The Isle of Ewe ( gd, Eilean Iùbh) is a small Scottish island on the west coast of

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...

. The island is inhabited by a single family, the Grants, who have lived at the Main House in the south of the island since the mid-19th century. The island is privately owned by J.I.H. Macdonald-Buchanan and leased to the Grants. The island previously had more families, but these left during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...

was used as an important naval anchorage. The isolated position of the island meant that the children had to endure a round trip each day of about by boat and bus to attend school.Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 184–187

Origin of the name

There are two competing theories about the meaning of the name; it may be derived from the

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

''eo'', "

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

tree", or alternatively from the Gaelic ''eubh'', "echo", reflecting a place-name on the adjoining mainland.

Geography and geology

The Isle of Ewe is located in Loch Ewe, west of

Aultbea Aultbea (Gaelic: ''An t-Allt Beithe'') is a small fishing village in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. It is situated on the southeast shore of Loch Ewe, about 30 km west of Ullapool. The village has a Primary School and a small Post Off ...

in the

district of the

Highland Region Highland ( gd, A' Ghàidhealtachd, ; sco, Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It share ...

. The island is made up of two principal types of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

(

Torridonian In geology, the term Torridonian is the informal name for the Torridonian Group, a series of Mesoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic arenaceous and argillaceous sedimentary rocks, which occur extensively in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The st ...

with acidic soil in the north,

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleoz ...

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...

with more fertile soil in the south) and the shore line varies from flat pebble beaches to cliffs. It is part of the

Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the ...

National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. The island was originally wooded, as recorded in 1549 by Donald Monro who wrote in his ''

Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Description is the pattern of narrative development that aims to make vivid a place, object, character, or group. Description is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...

'': "Ellan Ew, haffe myle in length, full of woods, guid for thieves to wait upon uther mens gaire. It perteins to M’Enzie." Similarly,

George Buchanan George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." ...

wrote in his '' Rerum Scoticarum Historia'' (''History of Scotland'') of 1579 that the island was "almost all covered with woods, and good for nothing but to harbour thieves, who rob passengers." Both Monro and Buchanan (who probably used Monro as a source) mistakenly located the island in

Loch Broom Loch Broom ( gd, Lochbraon, "loch of rain showers") is a sea loch located in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, in the former parish of Lochbroom, on the west coast of Scotland. The small town of Ullapool lies on the eastern shore of the loch. L ...

, instead of Loch Ewe. By the time '' Black's Picturesque Tourist of Scotland'' was published in 1889, the Isle of Ewe was "in a state of high cultivation; the fields large and well fenced, having been all reclaimed from moorland. There is an extensive dairy on the island." Today the southern island is predominantly low-lying farmland, while its northern part remains uncultivated. The most elevated part of the Isle of Ewe is its northern peninsula, rising to at Creag Streap ("climbing cliff"); a prominent rock, Sgeir a' Bhuich ("rock of the roe-buck") lies just offshore, with a larger rocky island, Sgeir an Araig, situated further out in the loch to the north-west of the Isle of Ewe. A peaty hilly area called Sitheanan Dubha ("the black fairy hillocks") occupies most of the island's northern peninsula. It reaches a height of and is dominated by coarse grass, heather and

sphagnum moss ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

. In the 1880s, a group of boys reported seeing fairies at that spot. Immediately to the south are two bays – Camas Angus ("Angus' bay") and Camas Beithe ("birch-tree bay") – that afford anchorage to boats. The hummock of Cnoc na Gaoithe ("windy knoll") provides shelter to the two bays. The arable land begins a short distance further south beyond Druium nam Freumh ("ridge of roots"), where a small area of woodland stands. A jetty, built after the Second World War, provides boat access to the mainland. The island has no regularly scheduled boat service, but access can be arranged at Aultbea.

Cultural references

Because the name of the island sounds like "I love you", it has become popular for couples to take boat trips around the island. For the same reason, it was also featured as a desert island in the second chapter of

Telltale Games Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...

' adventure game '' Tales of Monkey Island: The Siege of Spinner Cay''. The island's name also came up in ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...

'', during the November 1954 episode "Lurgi Strikes Britain."

Neddie Seagoon Neddie Seagoon was a character in the 1950s British radio comedy show ''The Goon Show''. He was created and performed by Welsh comedian Harry Secombe. Seagoon was usually the central character of a ''Goon Show'' episode, with most plots involving ...

is informed that the "dreaded lurgi" has appeared on the Isle of Ewe, to which he replies, "I love you too. Shall we dance?"

Footnotes

References

* * * Munro, R. W. (1961) ''Monro's Western Isles of Scotland and Genealogies of the Clans''. Edinburgh and London. Oliver and Boyd.

External links