Bunnahabhain ( ; from
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
(, ), meaning 'foot of the river')
[According to Edward Dwelly's ''Illustrated Gaelic to English Dictionary'', 9th ed., 1977, page 141, the word 'bun' also means 'mouth (of a river)'] is a village on the northeast coast of the isle of
Islay
Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...
, which is in the
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...
area of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, in 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 ...
group of islands. It is also the name of a
malt whisky distillery located there.
History
The village was established in 1881 to house the distillery's workers, and the distillery still employs the majority of the village's workers.
The surrounding area is also steeped in local history. The ruined village of
Margadale, nestled between Margadale Hill and Scarbh Bhreac, was once the busiest marketplace on Islay, with people coming from all over the island for cattle sales.
Wildlife
The area is rich in wildlife, boasting large numbers of
red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...
,
roe deer, wild
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...
s,
otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
s, common and
grey seals, seabirds such as
cormorants and
oystercatcher
The oystercatchers are a group of waders forming the family (biology), family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, ''Haematopus''. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and Sout ...
s and also
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
, with peacock and speckled wood butterflies being a common sight.
Shipwrecks
Perched on the rocks to the south of the village is the
wreck of the 338-ton trawler “Wyre Majestic” which ran aground after hitting the rocks at Rubha a’Mhail on 18 October 1974. Despite efforts from the crew of its sister ship, “Wyre Defence”, the ship was deemed unsalvageable and has sat on the rocks ever since, as do approximately 50 other ships wrecked in the perilous Sound of Islay.
References
External links
*
{{Islay
1881 establishments in Scotland
Villages in Islay