Davaar
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Island Davaar or Davaar Island () is located at the mouth of
Campbeltown Loch Campbeltown Loch (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Chille Chiarain) is a small sea loch near the south of the Kintyre Peninsula facing eastwards towards the Firth of Clyde. The town of Campbeltown, from which it takes its name, is located at its head. ...
off the east coast of
Kintyre Peninsula Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north of Kintyre is ...
, in
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 ...
, west 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 ...
. It is a
tidal island A tidal island is a raised area of land within a waterbody, which is connected to the larger mainland by a natural isthmus or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide, causing the land to switch between being ...
, linked to the mainland at
low tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...
by a natural shingle
causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
called The Doirlinn. The crossing can be made in around 40 minutes.


History

Davaar was known as the island of Sanct Barre between the years 1449 to 1508. The modern form ''Davaar'' is from the older ''Do Bharre'' – Gaelic for "thy St Barre". However Dr Gillies in his "Place Names of Argyll" appears to accept the popular derivation, Double-pointed (Da-Bharr) Island. In 1854, Davaar Lighthouse was built on the island's north by the lighthouse engineers
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
and
Thomas Stevenson Thomas Stevenson President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, PRSE MInstCE FRSSA FSAScot (22 July 1818 – 8 May 1887) was a pioneering Scottish civil engineer, lighthouse designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and ...
. The lighthouse was automated in 1983, and today Davaar is inhabited by the caretakers of the island who run the holiday cottages and oversee the farming activities including rare breed sheep and Highland cattle. The island is also home to feral goats. The Lookout, a square building standing on a small knoll close to the lighthouse, was built during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as one of the Royal Observer Corps' (ROC's) four Kintyre observation posts. While the men and women of the ROC watched for enemy activity around the loch, the anti-submarine net (positioned between Davaar and Trench Point) was maintained by the Wrens, officers, and ratings stationed in the Boom Defence Depot on the opposite shore. Davaar's observation post has been restored and tastefully converted into a unique place to stay.Peter Caton (2011) ''No Boat Required - Exploring Tidal Islands''. Matador. The island is also known for its seven
cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
s, one of which contains a life-size
cave painting In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric art, prehistoric origin. These paintings were often c ...
depicting the
Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
, painted in 1887 by local artist Archibald MacKinnon after he had a vision in a dream suggesting that he do so. The painting caused uproar in the area as it was seen as a sign from God; it is said that when the townsfolk discovered it was MacKinnon, and not God, he was exiled from the town indefinitely. Restored several times since, including twice by the original artist, the painting was vandalised in July 2006, having a red and black depiction of Che Guevara painted over the original masterpiece. It has since been restored again. Davaar Island is one of 43 tidal islands that can be walked to from the mainland of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
and one of 17 that can be walked to from the Scottish mainland. Davaar Island is owned by Kildalloig Estate, and forms part of the farming enterprise.


Staying on Davaar Island

There are four holiday cottages and cabins available for visitors to stay on Davaar Island. The Lookout (WWII Observation Post) and The Principal Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage have been converted into holiday cottages, and in 2021 two glamping cabins were constructed on the east side of Davaar.


Stamps

Local stamps were issued for Davaar in 1964. The stamps served the many visitors to the island who wished to have their mail posted there; the boatman carried the mail to the nearest GPO post box at Campbeltown on the mainland. The boatman service ended some time in the 2000s. Postage rates were double those of the UK.


See also

*
List of lighthouses in Scotland This is a list of lighthouses in Scotland. The Northern Lighthouse Board, from which much of the information is derived, are responsible for most lighthouses in Scotland but have handed over responsibility in the major estuaries to the port aut ...
*
List of Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses This is a list of the currently operational lighthouses of the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB). The list is divided by geographical location, and then by whether the lighthouses are classed by the NLB as a 'major lighthouse' or a 'minor light'. F ...


References


External links

*
Northern Lighthouse Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davaar Island Islands of the Clyde Tidal islands of Scotland Uninhabited islands of Argyll and Bute