The Adventures of Hjalmar Bjorge - Season 3, Episode 2

The Continuing Adventures of Hjalmar Bjorge

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Belnahua

Exploring the Isles of the West Cruise    June 2-11, 2018

Sunday, June 3 - Island #2 - Belnahua

The fog was starting to lift as we left Aileach to make the five-mile transit to Belnahua, one of the Slate Isles. It is an historic island, one whose slates are said to have roofed the world.

Belnahua in the mist

Tidal currents can make an anchorage at Belnahua problematic. But Mark and Anna made it look easy, and soon after they dropped the hook we were ashore. Landing here is always interesting; for as you approach the island it quickly becomes obvious what it was used for, as the beach is covered by countless shards of slate rubble.

My last visit to Belnahua was in 2016, and at the time I'd noticed a white-washed building with a roof; a building that had been a roofless ruin when I'd passed this way in 2006. My guess, when I saw it in 2016, was that the renovation was intended to make a visitor information centre out of what had been the island shop. It is the only structure on the island not included in the Historic Monument designation for Belnahua, which probably was done to allow the renovation to occur.

So the first thing I took the group to was "The Shop", to see if anything had been done with it.  But no.  It looked as unused as when I saw it two years ago. If anyone knows what's intended here, please let me know.

Roofless Shop seen in 2006 

Shop building in 2016

We then made a circuit of the island, visiting the ruins of two row houses, workshops, the school, and the flooded quarry pits. At its peak over 150 people lived here.

Belnahua is in essence an open-air industrial museum of an industry that ceased here 100 years ago. The largest mechanical ruin is the powerhouse, a complex matrix of hand-levers, winding gears, and drive shafts rusted solidly in place.  

After our circuit of the island everyone spread out to see places that interested them. Liz climbed to the top of Beinn Belnahua (my name for it), from where there is a great view east to tiny Fladda and its lighthouse. When it comes to hill classifications, Beinn Belnahua is neither a Munro, a Corbett, a Graham, a Marilyn, or a Donald. And at only 22 metres, it also fails the TuMP classification (30 metres). I'd like to propose a new classification that, a Slate Island lump, of any height, be called a SLump.

Liz atop Beinn Belnahua

Fladda light seen from the airy slopes of Beinn Belnahua

As we left Belnahua the sea-fog completely cleared, and we sailed under sunny skies south to an island much larger than Belnhua. An island that would turn out to be our third, and last, of the day: Scarba - Guardian of the Corryvreakan Whirlpool.

Back to Belnahua

My cruise on Elizabeth G last month included a bit of island time-travelling, as we visited several islands I'd not set foot on for a very long time. One was Belnahua of the Slate Isles, which I'd last been on in 2004 (see book 1, chapter 10). The island has not changed much in the intervening 12 years, the only difference was a white-washed cottage that I thought at the time was to be intended as a visitors centre. No one was around, and the cottage was locked. (I would learn later that it is a bothy used by the owners when they stay on the island.)

Belnahua

Passengers from Elizabeth G at the 'Visitors Centre'

Belnahua was a slate quarry in the 19th century. The population peaked at about 100 people, but it was abandoned in 1915. The remains of several  houses, a school, and a powerhouse lie scattered about the island.

Quarry worker's housing

Powerhouse

Belnahua is an amazing place, a 100 year-old frozen snapshot in time of a long dead industry. Unless you have your own boat, the only way to get here is either a day-charter out of Easdale, or as part of a longer cruise around the Inner Hebrides. If you are interested in Belnahua and the Slate Isles be sure to read The Islands that Roofed the World by Mary Withall. 

Elizabeth G at Belnahua (flooded quarry in the foreground)

Gemini - 4

Another voyage on Gemini took me to the Slate Isles of Belnahua and Fladda. Belnahua is now a shell of an island, much of it quarried out to roof buildings around the world. Tiny Fladda lies a quarter mile from Belnahua, and its lighthouse and large walled garden cover almost all the available land. These days a sign on Fladda warns against landing on the island, so as to not disturb the birds. The sign was not there when I visited in 2004.

Below are a few photos from that trip. See book 1, chapter 10, for a description of the visit to the Slate Isles.

Gemini arrives in Crinan Harbour

Landing on Belnahua - Scarba in the distance (left)

Flooded quarry on Belnahua - Fladda in the distance (right)

Inside ruined quarry building - Belnahua

Gemini at Fladda

Fladda Light

Fladda light and walled garden

Belnahua of the Slate Isles

Here are two images of Belnahua of the Slate Isles. The first was taken from the highpoint of the island looking over the flooded quarry pits to the Sound of Luing (Fladda is the next island over with the  lighthouse). The second photo shows the ruin of the powerhouse on Belnahua. 

I have seen two versions of the island's name: Bal na Uamh (the place of the cave), and Bal na Uaigh (the place of the tomb). These names make me wonder what was here before they started carving away all the slate. For an excellent description of these islands see Mary Withall's Easdale, Belnahua, Luing & Seil: The Islands that Roofed the World. Another good source of information is the Slate Islands Heritage Trust.

Belnahua of the Slate Isles

This is a view of Belnahua of the Slate Isles, visited in chapter 10 of book 1. The name means either the mouth of the cave, or the place of the tomb. The island was a slate quarry for centuries, and the pool you see in the photo is one of its flooded quarry pits. If you ever get the chance to set foot on Belnahua be careful. The terrain is crisscrossed by small tunnels, and one wrong step could be hazardous to your health.