Islay to Cork - Days 19 and 20 - An Island to End

The Loganair flight out of Cork was late getting to Glasgow on September 24. So it was nearly 5pm by the time I drove out of the airport, crossed the Erskine Bridge, and then followed the A82 to Loch Lomond. Twenty minutes later I left the highway to take the Luss Bypass - a narrow stretch of the old highway that runs up the shoreline of the loch. A minute later I parked at Bandry, a small cluster of houses that overlook my favourite island. The name 'Bandry' comes from the Gaelic Ban-Traigh, the white (or holy) beach. In times past, when the water level of the loch was lower, you could walk from Bandry to the island via a causeway. The island is Inchtavanaich, Innis Taigh a' Mhanaich, the island of the monastery. 

I made a phone call to say I'd arrived, and ten minutes later the sound of an outboard motor announced that a boat, piloted by a dear friend, was departing the island.

At the helm was Roy Rogers, who has lived on the island for decades. I made Roy, the island, and the horses he keeps there the subject of an article in the Scots Magazine in 2008 (which is included in chapter 19 of Book 1). A few minutes later I was walking up to Inchtavannach House, which dates to the 17th century, and incorporates some of the stones from St Kessog's 5th century monastery.

Roy, his partner Susan, and his son Nicol live here. I first met them nearly 20 years ago, when I was looking for ways to get to the islands of Loch Lomond. Since then I've visited Inchtavannach over a dozen times, including two occasions when I camped on the island. It had been four years since my last visit, so it was good to see them, and the horses, again. One of the horses, Kess, had been born when I last visited, so it was good to see him nearly fully grown. Kess was named in honor of St Kessog, who established the monastery here some 1600 years ago.

Kess as a foal

Kess in 2019

Another horse I was glad to see was Rosa. In the book I used the following photo of her swimming to the island in 2008. Rosa, now retired, was the primary horse they used to pull the carriage when Roy and Susan were working weddings.

After dinner and drinks, and catching up with the island news, I slept like a log. Early the next morning I set out to walk the length of the island, my final destination Tom nan Clag, the hill of the bell. The horses followed me until I left the grassy meadow near the house to head into the forest.

Just at the edge of the meadow is an outcropping of stone. It was once much bigger, and contained St Kessog's Cave. In the 19th century the cave was blasted apart for building material.

Site of St Kessog's Cave

A big change since my last visit has been the introduction of Highland cattle. With their long, sharp horns, they can be a little intimidating when you come across them on a hike. But if there are no calves around they are as gentle as can be.

From the meadow, I followed a path that winds its way north through a forest of beech and oak. There was a bit of controversy recently when SNH poisoned many of the island's beech trees (they were deemed non-native).

The path left the woodlands at a lochside meadow that lies at the base of the Hill of the Bell. From there it was time to climb the hill via what is sometimes called 'The Monk's Road'. The stone-lined path has mostly crumbled away, but here and there remnants of it survive. The monks most certainly climbed the hill via a path, but the stonework was probably put in place by quarry workers. Up until the 1950s the mainland opposite the island was a large slate quarry.

The 'road' ends at the top of the Hill of the Bell, 300 feet above the loch. There are two possible reasons for the hill's name. One is that the shape of the hill resembles a bell, and it certainly does. The other possibility is the tradition that St Kessog rang his bell here on special occasions. The bell is said to have survived for 1500 years; eventually hanging from a post in the loch, from where it went missing in the 19th century. 

Inchtavannach, and especially its Hill of the Bell, are an oasis of peace in the busy terrain surrounding Loch Lomond. I fondly remember camping atop the hill ten years ago; watching the stars gradually appear until it got too cold to stay out, and then slipping into the warm sleeping bag. 

Unfortunately I had a plane to catch, so after spending a half hour atop the hill I started back. I said goodbye to Roy and Susan, and then Roy ferried my back to the mainland. My stay on Inchtavannach capped an amazing three-week adventure. I'd made a loop of 1,000 miles from Glasgow, to Islay, to Oban, to Tory, to Dingle, to Cork, and then Inchtavannach.  It was time to go home

Inchgalbraith - Loch Lomond

Little Inchgalbreith island in Loch Lomond is very interesting. The island is only about 100 feet in diameter, and the ruin of a 16th century castle occupies most of the available space. A tangle of trees have grown throughout the tower, and a thick cloak of ivy covers many of the walls.

The castle was one of the power bases of the Galbraiths (Clann a' Bhreatannich - the Clan Briton). One might wonder why they'd build such a large castle on so tiny an island, but the castle was built when the level of the loch was lower. There is some thought that several of the islands in the loch were once linked together, and from a boat afloat on the loch (say that ten times in a row) you can see the traces of what may have been a causeway that linked Inchgalbraith to Inchconnachan.

Ospreys have nested on Inchgalbraith over the years, and Boswell and Johnson were taken to look at them when they visited Loch Lomond during their Scottish tour. In the 1800s the ospreys were deemed to be a danger to the game fishing, and were shot during a so-called 'vermin crusade'. But the ospreys have returned to Loch Lomond, and I was fortunate to have seen one last year. Below are a few photos of Inchgalbraith from a visit in 2004.

The Water Horse of Loch Lomond 2

We will leave Inchtavannach with Rosa. Instead of swimming, this time she's being chauffeured across on a barge. At this link you can see some photos of one of Rosa's fellow islanders, Shosoni, swimming the waters. 

An interesting side note (to me anyway) - my father grew up in Shoshone, Idaho. There they pronounce it "sho-shone", but my father told me the native Americans pronounced it "Sho-shoni". So Shosoni, the  island-horse, living so far from Idaho, has an authentic name.

Inchtavannach Campsite 2

A few years ago I spent a night atop the Hill of the Bell on Inchtavannach. It was here that St Kessog rang his bell, and carved into the rock of the summit is graffiti dating back two hundred years. 

Sadly the islands in Loch Lomond are often overrun by thoughtless visitors, including many who let their dogs run loose to harass sheep and kill wallabies. But fortunately on the night of my stay I had the summit all to myself. If you zoom in on the photo you might spot a wee bottle of Lagavulin. I was flying home the next day, and since they won't let you take an open bottle through security I had to drink it all up. I slept like a baby.

The Hill of the Bell

This is the view looking south from the top of Tom na Clag, the hill of the Bell, on the island of Inchtavannach. It was up here that St Kessog rang his bell to call the faithful to service. Sadly the bell went missing a few centuries ago. I try to climb the hill once a year, but that's always been in the spring or summer. How I wish I could have been here on December 31, 2009, when a bell was brought up here to ring in the new year.

Inchtavannach Campsite 1

I have been fortunate to have camped on Inchtavannach a few times. This photo shows the first place I camped on a quiet spot above a small bay at the north end of the island. When I woke in the morning I hiked to the top of the island to cook breakfast. The summit is known as the Hill of the Bell. Tomorrow we'll head up there for a look.

The Water Horse of Loch Lomond

Meet Rosa, who earns a living pulling a carriage for weddings in and around the village of Luss. She lives on Inchtavannach, an island in Loch Lomond, and here you can see her swimming home. We'll be visiting Rosa's island over the next few days.