All Four of the Smalls

On May 27th, after a few hours ashore on the Shiants, we headed south down the west coast of Skye. This is always a scenic run; the cliffs of the Skye headlands to the left, and the low coast of the Uists to the right. The Neist Point lighthouse marks the westernmost point of Skye. And just north of the light is an unusual pyramid shaped headland; one of the landmarks of the Skye coast. I have passed by many times in the past, and have never seen anyone climbing it. But this time we saw what appeared to be a rescue in progress.

Neist Point

Neist Point peak

Rescue?

Another three hours of steaming took us to our next overnight anchorage in Canna Harbour. The following morning we went ashore to see the Rocket church, the grounds of Canna House, and to see the Celtic cross that is all that's left of the monastery of Keils. Although there was a sign in front of Canna House saying there were tours of the house, the resident warden told us there were no tours. Very frustrating. (Dear NTS, why do you put up signs describing tours that are non-existent?) We'd find an even more flagrant example of such disregard for visitors when we'd arrive on Rum the next day (see below).

Canna

Canna House

Canna Harbour

My primary goal on Canna was to lead some of the guests to Sgorr nam Ban-naomha, a 7th century monastic enclosure (sometimes called a nunnery), that lies at the base of 300-foot-high cliffs on the west side of the island. It is a seven-mile round-trip hike, and so I only had two takers, Nigel and Clare. The three of us set out to follow the track to Tarbert Farm, from where a mile of cross country hiking took us to the cliffs high above Sgorr nam Ban-naomha.

Cliffs above the Sgorr

I have only been down to the Sgorr once, that was way back in 2002, and was looking forward to seeing it again. But it was not to be. The steep sheep track that give access down the cliffs had been severely eroded by rabbits, and look unsafe, so we had to settle for the view from above.

The eroded path down to the Sgorr

The Sgorr

On the way back to the harbour we made a detour to crawl into the souterrians that lie in the lonely interior of the island. (See this CANMORE page for more on the souterrains of Canna.)

The souterrains

Clare explores the souterrian

Once back aboard Hjalmar Bjorge we decided to head over to Rum for the night, and under brilliant sunshine we motored around the north side of Rum to find an anchorage in Loch Scresort. At the head of the loch we could see the red sandstone Kinloch Castle, built by the Bulloughs in 1902.

The ferry Loch Nevis arriving at Rum

Kinloch Castle

We went ashore on Rum the next morning. At the pier there was an info-board listing castle tours. I wanted the guests to see inside the castle, and even though it was a Sunday, there was a tour listed for 9:30. And so we all headed over to the castle. 9:30 came, and went, as did 10:00. We asked the few folks we could find about the tour, but no one knew anything. (We got the definite feeling they just didn't care.) I wandered over to the shop/pub to find it open, but vacant, its outdoor tables littered with empty beer and wine bottles. It looked like we'd missed quite a party. 

Kinloch Castle

We missed the party

I won't dwell (much longer) on the complete disregard whoever runs Rum has for visitors. But if you are not going to offer tours, why in the world do you put up signs saying you do. And I know for a fact that our experience that day was not just a one time mixup - it happens all the time. If you ever go to Rum, don't plan on seeing the castle, get as far away from it as you can and spend your time in the hills.

The sun was shining bright as we left Rum and made the journey over to Eigg. Rounding the north end we motored down its east coast below the high cliffs of Striudh. It was at Striudh that Hugh Miller met a lass "who was more than merely good looking" (see book 1, chapter 26).

Striudh - Eigg cliffs

We were soon ashore on Eigg, where we arranged for a taxi to take us the five miles across the island to the Singing Sands. It was the only taxi on the Small Isles, an old London cab, that had somehow made its way to Eigg via Dundee.

Eigg taxi

We had a bumpy, but fun, ride up Eigg's M-1 to road's end at Howlin, where a short walk took us to Camus Sgiotaig, the Squeaking Bay (usually known as the Singing Sands).

