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.