Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs is the name of one of the 40

national scenic areas National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

of Scotland. The designated area covers the islands of

Scarba Scarba () is an island, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, just north of the much larger island of Jura. The island has not been permanently inhabited since the 1960s. Until his death in 2013 it was owned by Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys; its ...

, Lunga, and the

Garvellachs The Garvellachs (Scottish Gaelic: ''Na Garbh Eileacha'') or Isles of the Sea form a small archipelago in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The islands include Garbh Eileach, Dùn Chonnuill and Eileach an Naoimh. Part of the Argyll and Bute counc ...

, all of which lie in the

Firth of Lorn The Firth of Lorn or Lorne () is the inlet of the sea between the south-east coast of the Isle of Mull and the mainland of Scotland. It includes a number of islands, and is noted for the variety of wildlife habitats that are found. In 2005, a l ...

, along with much of the surrounding seascape. The national scenic areas are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection by restricting certain forms of development, and are considered to represent the type of scenic beauty "popularly associated with Scotland and for which it is renowned". The Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs NSA covers 6,542 ha in total, consisting of 2,139 ha of land with a further 4,402 ha being marine (i.e. below low tide). National scenic areas are primarily designated due to the scenic qualities of an area, however NSAs may well have other special qualities, for example related to culture, history, archaeology, geology or wildlife. Areas with such qualities may be protected via other national and international designations that overlap with the NSA designation. There are several

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

within or overlapping with the NSA.

Creation of the national scenic area

Following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a committee, chaired by Sir Douglas Ramsay, was established to consider preservation of the landscape in Scotland. The report, published in 1945 proposed that five areas ( Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, the

Cairngorms The Cairngorms () are a mountain range in the eastern Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national parks of Scotland, national park (the Cairn ...

, Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount,

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 th ...

and

Glen Strathfarrar Glen Strathfarrar () is a glen in the Highland (council area), Highland region of Scotland, near Loch Ness. The Glen is part of the Affric-Beauly hydro-electric power scheme, with a dam at Loch Monar and a 9 km tunnel carrying water to an u ...

Glen Affric Glen Affric () is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin. A minor public road reac ...

Glen Cannich Glen Cannich () is a long glen and strath in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland and through which runs the River Cannich. Once densely populated before being largely emptied by both voluntary emigration and the Highland Clearances following the ...

) should receive a level of protection. Accordingly, the government designated these areas as "national park direction areas", giving powers for planning decisions taken by local authorities to be reviewed by central government. Following a further review of landscape protection in 1978, additional areas, including islands in the Firth of Lorn, were identified as worthy of protection due to their landscape qualities. Accordingly, in 1981 the direction areas were replaced by the national scenic area designation, which were based on the 1978 recommendations and thus included the area entitled ''Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs''. The defined area remains as originally mapped in 1978, but was redesignated under new legislation in 2010. Although the national scenic area designation provides a degree of additional protection via the planning process, there are no bodies equivalent to a

national park authority A national park authority is a special term used in Great Britain for legal bodies charged with maintaining a national park of which, as of October 2021, there are ten in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland. The powers and duties of all su ...

, and whilst

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

(in this case

Argyll and Bute Council Argyll and Bute Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Earra Ghàidheal is Bhòid'') is one of the 32 local authorities of Scotland, covering the Argyll and Bute council area. Thirty-six representative members make up the council, elected, sin ...

) can produce a management strategy for each one, only the three national scenic areas within

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

have current management strategies.

Landscape and scenery

The original 1978 report that led to the area being designated as a national scenic area noted: The seas are home to some of strongest tidal flows in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, leading to the formation of features such as the

whirlpool A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...

in the

Gulf of Corryvreckan The Gulf of Corryvreckan (from the Gaelic ''Coire Bhreacain'', meaning 'cauldron of the speckled seas' or 'cauldron of the plaid'), also called the Strait of Corryvreckan, is a narrow strait between the islands of Jura and Scarba, in Argyll a ...

, and the narrow channel between Scarba and Lunga known as Bealach a’Choin Ghlais ("the pass of the grey dogs").

Conservations designations

All of the islands within the NSA, along with the neighbouring isle of Jura, form part of 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 cer ...

, due to the presence of breeding

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

s. The

, which surrounds the islands, is rich in wildlife, with

basking shark The basking shark (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three Planktivore, plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sh ...

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

s and

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

s all present. The seas of the Firth form a

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 ap ...

(SAC) due to the

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

s present in the waters. These reefs area amongst the most diverse in both the UK and Europe, with many of the species present being at either the northern or southern limits of their usual geographic range. As of 2016 consideration was being given to also protecting a wider area of the seas surrounding the islands as an SAC in order to enhance the protection of

harbour porpoise The harbour porpoise (''Phocoena phocoena'') is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar ...

s in the area.

References

External links

The special qualities of the National Scenic Areas
{{NSAs in Scotland, state=collapsed National scenic areas of Scotland Protected areas of Argyll and Bute Protected areas established in 1981 1981 establishments in Scotland