To the Singing Sands

The Singing Sands - the mountains of Mordor in the distance

East of the Singing Sands, and just under the high cliffs of Cleadale, we could see the house at Howlin. It's said the JR Tolkien stayed here, and that the view he had of Rum from the house was the inspiration for the Mountains of Mordor.

Howlin House (at left)

Could this be Mordor?

After an hour or so making the sands sing and wading in the sea we headed back to the road-end to find our chauffeur patiently waiting to take us to Glamisdale. (Listen to the April 19, 2013 post for a recording of the singing sands.)

Our taxi awaits

Back in Glamisdale we still had an hour, and so Nigel and I set out to see Massacre Cave. There was a sign in the shop that said due to a rock-fall you could not get into the cave, but we decided to take a look for ourselves. It is an easy half-mile walk to the cave, and when we reached it there was no sign of a rockfall, and with flashlights in hand we crawled in. In the late 1500s several hundred people perished here - see chapter 24 of book 2 for the story.

Nigel at Massacre Cave

In the cave

Thirsty, and ready for a beer, Nigel and I returned to Glamisdale only to find that the pub had just closed. The rest of our group had been more fortunate, making their way to the pub in time to get a drink. And so we spent a leisurely (and beer-less) half hour sitting in the sun until it was time to depart. Our next destination, and the last island of the trip, would be nearby Muck.

Glamisdale Harbour - Eigg

We dropped anchor at Muck around 7pm. And after another excellent dinner prepared by Lynda we settled down for the night. The next day dawned without a cloud in the sky, and we went ashore for a few hours. As we stepped ashore we set a record for a Hjalmar Bjorge cruise, as we'd visited all four of the Small Isles. I led the guests across the island to beautiful Gallanach Bay, and then several of us continued on to the MacEwen graves on Aird nan Uan, the headland of the lambs, on the far west tip of the island. (The MacEwens own Muck.)

Gallanach - Mordor in the distance

MacEwen Graves

Then in the mood for a climb, Nigel and I decided to make our way up Beinn Airein, at 450 feet, the highpoint of Muck. At the base of the hill, just before we started to climb, we came across an amazing stone cottage. Its turf roof was intact and the house still appeared to be used. It is a listed building that was restored in the 1960s (you can read more about it on this CANMORE page).

Someone's home sweet home

Nigel atop Beinn Airein

Looking to Eigg from the top of Muck

Unlike our experience on Eigg the day before, when we returned to the harbour the tearoom/pub was open, and so we were able to quench our thirst before returning to the boat.

Muck Tea Room/Pub/Shop

While talking to the folks who run the tearoom I was sad to learn that Amy had passed away. Amy was a little dog that had followed me all around the island on my two previous visits (see the October 13, 2013 post for more on Amy). But I was happy to learn that Amy's daughter, Mattie, still greeted visitors, as I found out when I stepped out of the tearoom.

Mattie of Muck

Amy of Muck - RIP

We said goodbye to our last island and set a course east to the Sound of Mull, where we motored into Lochaline harbour for a short visit ashore. Lochaline is where many of the St Kildans were sent, some to do forestry work, when they left their far off (and treeless) island in 1930. Most of the guests went for a long walk up the lochside road. But I decided to get a beer at the Lochaline Hotel, and then take a look at the houses where the Kildans had lived.

Lochaline Marina

Lochaline Houses - near where the Kildans lived

We spent the last night of the cruise at anchor in nearby Ardtornish Bay. The house at the head of the bay is the sometimes residence of Adam Nicolson, the author of the best book about the Shiants (Sea Room).

Ardtornish House

In the morning we had a short sail to Oban where we had a gigantic breakfast that would keep everyone going for a day or two and, in short order, everyone went their own way. It had been an interesting trip, one that visited quite a few islands not normally seen on these cruises. I would like to thank Nigel and Clare, Janet and John, Joey, Patricia, Francis, and Elaine for being such good company. I hope you all had a good time. And many thanks to Mark, Anna, and Lynda, for making my first trip as a guide go smoothly. We will be doing another trip next year, from May 20th to 29th. Check the Northern Lights website (and this blog) in the next few weeks for details.

