Garbh Eileach is an uninhabited island 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 ...

of the west coast 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 ...

that lies in the

Firth of Lorn The Firth of Lorn or Lorne () is the inlet of the sea between the south-east coast of the Isle of Mull and the mainland of Scotland. It includes a number of islands, and is noted for the variety of wildlife habitats that are found. In 2005, a l ...

between

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica * Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highwa ...

and

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

. With an area of it is the largest of the

Garvellachs The Garvellachs (Scottish Gaelic: ''Na Garbh Eileacha'') or Isles of the Sea form a small archipelago in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The islands include Garbh Eileach, Dùn Chonnuill and Eileach an Naoimh. Part of the Argyll and Bute counc ...

and reaches a maximum elevation of above sea level. The name is

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 ...

for "the rough rocks". The Anglicised version of the name gives the whole group of islands its name of the Garvellachs (). The archipelago is part of the Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland. A 2024 study by researchers at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

regarding the relationship of some of its bedrock to the

Sturtian glaciation The Sturtian glaciation was a worldwide glaciation during the Cryogenian Period when the Earth experienced repeated large-scale glaciations. , the Sturtian glaciation is thought to have lasted from c. 717 Ma to c. 660 Ma, a time span of appro ...

suggests the archipelago "may be the only place on Earth to have a detailed record of how the Earth entered one of the most catastrophic periods in its history." There are scattered birchwoods and a small herd 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 ...

on Garbh Eileach.

History

There is a small anchorage and landing place on Garbh Eileach where there are the remains of a burial ground and of a

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

that measures about 14 m by 11 m. About northeast of this dun, which may be of late prehistoric date, there are the ruins of a much later house and byre with a corn-drying

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

a short distance away, probably erected in the late 18th or 19th century. During the medieval period the island was part of Maclean of Duart's landholdings but in 1666 it was granted by the 9th Earl of Argyll to John MacLachlan of Kilbride and let to his tacksmen for most of the 18th century. A 1788 survey concluded that only about of the isle was suitable for

arable farming Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...

although a further was described as mixed arable and pasture. Garbh Eileach had a population of thirty-two adults in the late 17th century but only four houses were occupied by 1861, and from then on it is likely that only the shepherd's cottage near the landing-place remained habitable. This stone

bothy A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Sco ...

is available for "occasional use" but not permanent occupation.

Footnotes

References

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External links

{{coord, 56.243, N, 5.765, W, region:GB_type:isle, display=title Uninhabited islands of Argyll and Bute Islands of the Inner Hebrides