![]() The centre also sells some wee gifts and beautifully painted slate souvenirs. There are also Entry to the centre is free, but you can leave a donation. I love old photographs and newspaper clippings, so thoroughly enjoyed browsing the displays to learn about the history and way of the life on these islands. Slate Islands Heritage Centre, Ellenabeich – opened by the Slate Islands Heritage Trust in the year 2000, this small and friendly attraction is packed with local information and Archives to help with tracing Genealogy. This is also where you’ll find the Oyster Bar & Restaurant, the Easdale ferry, the Heritage Centre, and the departure point for the Seafari trips to the Corryvreckhan. The largest village on the island is Ellenabeich, which looks particularly picturesque with its hillside backdrop, and rows of 19th century workers’ cottages and pretty streetlights. The wooden-clad hotel bar is really rustic, and is perfect for a post-walk pint or dram. The name translates as ‘house of the trousers’, as this is where rebellious Highlanders would change into their trousers before going to the mainland wearing “the Highland Dress” was made illegal under the Act of Proscription, following the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The Tigh an Truish Hotel is the first to greet you on the other side of the bridge. The physical separation from the mainland is very narrow, but I still felt a wave of calm and curiosity wash over me once I knew I had arrived on a new island. Geographically, it is an island – it just has the added convenience of a bridge. Some will argue this manmade link strips Seil of its island status, but I think that’s nonsense. The Isle of Seil has been connected to the mainland by the picturesque Clachan Bridge since 1792 it is also known as the ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’. The current population on the islands sits at around 150 people on Seil, 200 people on Luing, and 60 people on Easdale.As well as being exported globally, the slate from these islands was also used on some iconic (reasonably local) buildings, such as Ardmaddy Castle, Castle Stalker, Cawdor Castle and Glasgow Cathedral. The first written record of slate being taken off Easdale for commercial purposes is from the 17th century.It is believed that he set up a Celtic monastery on the largest of the islands, and the ruins of the ‘beehive cells’ can still be seen today. It was around the same time that St Brendan came to Isle of Seil and travelled to the Garvellachs, which are a group of uninhabited islands in the Atlantic. In 536AD, St Columba arrived on the Isle of Iona and established the monastic community on the island.The islands, which are also referred to as the Atlantic Islands, have around 3,000 archaeological sites, 44 Sites of Scientific Interest and numerous conservation areas.Try wrapping your head around that number! The island’s famous Dalradian slate was formed during a collision of continents over 500 million years ago.Slate mining was the primary source of employment to the island people throughout the 19th and 20th century, and the product of their hard, dangerous labour was exported across the world, as far as Canada, the Caribbean and New Zealand at a rate of 9 million roofing slates per year. It was only when I arrived to explore them for myself, that I discovered the true extent of the slate industry’s influence on the land and its people. The Slate Islands of Seil, Luing, Easdale and Belnahau are famed as the ‘islands that roofed the world’. It wasn’t long before The Slate Islands fell onto my radar. I’ll hold my hands up and admit that I belonged to the latter, until my island-hopping exploits reached an all-time high when I turned 30.Īs well as my new-found appreciation for good-quality Tupperware and nights in, this turning point in my life saw me intently studying maps and researching new island territory to roam. Scottish people who I spoke to about my trip fell decidedly into one of two camps: they were very familiar with the islands – having already visited or seen them on a documentary – or they hadn’t even heard of them. They’re also a doddle to get to, so they must be really busy, eh? NOPE. The Slate Islands are super-interesting and truly unique, with quirky good looks and infinite charm. This trip to The Slate Islands was on a paid campaign to promote Scotland’s West Coast Waters Read on, to discover my findings from the intriguing islands of Seil, Easdale and Luing. They are not nearly as well-known as their Inner Hebridean neighbours, which is exactly why they are so appealing. The Slate Islands are a collection of islands which sit off Scotland’s West Coast, within easy reach of Oban. Island-hopping on Seil, Easdale and Luing ![]()
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