island, but it was slowly eaten away as it was quarried by its inhabitants, who once numbered almost 200; today it is deserted.
Scarba
The southernmost of the Slate Islands, Scarba is separated from Jura by the Gulf of Corryvreckan, famed for its great whirlpool, while another fearsome tidal race – the Grey Dogs – runs through the northern straits to Lunga. The island is wild and rugged, akin to Jura in character, rising like a squat pyramid to its highest point, Cruach Scarba, at 449 metres. There’s some woodland on its eastern shores around Kilmory Lodge, but much of the interior is barren. Despite extending to over 1,400 hectares, Scarba has not been permanently inhabited since the 1960s, and is today used for grazing animals and occasional deer stalking. There is no regular boat access, but it may be possible to secure a charter at Craobh Haven, Crinan or Cullipool. The ascent to the Cruach is extremely tough going but the reward is with an unforgettable view.
The Garvellachs
This chain of small islands lies out to the west of the Slate Islands, the name Garvellachs coming from the Gaelic An Garbh Eileaicha – ‘the Rough Islands’. While the largest is Garbh Eileach itself, the more southerly Eileach an Naoimh is the best known; it was the site of an early monastery founded by St Brendan of Clontarf in AD 542. Though abandoned by the ninth century, it became a centre of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages and its isolation has helped its preservation. The island is also renowned for its beehive-shaped double cell, which stands to a height of three metres. The ferry from Oban to Colonsay passes close to the islands, but there is no regular boat access. Landing trips can be arranged through Seafari on Easdale.
Kerrera
Extending for around seven kilometres in length, Kerrera is separated from mainland Argyll by its namesake Sound, providing the shelter that has made Oban into one of the most important ports in the West Highlands. There is a choice of ways to reach Kerrera, with the main regular passenger ferry making the short crossing from Gallanach, while a second ferry (booking required) runs from Oban itself to the marina at the north end of the island. Kerrera’s tea garden also operates as a bunkhouse, while at the north end of the island a bar/restaurant serves the marina.
Scarba and the Garvellachs from Luing
Kerrera, Gylen Castle
Kerrera, Hutcheson Monument
Complete the classic circuit with castle and cake 
An eleven-kilometre loop around the southern half of Kerrera is possible from the Gallanach ferry pier, making for one of the classic walks of the southern Hebrides. A short detour from the track leads to the dramatic ruin of Gylen Castle on the southern coastline, which has been partially restored to allow you to climb to the top of the keep. The other unmissable feature of the circuit comes soon after, with a visit to the tea garden for hearty soup, home-made bread and delicious cake. It should be enough to power you through the boggy sections on the return leg of the walk.
Uncover CalMac’s roots at the Hutcheson monument
This imposing obelisk can be reached by a five-kilometre (each way) walk from the Gallanach ferry, or much more quickly by using the marina ferry from Oban itself. The monument was built in 1883 to commemorate David Hutcheson, who set up the Burns shipping company that ran the first steamers on Scotland’s west coast. His brother-in-law David MacBrayne extended the services, and although the days of the steamers are long gone, the company heritage continues into today’s Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac). Fittingly, the monument gives superb views of the almost constant stream of CalMac ferries heading into and out of the bay.
Lismore
Set at the mouth of Loch Linnhe, Lismore is fifteen kilometres long but always less than two kilometres wide. Its name means ‘Big Garden’, which gives some impression of this verdant and fertile island, low-lying but surrounded by the hills and mountains of the mainland and Mull. There’s a CalMac vehicle ferry that takes fifty minutes to cross from Oban to Achnacroish at the centre of the island, while the northernmost tip can be reached by a much shorter passenger-only ferry from Port Appin. Lismore has a choice of bed and breakfast and self-catering cottages, a bunkhouse and a campsite; there’s also a small shop at Achnacroish.
Discover Port Ramsay
You’d struggle to find an island hamlet more picturesque, unspoilt and sleepy than little Port Ramsay, a string of terraced whitewashed cottages which once housed workers producing lime. It can be visited as part of an enchanting circular walk from the jetty served by the Port Appin ferry, initially following an unmarked route around the northern coastline and passing the old lime kilns before returning to the ferry along quiet roads.
Breach the defences of Tirefour broch
Tirefour Castle is actually an Iron Age broch, the best preserved in all the Inner Hebrides, and it remained in use until well into the Middle Ages. Dating back two millennia, the defensive walls would once have stood to around fifteen metres in height, but they are still imposing, reaching almost five metres in places and being four and a half metres thick, with passageways inside. Set atop a grassy mound, the broch has a superb location still commanding grand views up and down the Lynn of Lorn. It can be reached by a walk of around three kilometres each way from Achnacroish.
Lismore, ferry from Port Appin
Castle Coeffin
Once a stronghold of Clan MacDougall, the thirteenth-century ruins of Castle Coeffin still rise high from its rocky outcrop, though they are now heavily draped with ivy. Set right on the west coast of Lismore, the castle has great views across to Morven and along the coast to Achadun Castle; the walk to it starts from Clachan, near Lismore’s main church.
Bike to Achadun Castle
Lismore’s sleepy lanes and low-lying relief make it an ideal island for leisurely exploration by bike. You can take your two wheels across with you on the ferry from Port Appin and cycle the length of the island; one great objective is to bike as far as Mid Auchinduin and then follow a grassy track down to visit the ruins of Achadun Castle which have fine views across to Mull. In proper cycling tradition, cake at the Liosbeag Cafe is an essential stop on your way back; adjacent is a fine heritage centre and museum, including a faithful reconstruction of a cottar’s house.
Eriska
This small island at the mouth of Loch Creran is best known for its luxurious hotel, its whole 120-hectare extent making up the grounds. The island is separated from the Benderloch peninsula by the tidal narrows of An Doirlinn, which are crossed by a road bridge – though only the vehicles of hotel guests are allowed.
Indulge yourself at a most opulent island retreat
The Isle of Eriska Hotel and Spa must rank amongst Scotland’s most romantic retreats. Originally built as a grand family home, the hotel now offers five-star accommodation as well as a highly regarded fine dining restaurant. Sixteen of the thirty-four bedrooms are in the original house, which has a country house feel with open fires and oak panelled walls; Dame Judi Dench has been a guest, but you could imagine James Bond might choose to stay here too.
www.eriska-hotel.co.uk
Discover Eriska’s sculptures
If your budget doesn’t stretch to the hotel, you can instead park at the Shian Wood car park, off to the right from the minor road to Eriska just before Balure of Shian. From here you can continue along the road and cross the bridge to the island on foot. Once on the island there is a network of informal paths – some signed, some not – that explore the whole of this magical oasis. Deserving of special note are some of the island sculptures – look out for Ronald Rae’s abstract stone horse in the north of the island, or Kenneth Robertson’s beautiful bronze otter further along the coast to the west.
Island of Shuna
Not to be confused with its namesake Shuna in the Slate Islands group, the Island of Shuna lies to the north of Lismore, separated from the mainland by the 300-metre-wide Sound of Shuna. There’s a table-shaped hill towards the southern end, above Castle Shuna – the ruins of an old tower house. The island is two kilometres long and one kilometre wide, and there is no regular boat access.
Eriska, sculpture
Eriska, bridge
Eriska, hotel
Lismore, cycling