Ness Islands, Inverness

The Ness Islands are located in the middle of the River Ness just south of Inverness City Centre.  They don't count for my collection, as they are too far upstream to be tidal and don't have names. However they are most definitely islands and are well used by local people walking their dogs and their children.  There is a footbridge, known as General Well's Bridge from Bught Road on to the southern island, a smaller bridge links the two islands together and there is another bridge, known as Island Bank Road Bridge linking the northern island to Island Bank Road.

The islands were bought by the local council in the 19th century for use as a public park.  The first footbridges to the islands were chain suspension bridges, which were built in 1829.  However they were not well maintained and were washed away during a flood in 1849.  They were replaced c1853 by suspension bridges designed by the engineer James Dredge.  These survived until 1987 when they were replaced by the current Victorian style bridges.  The bridges can be closed off when the river is in flood.

General's Well can be seen on the west bank of the River Ness just to the south of the General's Well Bridge.  It is named after General Macintyre, who lived at Bught House and drank the water from the well every day and believed it had health giving properties.  The well is thought to have early Christian significance. 

General's Well Bridge

General's Well Bridge from the west bank of the River Ness

 

General's Well on the west bank of the River Ness

 

Laburnum tree in flower on the southern island

 

Bridge linking the two islands

 

Decorative Seat

 

Stone Seating

 

Very tall tree

 

 Another decorative seat

Island Bank Road Bridge

 

Island Bank Road Bridge

Island 283 - Eilean Dubh, Loch Eriboll, Highland

Eilean Dubh is a small uninhabited tidal island located on the west coast of Loch Eriboll 500 metres to the south of the island of A' chleit.  It is about 800 metres long by 400 metres wide, 10 metres above sea level at its highest point and it is covered in heather and rough grass.  It is only cut off for a short while at high tide.  It was unclear from the Ordnance Survey map whether it ever gets completely cut off but there were small amounts of loose seaweed strewn across the whole of the rocky causeway, which indicated to me that it is sometimes cut off.

The geology map shows that the eastern side of the island is composed of pipe rock while the west is composed of false bedded quartzite.  Both rocks are members of the Eriboll Sandstone Formation and were formed in the Cambrian Period.

 Looking north up the west coast of Loch Eriboll towards A' chleit

 West coast of Loch Eriboll from Eilean Dubh

 East coast of Eilean Dubh looking south - pipe rock

 Rocky outcrop of pinkish quartzite on the west side of Eilean Dubh

 Looking north up the west coast of Eilean Dubh

Looking south down a spit of land from the west coast of Loch Eriboll towards Eilean Dubh

Island 282 - A' chleit, Loch Eriboll, Highland

A' chleit is a small low lying grass covered tidal island located off the west coast of Loch Eriboll.  It is approximately 200 metres long by 80 metres wide and the highest point is 10 metres above sea level.  The grass on the island is much better quality than that on the mainland, a fact which hasn't gone unnoticed by the local sheep. The geology in this part of Scotland is extremely complicated but the geology map of Loch Eriboll that I looked at shows A' chleit as being composed of a different Cambrian rock type to the mainland to which it is adjacent.

There is no path down to the island from the A838.  I parked in a layby almost opposite the island where there was a handy gate, so I didn't have to climb over the barbed wire fence.  It was then a 500 metre walk across boggy grassland to access the beach.  A rough rocky track runs along behind the beach to allow the fish farm staff to access their fish tanks.  You can see some of them in the loch on the left hand side of the photo below.

This was a landmark island for me, as it marks the point when I had visited as many offshore islands as there currently are Munros (Scottish mountains over 3,000 feet). I decided long ago that I wasn't going to collect Munros, as I don't like endlessly walking uphill. In fact I have never been up a single Munro and have no intention of doing so.  I much prefer islands but set myself the challenge of visiting as many islands as there are Munros.  Challenge completed!

 Causeway still covered an hour or so after high tide

 A' chleit

 The local sheep are attracted by the superior grazing offered by the island.  However they thought I was dangerous and made their way back to the mainland as soon as they could.

 Small cairn on the top of A 'chleit

 If you look carefully you can see the sheep on their way back across the rocky causeway to the mainland.

Have these rocks been smoothed by the passage of glaciers over them during the last ice age?

 Looking south down the east coast of A' chleit

Island 281 - Eilean Creagach, Talmine, Highland

Eilean Creagach is linked to the mainland by a concrete causeway.  It forms the outer part of the small harbour at the small village of Talmine on the west coast of Tongue Bay.  It is a rocky island topped with grass and thrift.  The island is round and about 100 metres in diameter.  Its highest point is about 10 metres above sea level.  The remains of a navigation cairn or beacon are located on the summit of the island.  The island's rocks are covered in pale grey/green, orange, black and white lichens.

 Talmine Harbour from Eilean Creagach

 Talmine village from Eilean Creagach

 Talmine Harbour and Eilean Creagach

Back of Talmine Harbour and Eilean Creagach.  Looking south across a field of daisies, orchids and birds foot trefoil

Island 269 - Eileanan nan Gad, Kentra Bay, Highland

Eileanan nan Gad is a tidal island located in Kentra Bay, which is located at the north east end of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula.  The island is shaped like a backwards letter C and the highest point on the island is 10 metres above sea level.  The island is approximately 400 metres from north to south and 300 metres from east to west at the widest point.

There is a small and somewhat potholed car park at the end of the road at Arivegaig.  The car park was full on the day I visited but there was no sign of any people.  From the car park a track heads west along the shore and it is about half a mile walk to the point on the mainland opposite Eileanan nan Gad.   The Ordnance Survey map shows that the 250 metres between the mainland and the island is mud and sand, which didn't sound very promising.  However Peter Caton had reported no problems with soft mud in his book No Boat Required: Exploring Tidal Islands and in reality there is about 220 metres of flat and very firm salt marsh grass and only a 20 metre gap between this and the island and the mud was firm.  However the mud to the east of the island by the channel made by the river Allt Beithe looked much softer.

Eileanan nan Gad is covered in rough grass, heather, juniper, moss and bracken and when I visited in late September 2014 most of the island was quite boggy, except for the low ridge, which forms the highest part of the island.  I found the remains of a manmade stone wall.



 Looking east from Eileanan nan Gad



Looking north up Kentra Bay from Eileanan nan Gad



Eileanan nan Gad looking south towards Acharacle 

Eileanan nan Gad is obviously visited by other people, as I found this dinghy on the eastern side of the island by the channel of the Allt Beithe.

Looking north up Kentra Bay across the salt marsh to Eileanan nan Gad

There are lots of warning notices at the beginning of the track leading from the car park.  They warn about unexploded munitions, shooting during the deer stalking season and theft from cars but reassuringly not soft mud or quicksand.

Island 268 - Eilean Mor, Glenborrodale, Ardnamurchan, Highland

Eilean Mor is a tidal island located at Glenmore a couple of miles west of Glenborrodale on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula.  The hardest thing about getting there is the long and very winding single track road from Salen.  When I visited the road was quite busy and the locals seem to drive along it quite fast, so you have to concentrate very hard. 

Eilean Mor isn't cut off for long at each high tide and it is very easy to pick your way through the bog to get to it.  The name means Big Island and it is reasonably large - 1 kilometre long by about 500 metres wide at the widest point and 40 metres high at the highest point in the south of the island.  It is obviously grazed by cattle, as there were lots of cow pats but I saw no cows.  The northern part of the island is covered in rough grass, heather, scabious and bracken.  There is an area of woodland in the south east corner of the island.

The Nadurra Visitor Centre (formerly known as the Ardnamurchan Natural History Centre) is located half a mile to the north of Eilean Mor.  As well as an exhibition about the natural history of the area, they have a gift shop and an excellent tearoom.  I was very pleased that their cream tea is served with clotted cream.  Living as I do in the south west of England a cream tea is only a genuine cream tea if it is served with clotted cream but quite often outside the SW it is served with squirty cream.

Looking north towards Glenmore and the Nadurra Visitor Centre from Eilean Mor

Looking west from Eilean Mor along the Arnamurchan Peninsula

Looking south towards the island of Oronsay



Looking east towards Glenborrodale.  Eilean Mor is on the right hand of the photo.

Looking south towards Eilean Mor from the mainland at Glenmore

Island 267 - Rubha Da Chuain, Highland

This is another island that I cannot pronounce!  Rubha Da Chuain is a low lying rocky tidal island in 3 parts located 50 metres of the beach at Camusdarach, which is 1.5 miles to the south west of Morar in Highland Region. Some scenes in the film Local Hero, which is one of my favourite films, were filmed here.

It was a low spring tide when I visited and all 3 parts of the island were accessible.  The inner most part is covered in heather, scabious and a few small rowan and birch trees.  The middle section is covered in grass interspersed with pools of dark brown water.



Rubha Da Chuain

 The beach at Camusdarach from Rubha Da Chuain

 Rubha Da Chuain looking west

 Looking north west towards Rubha Da Chuain

Looking south from Rubha Da Chuain

Island 266 - Eilean Toigal, Morar, Highland

Eilean Toigal is a small round tidal island in Morar Bay a couple of miles south of Mallaig.  I was informed by the owner of the B&B in Arisaig where I stayed that it is pronounced to rhyme with Dougal.  It can be accessed off the A830 Morar Bypass.  There is a large layby on the northbound carriageway and just to the north of it there is a sign saying To the Beach, which goes down some well made stone steps.  I made the assumption that if the beach was advertised as a place to visit then the sands probably weren't going to be quicksand.   From the bottom of the steps it is about 500 metres to Eilean Toigal.

I visited on a very wet murky day, so the famous Silver Sands of Morar weren't looking their best.  However I really liked the island. It is obviously visited by people from time to time, as there was a faint path leading up from the south east corner of the island.  The island is mainly covered in heather and bracken with some birch and pine trees, 1 small oak tree and a few rhododendron bushes.  The whole island is covered in a thick carpet of moss and is very boggy.

 Sign by the layby near the steps to the beach.  I don't know how common rhinoceroses are in these parts!
 

 The centre of Eilean Toigal

 Eilean Toigal from the eastern side of Morar Bay

Looking south towards Eilean Toigal

Looking north west towards the mouth of Morar Bay

Eilean Toigal

Looking north from Toigal towards Eilean Toigal at high tide on a sunny day in June 2016