The Treshnish Isles are an archipelago of small islands and skerries, lying west of the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

, in Scotland. They are part of the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) 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, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...

. Trips to the Treshnish Isles operate from Ulva Ferry, Tobermory,

Ardnamurchan Ardnamurchan (, ) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access route being a single track road for much of its l ...

and Tiree.

Geography

The archipelago extends over a distance of roughly , from the island of in the south (towards ) to the north-east. The largest island in the group, Lunga, is west of

Gometra Gometra () is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, lying west of Mull. It lies immediately west of Ulva, to which it is linked by a bridge, and at low tide also by a beach. It is approximately in size. The name is also applied to the is ...

, south-west of (on the

), south-east of

Coll Coll (; )Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull and northeast of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and fo ...

, and north-west of

Staffa Staffa (, , from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from vertically pl ...

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

Landranger Map (1:50 000) "Iona & West Mull". Sheet 48 Other relatively large islands in the group are , Fladda and . There are numerous small skerries, particularly north of Lunga. All the islands are of volcanic origin.

History

There are several possible duns on the islands of

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

origin. Little is known of the early history, although these prominent landmarks would have been significant waypoints for the Norse settlers during their conquest in the early years of the

Kingdom of the Isles The Kingdom of the Isles, also known as Sodor, was a Norse–Gaelic kingdom comprising the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries. The islands were known in Old Norse as the , or "Southern I ...

,Treshnish Isles Management Plan p. 5 which lasted from the 9th to the 13th centuries. There are remains on Lunga of a village of

blackhouse A blackhouse ( ; ) is a traditional type of house which used to be common in Ireland, the Hebrides, and the Scottish Highlands. Origin of the name The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate. On the Isle of Lewis, in particular, it ...

s abandoned in 1857. Cairn na Burgh Mòr has the remains of a fort, on the site of an earlier Norse building, thought to have belonged to the chief of Clan MacDougall. Until 1354, it marked the division between the "Nordreys", the northern isles, and the "Sudreys", or southern isles. The smaller island of Cairn na Burgh Beag has the ruins of a fort occupied by the MacLeans of Duart during the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

. The Isles were purchased in 1938 by explorer and naturalist Col. Niall Rankin and they were sold to the Hebridean Trust in 2000. The Trust are guardians of the islands to protect them and the wildlife and to monitor and study the ecology and archaeology. In June 2023, the islands were placed under the protection of the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

, allowing the Hebridean Trust to concentrate on community projects on

Tiree Tiree (; , ) is the most westerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The low-lying island, southwest of Coll, has an area of and a population of around 650. The land is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, and fishing are ...

. Due to the beauty and remoteness of the Isles and the abundance of wildlife, particularly the

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

s, they are very popular with tourists who visit by boat, generally to Lunga, for day-trips during the summer.

Etymology

is a

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

name of unknown meaning that includes the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

root , meaning 'headland'. is also known as "The Dutchman's Cap" in English due to its shape. is from the Gaelic , with meaning 'bank' or 'dune' and simply being a diminutive in contrast to . is also known as in Gaelic, which means 'dune of the Ross' and is a reference to the shape of the island when framed against the

Ross of Mull The Ross of Mull (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Ros Mhuileach'') is the largest peninsula of the Isle of Mull, about long, and makes up the south-western part of the island. It is bounded to the north by Loch Scridain and to the south by the Firth of ...

. ''Lunga'' is probably from the Old Norse , meaning '

longship Longships, a type of specialised Viking ship, Scandinavian warships, have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by th ...

island'. and are Gaelic names meaning 'Irishman's skerry' and 'castle skerry' respectively. means 'cairn of the large fort' and is thus 'cairn of the small fort'. The name ''Fladda'' originates from the Old Norse for 'flat island'.

Natural history and conservation

The Treshnish Isles are part of the Loch na Keal National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. They are also designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

, a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

due to their importance for breeding

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s and a marine

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

. They are also known for their Atlantic

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus'', it is found on both shores of the Nort ...

s and ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Notes

References

* *Mac an Tailleir, Iain (2003
"''Ainmean-àite le buidheachas''/Placenames"
Scottish Parliament/''Pàrlamaid na h-Alba''. (pdf) Retrieved 12 May 2012. * ''Treshnish Isles Management Plan 2001-11'' (2001) The Hebridean Trust.

External links

Treshnish Isles
- National Trust for Scotland {{Coord, 56.497, -6.418, region:GB_type:isle, display=title Islands of Argyll and Bute Special Protection Areas in Scotland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Mull, Coll and Tiree Special Areas of Conservation in Scotland Protected areas of Argyll and Bute Archipelagoes of Scotland National Trust for Scotland properties