Maiden Island is a small uninhabited island at the mouth of

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

Bay on the west coast of Scotland.

Geography

Maiden Island lies just off the coast of mainland Scotland, west of

Dunollie Castle Dunollie Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Dhùn Ollaigh) is a small ruined castle located on a hill north of the town of Oban, on the west coast of Scotland in Argyll. The site enjoys views over towards the island of Kerrera and a view of the ...

and Camas Bàn. It is to the north of the narrow entrance to Oban Bay and about north of the much larger island of

Kerrera Kerrera (; gd, Cearara or ''Cearrara'') is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, close to the town of Oban. In 2016 it had a population of 45, divided into two communities in the north and south of the island. Geology The oldest bedrock ...

. The passage is deep and large vessels such as the

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...

ferry make regular use of this strait. The island reaches a height of above sea level. The prominent Hutchison Memorial on the north end of

that commemorates David Hutchison, one of the founders of

, is visible from Maiden Island.

History

There are a variety of legends associated with the naming of the isle. It may have a connection with King

Malcolm IV of Scotland Malcolm IV ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Eanric, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Eanraig), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 11419 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest ...

(1153–1165) known as "Malcolm the Maiden" by later chroniclers, who had connections with Kerrera. Another story involves a young girl accused of a crime who was tied up on the shore there in order to persuade her make an admission. However, she refused and when the tide came in she drowned. A more romantic tale concerns Muireadhach (Murdoch), a Celtic warrior who was in love with Mhairi, the daughter of a local man. Doubts were cast about the latter's chastity and it was decided she should be tied by her hair to a rock on the shore to test her purity. The problem for Mhairi was that if her hair held strong her innocence would be proven but she would drown. Muireadhach made an heroic effort to save her by attempting to swim to the island but strong currents swept him away and they both drowned. More prosaically, there are a number of Scottish islands that bear this name, and it is likely that it was used as a refuge for women during times of war.

Wrecks

On 23 December 1940, during

World War II 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 ...

a convoy of ships gathered off the island of Lismore were attacked when two

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

bombers. The ''Breda'', a cargo vessel, was damaged and had to be beached in nearby Ardnamucknish Bay. Debris from the wreck was carried by the tide towards Oban Bay and four days later a

Sunderland Flying Boat The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

of 210 Squadron hit a horsebox floating in the water whilst attempting a routine landing in the dark. The aircraft broke up and sank just off Maiden Island with only one survivor from the 11 crew members on board.

Footnotes

External links

{{coord, 56, 25, 49.8, N, 5, 29, 33.11, W, display=title, region:GB Uninhabited islands of Argyll and Bute Oban

Geography

History

Wrecks

See also

Footnotes

External links