Hjalmar Bjorge at Oban

Scrambling up Eigg

In the four previous posts we visited the Small Isles of Rum, Muck and Canna. Eigg is feeling a little left out, so here’s a view I will never forget. On a May afternoon in 2006, during a week-long stay, I climbed the Sguir. I sat there for an hour just staring at this view to Rum over the loch-studded highlands of Eigg. It took a hail storm to drive me away – that, and I wanted to get a bottle of wine at the shop before it closed. For the full story of that week on Eigg see chapter 26 of book 1.

The Punishment Stone

Punishment Stone  - the hole can be seen a foot below the top

A brilliant photo of Canna’s Punishment Stone at Keils, taken by Olivia Abbott, is on the cover of the current issue of Scottish Islands Explorer. Something not shown in that picture, which you can see in the above image of the stone, is the reason for its name. A few years ago, while I was taking photos of the stone, one of the archivists working at Canna House came by. He told me the name comes from an odd hole, a foot below the top of the stone. Supposedly the thumb of the poor offender was jammed in the hole, and they were left there for a while. 

It’s an odd tale. But even odder is that the RCAHMS page on the Punishment Stone references page 205 of Seton Gordon’s ‘Afoot In the Hebrides’. A check there shows that Gordon was referring to a three foot high stone that stands near the Norse Grave, two miles from A’ Chill. Next time I’m on Canna I will have to look for it. And it makes me wonder if the hole in the stone at Keils dates from when soldiers used the nearby Canna Cross for target practice.

Resting in Peace on Muck

While we’re on the subject of unusual graves, let’s jump from one Small Isle to another. This image is of the MacEwen graves on Muck. This mini circle of 16 stones lies on the northwest tip of the island, and memorial plaques are set into three of them. Does anyone know if this was an old cairn that was reused for burials, or was it purpose-built for that?

The Temple-Tomb at Harris

Five miles from Kilmory another set of graves are to be found in the Temple-Tomb at Harris. There’s a stark contrast between this lonely mausoleum and the crowded burial ground at Kilmory. Only three people are interred in Harris: John Bullough, who died in 1891; his son George who died in 1939; and Monica Bullough, George’s wife, who died in 1967. They were the last owners of Rum.

In the hillside above the mausoleum a colorful bit of tile work peeks out from under a mound of turf. John Bullough had originally been buried in a hillside tomb, of which this meager bit of tile work is all that’s left. Apparently someone remarked that the bright tiles resembled a public toilet. So they removed John’s coffin, blew up the tomb, and had the mausoleum built in its place.

Tile work remnant of the old tomb

A Shot of Rum

This is a view of Kilmory on the north end of Rum, which is visited in chapter 28 of book 1. At the center is the burial ground, and far off to the upper right the peaks of Hallival and Askival can be seen.

The Kilmory burial ground has an ancient cross-stone. There is also another historic stone here, one that marks the grave of the Matheson children. Murdoch Matheson had been the Kilmory shepherd from 1855 to 1875. As of September 7, 1873, the Matheson’s had eleven children. Over the next three days they lost five to diphtheria. The tombstone, inscribed with all those young names, is a grim reminder of island life a century ago.

Matheson Tombstone

REBECCA WHO DIED SEPT 1873

AGED 18 YEARS
JOHN WHO DIED SEPT 1873
AGED 12 YEARS
CHRISTINA ANN WHO DIED SEPT 1873
AGED 8 YEARS
MURDO WHO DIED SEPT 1873

AGED 6 YEARS

WILLIAM JOHN WHO DIED SEPT 1873
AGED 4 YEARS

ALL WHICH DIED OF DIPTHERIA

BETWEEN THE 7th AND THE 9th OF SEPT 1873

ARCHIBALD DUNCAN WHO DIED APRIL 1871

AGED 7 MONTHS

SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME UNTO ME

AND FORBID THEM NOT: FOR OF SUCH

IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN