Colonsay and Oronsay in the Firth of Lorne

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The most revisited islands in Scotland

I am not alone in visiting Colonsay repeatedly. The Editor of Scottish Islands Explorer has told me that Colonsay has the highest number of return visitors for any Scottish island. You may be able to do Skye in one trip, but Colonsay, promoted as the Jewel of the Hebrides, draws you back time and time again.

My first family visit to Colonsay was in 1992 and my most recent, the eighth, was in 2017. My last two visits to Colonsay occurred after I joined Geograph, and only on my visit this year did I own a digital camera.

Travel by CalMac

Most people approach Colonsay by sea. A ferry journey of a little over two hours from Oban covers the 36 miles in usually quiet water. Sheltered by Mull for the first hour and then a stretch of water open to the west before reaching the shelter of Colonsay and landfall at Scalascaig.

On Wednesdays and Saturdays you can arrive at Colonsay by a smaller ferry, MV Hebridean Isles, from Islay and Kennacraig and have a day trip to Colonsay. Otherwise visiting Colonsay requires accommodation on the island.

The size of the place

Colonsay is 10 miles long and 2 miles wide. It lies south of Mull, west of Jura and north of Islay. It has a population of 135 and eight miles of road. Visitors will find a car useful but Colonsay is bicycle-sized!

Colonsay’s highest hill, Carnan Eoin, is 143 m high, but of Munro stature.


The whole island is grand scenery on a small scale.

The island has been owned by Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal for over 100 years and the family live in style at Colonsay House.

The island has good agricultural land and the island is run as two farms.

There are a number of properties available for holiday lets, including estate cottages, a Backpackers hostel with WiFi, apartments in Colonsay House and some large farmhouses.

The estate owns The Colonsay - the island’s hotel.

Motor homes and caravans are not allowed entry to the island. I have always been amazed that the cars that leave the ferry in Scalascaig just seem to vanish, because the natural places to park a car when exploring the island are seldom busy.

Climate

The best weather is in the spring, and in May Colonsay shares with Tiree the accolade of being one of the sunniest places in the UK. There are no midges in the spring, and they have proved to be no trouble in the summer.

Location, location, location

Colonsay has one of the finest beaches in Scotland, Kiloran Bay (recognised in Peter Irvine’s Scotland the Best), yet there are other dramatic beaches that reward the walk to reach them.

The island is managed to conserve the habitat favouring corncrakes and choughs and the native black bee, so wildflower meadows are common and the machair can be a riot of colour. The Machrins machair is a golf course for devotees.


Colonsay and Oronsay boast that its outstanding natural scenery is rivalled only by the wealth and diversity of its flora and fauna and that its archaeological sites are of international importance.

Walking on water to Oronsay

Oronsay is a tidal island separated from Colonsay by The Strand, a mile of puddled sand at low water in which oysters are profitably farmed.


Oronsay is managed by the RSPB as a bird sanctuary and conservation for the corncrake is the foremost objective.

Oronsay has an impressive medieval priory dating from the 1350s now ruinous, with cloisters, skulls, bones, grave slabs and Celtic crosses.

Mesolithic shell mounds on Oronsay are testament to its human occupation around 4000 BC.

Timing your visit to Colonsay at Spring Tides (two days after full moon and new moon) gives you time to explore Oronsay at leisure. At Neaps the tide is often not low enough to give you any time at all on Oronsay after crossing the Strand, but at Springs you can have four hours there around midday.

You should follow local advice, available at Scalascaig Post Office, before crossing. One consequence of the tidal nature of Oronsay is that you will see Oronsay’s extensive white beaches at the best time.

The challenging interior of Colonsay

For many Colonsay is the island of beautiful beaches, a benign climate and a soft machair that is easy to walk on throughout the year. There is another side to Colonsay. To appreciate Colonsay’s topography to the full, you need to leave the fertile farmed land and take to the interior. There is a minor network of paths created by sheep and wild goats, providing feasible access through heather- and bracken- dominated scenery. Here you find a rugged terrain of cliffs, bluffs and unexpected breaks in ridge lines.



There are also ancient native woodlands that require a real determination to explore.

Coast

The main reward of Colonsay is its coast. From the beautiful bays and exciting cliffs, to the rock-ridged promontories and extensive grazing on the machair.







There is golden sand at Kiloran and Balnahard.



There is white sand at Cable Bay and on Oronsay.

There are old forts above sea cliffs, raised beaches and a coastline peppered with lichens and seaweeds.


And always from the coast an outlook towards other islands, the mainland or Ireland.

Eating, drinking, shopping and other activities

The private grounds of Colonsay House are open on Wednesdays and Fridays in summer when a cafe opens by the house. The gardens contain one of the finest rhododendron collections in Scotland.

There is a micro-brewery and distillery near the harbour, next door to The Colonsay Bookshop and publishing house. The island shop, The Colonsay General Store, promotes itself as The Best Wee Shop in the Hebrides. It is well stocked and can provide artisan breads and Saturday and Sunday newspapers on Monday. The Pantry sells the exceptional Colonsay Wildflower Honey - and wild flowers there are in abundance. The Old Waiting Room opens its doors at boat times to attract the car owners, dutifully queueing, with local arts and crafts for sale.

Colonsay has two churches, but all services are held in the Church of Scotland Church, while the Baptist Chapel houses the museum of the Colonsay and Oronsay Heritage Trust.

Ferry to Colonsay: costs and timetabling in 2017

Colonsay is covered by the Scottish government’s Road Equivalent Tariff for ferry fares. A car and driver cost £87.30 return from Oban and passengers £14.30 return. An overnight stay in Oban is needed before a Tuesday morning departure when cars must be in the ferry queue by 8.30 am. On other days the Oban departure is in the afternoon. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays excepted, the return to Oban is around 9 pm in the evening with implications for onward travel.

Reflections on visiting Colonsay for 25 years

Visiting over the last 25 years there have been no changes to the exciting topography of coast and hill, no changes to the widths of the road, no change in the peace and quiet. Today access is easier though with a plane supplementing an enhanced ferry service, the estate cottages have been upgraded (not that this was a request from visitors) and with a Backpackers Hostel and B&Bs it is now less expensive to stay a few days rather than take a cottage for a week. So, come for an exploratory visit - a day trip or short let, or splash out with a stylish stay at The Colonsay - and see if you become hooked. Chances are you will add to the statistic of Colonsay being the most revisited island in Scotland.

If you are an armchair traveller, do browse their community website Link

Geograph and Colonsay- August 2017

Colonsay and Oronsay and its off-shore islets comprise 85 occupied Grid Squares. 58 Geographers have submitted a total of 1129 images of the area. My contribution is 137 images for 73 Grid Squares. I have now visited every Grid Square on Colonsay with the evidence, with one exception, in scanned transparencies and modern digital images on Geograph. I await favourable tides to complete Oronsay.

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