Inchcailloch ( gd, Innis na Cailleach) is an

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

in Scotland. It is at its highest point. It is also known to some as Inchebroida. The name Inchcailloch means "Isle of the old woman" or "Isle of the Cowled (Hooded) Woman" in the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

language. Saint Kentigerna went to Scotland from Ireland to preach and spread Christianity and the island is thought to be named after her.

Geography and geology

Inchmurrin Inchmurrin ( gd, Innis Mhearain) is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is the largest fresh water island in the British Isles. Geography and geology Inchmurrin is the largest and most southerly of the islands in Loch Lomond. It reache ...

Creinch Creinch ( gd, Craobh-Innis, Tree Island) is an island on the Highland Boundary Fault in Loch Lomond. History Formerly Inchcroin (not to be confused with Inchcruin), Creinch lies a little north of Inchmurrin.Wilson, Rev. John ''The Gazetteer of ...

Torrinch Torrinch or Inchtore ( gd, Torr-Innis) is a wooded island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. The name Torremach is also recorded for it.Wilson, Rev. John ''The Gazetteer of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1882) Published by W. & A.K. Johnstone Geography It is ...

, and Inchcailloch all form part of the

Highland boundary fault The Highland Boundary Fault is a major fault zone that traverses Scotland from Arran and Helensburgh on the west coast to Stonehaven in the east. It separates two different geological terranes which give rise to two distinct physiographic terr ...

. There is a burial ground in the north of the island, and a bay, Port Bawn ( gd, Port Bàn; en, White Port), in the south. Like many of the Loch Lomond islands, it is quite heavily wooded.

Transport

There is a passenger ferry across the short channel separating it from

Balmaha Balmaha (Gaelic: ''Baile Mo Thatha'') is a village on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond in the council area of Stirling, Scotland. The village is a popular tourist destination for picnickers and day trippers from Glasgow as well as walkers on ...

on the mainland. As a result, it receives more visitors than most of the Loch Lomond islands, currently 20,000 visitors per year. There is a camp site in the south at Port Bawn and a nature trail.

History

Inchcailloch has been used as a hunting forest since the reign of

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

. Deer still roam the island. White deer have been seen on the island in 2003. The narrow crossing is very shallow making an easy passage for deer to ford. The island was farmed until the early 19th century, being recorded in 1800 as producing good wheat and oats; the ruins of the farm can still be seen. For around 130 years, Inchcailloch was an oak plantation. The resulting timber was processed at

(on the site of the Highland Way Inn), for making wood vinegar (

pyroligneous acid Pyroligneous acid, also called wood vinegar or wood acid, is a dark liquid produced by the destructive distillation of wood and other plant material Composition The principal components of pyroligneous acid are 10% acetic acid, acetone and metha ...

), wood tar, and dye. Inchcailloch had a church dedicated to St Kentigerna, which was the parish church until 1621, but the graveyard was used until 1947. St Kentigerna was an Irish woman who is not to be confused with St Kentigern (a man who is also known as

St Mungo Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Celtic Britons, Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and ...

). The

Clan MacGregor Clan Gregor, also known as Clan MacGregor, () is a Highland Scottish clan that claims an origin in the early 9th century. The clan's most famous member is Rob Roy MacGregor of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The Clan is also known to hav ...

burial ground includes some of Rob Roy's ancestors. Legends have passed by word of mouth that the bones of a woman were found under the altar stone during an excavation. Inchcailloch forms part of

Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve (NNR) ( gd, Tèarmann Nàdair Nàiseanta Loch Laomainn) encompasses 430 hectares of land at the southeastern part of Loch Lomond in the council areas of Stirling and West Dunbartonshire, in Scotland. It co ...

, owned and run by

Scottish Natural Heritage NatureScot ( gd, NàdarAlba), which was formerly known as Scottish Natural Heritage, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for the country's natural heritage, especially its natural, genetic and ...

Literary references

Inchcailloch is mentioned in Dr William Fraser's ''The Lennox'' (1874). The travel writer, H.V. Morton visited in the 1930s, and remarked: :''The isle is sacred to the MacGregors, and in the tangled branches and amongst the green trees is their ancient burial ground. It was on the halidom of him 'who sleeps beneath the grey stone of Inchcailloch' that members of this vigorous clan used to take their oaths.''

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

refers to the island in his poem, ''

The Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...

'' - :A slender crosslet formed with care :A cubit's length in measure due :The shafts and limbs were rods of yew :Whose parents in Inch Cailliach wave :Their Shadows o'er Clan Alpine's grave, :And, answering Lomond's breezes deep, :Soothe many a chieftain's endless sleep.

References

External links