Easdale Subgroup
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Easdale ( gd, Eilean Èisdeal) is one of the Slate Islands, in the Firth of Lorn, Scotland. Once the centre of the Scottish slate industry, there has been some recent island regeneration by the owners. This is the smallest of the Inner Hebrides' inhabited islands and is "home to traditional white-washed cottages, a small pub and disused slate quarries". One of the latter, filled with water, is used for swimming.Things to do
/ref> A
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
sails from Easdale to
Ellenabeich Ellenabeich (Scottish Gaelic: ''Eilean nam Beitheach'', meaning "island of the birchwoods.") is a small village on the isle of Seil (Scottish Gaelic: ''Saoil'') – an island on the east side of the Firth of Lorn, 7 miles (11 km) southwest o ...
(
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
: ''Eilean nam Beathach'') on the nearby island of
Seil Seil (; gd, Saoil, ) is one of the Slate Islands, located on the east side of the Firth of Lorn, southwest of Oban, in Scotland. Seil has been linked to the mainland by bridge since the late 18th century. The origins of the island's name are ...
(Gaelic: ''Saoil''), which is separated from Easdale by only a narrow channel. Confusingly, Ellenabeich is sometimes known as ''Easdale'' as a result of its traditional connections with the island.


Etymology

In 1549, Donald Monro, " Dean of the Isles" wrote, in brief reference to Easdale, of an island "namit in the Erische Leid Ellan Eisdcalfe" However the derivation of "Eisdcalfe" and this word's etymological relationship to "Easdale" is not clear. Haswell Smith (2004) notes that ''eas'' is Gaelic for "waterfall" and ''dal'' is Norse for "valley".Haswell Smith (2004) p. 78 Nonetheless, it is not clear why either description should apply to the island which is low lying and has no waterfalls. The Gaelic name, ''Èisdeal'' () or ''Eilean Èisdeal'' has a long vowel and local folk legend attributes this to a derivation from ''èist thall'' "listen to that yonder". Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland states that the first element is obscure, the second Norse ''dalr''. It is not clear if this ''Èisdeal'' shares its derivation with Gleann Èisdeal (Glen Ashdale) (Glen of Ash trees) on the
Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...
. Ellenbeich is usually analysed as ''Eilean nam Beathach'' () "island of the animals" but this may be a reflex of an earlier and homophonous form ''Eilean nam Beitheach'' "island of the birch trees".


History

Once a centre of the British
slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
industry, Easdale had a community of more than 500 working as many as seven quarries, some of which extended to below sea level. Easdale slate helped to build major cities of the British Empire and can still be seen on rooftops as far afield as Melbourne, Nova Scotia, Dunedin and Dublin. The great storm of 1850 flooded most of the quarries. Lacking any means of pumping the water away, the slate industry on the island more or less came to an abrupt end."Slate Islands - The Islands that Roofed the World"
southernhebrides.com. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
The last slate was cut in the 1950s and the once active quarries are little more than still pools which provide a safe haven for a wide variety of flora and bird life. Nearby the former island
Eilean-a-beithich Eilean-a-beithich or Eilean nam Beitheach ("island of the birches") was once one of the Slate Islands, located in Easdale Sound between Easdale and Seil, in the Inner Hebrides. In 1549, Dean Monro wrote: "''Narrest Seunay layes ther a litle iyl ...
once stood in the Easdale Sound between Easdale and Seil; however, it was quarried to a depth of below sea level leaving only the outer rim of the island. This was eventually swept away by the sea and little visible sign of the island now remains. By the early 1960s, the population had dwindled to only four people and the island appeared doomed. The island now has a population of around sixty people and is the smallest permanently inhabited island of the
Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...
. The Scottish plant collector
Clara Winsome Muirhead Clara Winsome Muirhead (6 January 1916 – 7 March 1985) was a Scottish botanist and plant collector who spent most of her career at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and was an expert on mosses, cacti, and succulents. Life Clara Winsome M ...
surveyed the plant life of the island and published ''The Flora of Easdale and the
Garvellachs The Garvellachs (Scottish Gaelic: Garbh Eileaich) or Isles of the Sea form a small archipelago in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Part of the Argyll and Bute council area, they lie west of Lunga and northwest of Scarba and have been uninhabited ...
'' in 1962. British indie rock band
Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...
filmed their double-feature music video for their singles "Queen of Peace" and "Long & Lost" on the island, with the videos using the villagers as the cast.


Current ownership

The island is owned by Jonathan Feigenbaum, who operates the Easedale Island Company; he succeeded his late father
Clive Feigenbaum Clive Harold Feigenbaum (1939–2007) was a colourful and controversial British businessman who was involved in a lifelong series of scandals in the world of philately. Particularly notable was the sale of "gold" stamps from Staffa and his role i ...
(the former chairman of
Stanley Gibbons The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...
). Clive created local issues of stamps, and Jonathan has continued doing this.


Facilities and activities

The island is home to a folk museum owned and operated by the Eilean Eisdeal, a
development trust Development trusts are organisations operating in the United Kingdom that are: *community based, owned and led *engaged in the economic, environmental and social regeneration of a defined area or community *independent but seek to work in partners ...
, as well as a bar/restaurant called "The Puffer". Eilean Eisdeal spearheaded the renovation of the Easdale Island Community Hall, which provides a venue for a wide variety of events. According to Mike Scott of the Waterboys: "The Hall itself is magical. From the first sighting of its pyramid roof and arced frontispiece across the water to stepping off its stage at the end of the concert, it cast a spell on us." In 2005 the local authority, Argyll and Bute Council, discussed plans to build a bridge between the island and Seil, linking the island to the mainland by road, despite there being no roads on Easdale. A company who operate high speed boat trips to view wild life and other local places of interest in the area have their base on Easdale. The World
Stone Skimming Stone skipping and stone skimming are considered related but distinct activities: both refer to the art of throwing a flat stone across the water in such a way (usually sidearm) that it bounces off the surface. The objective of "skipping" is ...
Championship has taken place annually in September on Easdale since 1997. In 2012 the event came under threat after Jonathan Feigenbaum requested £1,000 for using the slate quarry the championship uses. The competition only went ahead after the '' Press and Journal'' newspaper offered to pay the fee. A
community buyout Community-Managed assets or organizations are those that are owned and controlled through some representative mechanisms that allow a community to influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising. Benefits of ownership in infrastr ...
of the island by residents is now under consideration. Mike Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, said: "Not every community will achieve it and not every community should achieve it. But it is a live issue and becomes even more live in circumstances such as these."McKenzie, Steve
"What motivates communities to buy land they live on?"
(20 September 2012). BBC News. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
The island gets some tourists and has some facilities, activities for visitors, B&Bs and two restaurants.


Images of the island

Image:Easdale Pier.jpg, The decaying pier of Easdale quarry which was used to load the slate from the nearby quarries Image:Easdale Entry - geograph.org.uk - 1038229.jpg, Easdale ferry terminal Image:Easdale.jpg, A sea filled former quarry facing Ellenabeich


See also

* List of islands of Scotland


Footnotes


References

* Gillies, Patrick Hunter (1909) ''Netherlorn, Argyllshire, and its neighbourhood''. Virtue. * *


External links


Eilean Eisdeal

Easdale People


{{Authority control Slate Islands Islands of Argyll and Bute