Island 171 - Colonsay, Inner Hebrides

I spent 2 nights and 2 days on this delightful island at the end of August 2012.   I visited Colonsay again for the day from Islay in June 2025.

I stayed in the Backpacker's Lodge.  I assumed when I arrived off the Calmac ferry from Oban that the Backpacker's Lodge would be signposted or in the village of Scalasaig but I could see no sign of it.  In the end I found someone to ask and it turned out to be 4 miles away at the north end of the island near Colonsay House up a very rough track.  I was glad I had brought the car!   However I am sure that it would be relatively easy to thumb a lift if you needed to.  There is plenty of accommodation on the island - a hotel, B&Bs and self-catering, in addition to the Backpacker's Lodge.

The island is probably named after St Columba. Colonsay has been inhabited since at least Neolithic times.  In 1882 a Viking ship burial was uncovered in the sand dunes at Kiloran.  The island had a succession of owners until 1700 when it was acquired by the McNeil family.  Their descendants were forced to hand the island over to Lord Strathcona in 1905 in lieu of a debt they owed him. 

Colonsay can be reached by aeroplane from Oban or by car ferry from Oban or in the summer on a Wednesday or Saturday from Kennacraig on the mainland and from Islay.  All the roads on the island are single track with passing places.  They aren't busy but the road surface is appalling in some places, so you won't be able to drive too fast.  Bicycles can be hired on the island.  In 2022 the population of Colonsay was 117.

 Scalasaig from the Monument

 

Scalasaig is the main settlement on the island and the shop, post office, café, microbrewery, doctors' surgery and a book publishing business are located here.  The café is called The Pantry.  The cakes and hot drinks were excellent.

 Scalasaig Harbour

View from Dun Ghallain on the west coast

 War Memorial at Scalasaig

 Meall na Suiridhe looking south towards Kiloran Bay

 The Whale to the north of Kiloran Bay 

 - it is difficult to make out in this photo but the stones on the raised beach have been arranged to form the outline of a whale.  He has an old tyre as his eye. His tail is on the left of the photo.

Colonsay and Oronsay Heritage Centre at Port Mor
Free to visit and very interesting.  The islanders are hoping to get funding for a purpose built building.

Sculptured stone at Tobar Oran (St Oran's Well) 
Now located in Colonsay House Gardens, it originally came from the now ruined village of Riasg Buidhe on the east coast of Colonsay

 This scenery is typical of much of Colonsay

 Dun Ghallain at An Aird on the west coast



Dunan nan Nighean on the north east coast

Port Lobh on the west coast

Colonsay Airport

Sculptures at Traigh an Tobair Fhuair

Colonsay Golf Course - 18 holes - please put your fees in the honesty box!

 Traigh an Tobair Fhuair on the west coast

 Calmac Ferry at Scalasaig

Backpacker's Lodge

Colonsay Hotel near Scalasaig

 Colonsay House Gardens

Colonsay House Gardens
The lens came from Rhuvaal Lighthouse on Islay

The gardens of Colonsay House are open to the public on a couple of afternoons a week in the summer.  They are worth a visit but the paths are very muddy in places, so I would recommend walking boots and, apart from the area round the house, the gardens are a bit neglected and overgrown.  The admission fee in 2012 was £3.  The gardens are famous for their rhododendrons and azaleas, which obviously weren't at their best in late August.  There is a café.  The woods around Colonsay House garden are free to visit and open every day.

Colonsay House

The house was built in 1722 by the McNeils.  They planted trees in the Kiloran Valley in the 19th century, which provided shelter for the gardens developed by Lord Strathcona from 1905 onwards.  The main planting in the garden was done after 1930 when the shelter belt of trees was tall enough.

Rhododendron in the woods around Colonsay House

Kiloran Bay looking south

 Kiloran Bay looking north
On the afternoon I visited, this seemed to be the most popular place on the island for visitors.  Carnan Eoin, which is the highest point on the island at 143 metres, can be seen in the distance.

Kiloran Beach on a grey day in June 2025

West Coast - looking towards Lower Kilchattan

 The Monument above Scalsaig

  The plaque commemorates the Iron Age hill fort, which can be seen in the distance.  Dun Eibhinn is the most important of several Iron Age hill forts which are located on Colonsay.

Colonsay's only food shop, Scalasaig

Community garden and hall, Scalasaig

Church in Scalasaig

This Church of Scotland church was designed by the architect Michael Carmichael and built in 1802.

The Pothole Islands Revisited

During my late summer 2012 tour of Scotland I revisited Seil (see Island 36), Easdale (see Island 98) Islay (see Island 27), Jura (see Island 28) and Arran (see Island 3).  While the road surfaces on Seil weren't too bad those on Colonsay, Islay and Jura were appalling.  I don't know what Argyll and Bute Council spend their money on but it isn't resurfacing the roads!  The roads on Arran were mainly alright.  Moan over.  I had a great holiday, visited 17 islands in 10 days, of which 12 were new to me. 

Burgh Island revisited - see Island 89

I spent a leisurely hour on a warm sunny afternoon on Burgh Island in August 2012.

Island 170 - Sully, Glamorgan, South Wales

Sully Island is a low lying tidal island about 500 metres south of the hamlet of Swanbridge, which is itself located about a mile to the south east of the small town of Sully.  It is only accessible for a few hours either side of low tide and the tidal currents in this area are very strong, so a check of the tide times is essential before venturing across the rocky causeway.  The highest point on the island is only about 24 metres above sea level.  There was once a fort there but I could see no signs of it.

This is the tidal island with the most warning signs I have come across so far.  The first notice said the beach was dangerous because part of the sea wall has collapsed and there are lots of chunks of concrete, some with metal rods sticking out of them, strewn across it.   However it was easy enough to find a way round them.  The second notice says the causeway is a death trap, presumably because of the tidal currents, because when the tide is out the walk across the causeway is very easy -  there isn't much seaweed on it, the rock bedding planes are almost horizontal and apart from skirting round a few small rock pools there aren't any other hazards.  When you get to the island there is another notice saying you have risked your life to visit. 

On a sunny summer day Sully Island was a lovely place to spend a while wandering around.

 

 Warning at Swanbridge

Causeway from Swanbridge to Sully Island  

 
When you arrive on the island there is another notice saying you have risked your life to visit the island.

 

 Highest point on the island with Steep Holm in the distance
I'm not sure what the yellow flowers are - they looked like members of the buttercup family

 

 South Coast with Flat Holm and Steep Holm in the distance

 

 Swanbridge from Sully Island

There are several paths crisscrossing the island.  Some areas are covered with grass and bracken with wild flowers like bird's foot trefoil, cowslip and salad burnet.  The rest is covered by thick scrub e.g. elder bushes and brambles.  The low lying part in the middle is covered with tall reeds.  The north side of the island, which is only a few metres above sea level, is fringed by a pebble beach.  On the south side there are low cliffs fringed by platforms of stone and large flat boulders.

  Interesting geology on the south coast - looking towards Barry
Triassic mudstones and sandstone with older limestone beneath

South coast with Steep Holm and Flat Holm in the distance

Sully Island was put up for sale in 2009 for £1.25 million but didn't sell.  In 2011 the price was reduced to £95,000 and it was sold to a mystery buyer.

Island 169 - Mumbles Head, Swansea, Wales

Mumbles Head is a small rocky island located 100 metres to the south east of Middle Head and about 300 metres south east of the mainland.   It is separated from Middle Head by a tidal channel called Outer Sound.   It is accessible for no more than about 2 hours either side of low tide across a rocky and sandy beach.  The island rises to a height of 22 metres and there are concrete steps all the way from the beach to the summit.

The main feature on the island is the lighthouse.  There are also the remains of lookout posts and buildings from various wars since 1860.  Wildflowers like thrift and birds foot trefoil were flowering in abundance when I was there in June 2012.  I had the island to myself, which is always a good feeling, although there were some men looking for something (shellfish?) on the nearby beach.  Islands with lighthouses always rank highly in my estimation and Mumbles Head Lighthouse has an unusual but aesthetically pleasing design.

The lighthouse was designed by local architect William Jernegan and was completed in 1794.  It was put there to warn ships away from Mixon Shoal half a mile to the south.  It originally had 2 open coal fired lights, one above the other, to distinguish it from St Ann's Head and Flat Holm Lighthouses.    This is why it is such an unusual shape.  The coal fired lights were replaced in 1799 by an oil powered light.   It was automated in 1934.  The lighthouse was originally built by the Swansea Harbour Trustees.  In 1975 responsibility for it passed from the British Transport Docks Board to Trinity House.  In 1995 it was converted to solar power.

 Mumbles Lighthouse

 Mumbles Lighthouse
 - looking beautiful silhouetted against a cobalt blue sky

 Wartime Lookout on Mumbles Head

 Mumbles Head and Middle Head from Bracelet Bay



Mumbles Head from Middle Head

A few more minutes to wait before the causeway is clear of water.

 

Looking towards Middle Head and Mumbles Pier.



Waiting for the tide to go out - Middle Head with Mumbles Head beyond

Island 168 - Middle Head, Mumbles, Swansea, Wales

Middle Head is a grass covered, uninhabited rocky tidal island located 100 metres to south east of Mumbles Pierhead.  It is separated from the mainland by a tidal channel called Inner Sound.  It is accessible for just over 2.5 hours either side of low tide.  I found the easiest access on to it to be on the Mumbles Lighthouse side, although you do have to scramble over a few large boulders to access it, whichever route you choose.  The tide clears from Middle Head about an hour before it clears from Mumbles Head.  The island had a geocache at the time of my visit in 2012 and is covered in wildflowers e.g. thrift, birds foot trefoil, kidney vetch, thrift, buttercups and salad burnet.   There are a few scrubby trees on the more sheltered eastern side.

There is a notice at the pier telling you not to walk out to the islands because of the tidal currents, which I could see were very strong, as I arrived 2 hours early and had to wait for the tide to recede.

 Highest point on Middle Head

 Mainland from Middle Head

 Middle Head and Mumbles Head

Mumbles Pier from Middle Head