The Burnt Islands ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Loisgte)
are three small islands that lie in the
Kyles of Bute
The Kyles of Bute ( gd, Na Caoil Bhòdach) form a narrow sea channel that separates the northern end of the Isle of Bute from the Cowal peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the Scottish mainland. The surrounding hillsides are roughly wooded, and ov ...
, on the
Cowal
Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde.
The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arroch ...
Peninsula,
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
, on the West coast of the
Scottish mainland.
The islands are located at .
Individually the Islands are known by their
Gaelic names. From the largest to the smallest they are Eilean Mòr (Large Island), Eilean Fraoich (
Heather Island) and Eilean Buidhe (Yellow Island). Oddly only the smallest of these tiny islets, Eilean Buidhe, shows any sign of ever having been permanently inhabited having the remains of a
vitrified fort
Vitrified forts are stone enclosures whose walls have been subjected to vitrification through heat. It was long thought that these structures were unique to Scotland, but they have since been identified in several other parts of western and northe ...
on it. Eilean Mòr, huge in comparison, supports only a stunted woodland at its northern end.
All water going traffic that travels through the
kyles has to negotiate either the narrow
sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' b ...
that separates Eilean Buidhe from Eilean Mòr and Eilean Fraoich or pass south of the islands, via the Wood Farm buoy. The
narrows, which are the principal route for commercial traffic, are marked by four light
buoys, two on each side.
A little to the west
Eilean Dubh (Black Island) lies at the entrance to
Loch Riddon and to the north
Eilean Dearg lies within the loch.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnt Islands
Islands of the Clyde
Kyles of Bute
Cowal