Island 250 - An Caol, Fort William, Highland, Scotland

An Caol is a sinuous snake shaped island, that is really not much more than a shinge ridge.  It is located  to the south west of the village of Caol near Fort William where Loch Linnhe becomes Loch Eil and is accessible at low tide.  It is so flat that, were it not for the presence of a few trees at the northern end, it would be almost invisible from the mainland at high or low tide.

The Ordnance Survey map show the area between the island and Caol as sand but it looked more like mud to me.  I was very dubious about how accessible it was and probably wouldn't even have attempted to walk to it were it not for Peter Caton's book No Boat Required: Exploring Tidal Islands.  He says he walked to it without any problem, so having left my car outside a house near the children's playground on the seafront, I set off.  The area nearest the mainland is salt marsh, which wasn't as easy to negotiate as you might think, as the grass is very long, so you can't see where the small but deep muddy channels are.  I found it easier to stick to the shoreline.  The island still looked a long way off across the mudflats but after testing the mud it seemed solid enough, so I set off.  I reached the island without a problem.  There isn't really a great deal to see on it.  There is a small wrecked boat at the northern end near the trees.

Apparently the island used to be much bigger and it belongs to the former Liberal Democrat Leader Charles Kennedy's family.

 Looking north from the centre of An Caol

 Looking east towards Ben Nevis (hidden in the clouds as usual) from the centre of An Caol

 Lots of flotsam and jetsam

Looking north east towards Caol

 - the wrecked boat is just visible at the northern end of the island

An Caol - looking south towards Fort William

An Caol at high tide looking south down Loch Linnhe

  The island is almost invisible apart from the trees sticking up