The Treshnish Isles are an archipelago of small islands and skerries, lying west of the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering ...

, in Scotland. They are part of the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") 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, whi ...

. Trips to the Treshnish Isles operate from Ulva Ferry, Tobermory,

Ardnamurchan Ardnamurchan (, gd, Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main access ...

and Tiree.

Geography

The archipelago extends over a distance of roughly , from the island of in the south (towards ) to the north-east. The largest island in the group, Lunga, is west of Gometra, south-west of (on the

), south-east of

Coll Coll (; gd, Cola; sco, Coll)Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and for ...

, and north-west of

Staffa Staffa ( gd, Stafa, , from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from ver ...

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

Landranger Map (1:50 000) "Iona & West Mull". Sheet 48 Other relatively large islands in the group are , Fladda and . There are numerous small skerries, particularly north of Lunga. All the islands are of volcanic origin.

History

There are several possible duns on the islands of

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

origin. Little is known of the early history, although these prominent landmarks would have been significant waypoints for the Norse settlers during their conquest in the early years of the

Kingdom of the Isles The Kingdom of the Isles consisted of the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Firth of Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The islands were known to the Norse as the , or "Southern Isles" as distinct from the or North ...

,Treshnish Isles Management Plan p. 5 which lasted from the 9th to the 13th centuries. There are remains on Lunga of a village of

blackhouse A blackhouse ( ga, teach dubh ; gd, t(a)igh-dubh ) is a traditional type of house which used to be common in Ireland, the Hebrides, and the Scottish Highlands. Origin of the name The origin of the name blackhouse is of some debate. On the Is ...

s abandoned in 1857 The Isles were purchased in 1938 by explorer and naturalist Col. Niall Rankin and they were sold to the

Hebridean Trust The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebri ...

in 2000. The Trust are guardians of the islands to protect them and the wildlife and to monitor and study the ecology and archaeology. Due to the beauty and remoteness of the Isles and the abundance of wildlife, particularly the

puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

s, they are very popular with tourists who visit by boat, generally to Lunga, for day-trips during the summer.

Etymology

is a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...

name of unknown meaning that includes the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

root , meaning 'headland'. is also known as "The Dutchman's Cap" in English due to its shape. is from the Gaelic , with meaning 'bank' or 'dune' and simply being a diminutive in contrast to . is also known as in Gaelic, which means 'dune of the Ross' and is a reference to the shape of the island when framed against the Ross of Mull. ''Lunga'' is probably from the Old Norse , meaning '

longship Longships were a type of specialised Scandinavian warships that have a long history in Scandinavia, with their existence being archaeologically proven and documented from at least the fourth century BC. Originally invented and used by the Nor ...

island'. and are Gaelic names meaning 'Irishman's skerry' and 'castle skerry' respectively. means 'cairn of the large fort' and is thus 'cairn of the small fort'. The name ''Fladda'' originates from the Old Norse for 'flat island'.

Natural history and conservation

The Treshnish Isles are part of the Loch na Keal National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. They are also designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

, a

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certa ...

due to their importance for breeding

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same envir ...

s and a marine

Special Area of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and a ...

. They are also known for their Atlantic

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" o ...

s and ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Notes

References

* *Mac an Tailleir, Iain (2003
"''Ainmean-àite le buidheachas''/Placenames"
Scottish Parliament/''Pàrlamaid na h-Alba''. (pdf) Retrieved 12 May 2012. * ''Treshnish Isles Management Plan 2001-11'' (2001) The Hebridean Trust.

External links

The Hebridean Trust
{{Coord, 56.497, -6.418, region:GB_type:isle, display=title Islands of Argyll and Bute Special Protection Areas in Scotland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Mull, Coll and Tiree Special Areas of Conservation in Scotland Protected areas of Argyll and Bute Archipelagoes of Scotland