Little Colonsay

Little Colonsay is a small, uninhabited island off the west coast of Mull in Argyll and Bute. Its dark cliffs are made of columnar basalt, the same rock that forms the nearby island of Staffa. The island lies within the Loch Na Keal National Scenic Area, one of Scotland’s protected landscapes. It has no permanent residents today, though it once supported small farming communities. In the 19th century, families lived and worked on the island before being removed during clearances. Later, a farmer named John MacColum tried to farm the land but left after rats overran the island. The island’s history includes notable figures such as F. W. Clark, who cleared the island in the 1840s. The land was later owned by the family of Viscount Blakenham, whose daughter, Cressida Cowell, spent summers there as a child. Cowell has described the Inner Hebrides as one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Her experiences on Little Colonsay inspired the landscapes in her children’s books, including *How to Train Your Dragon*. The island’s rugged beauty and quiet isolation have left a lasting impression on those who have visited. Visitors to the area around Little Colonsay will find dramatic coastal scenery and basalt cliffs rising from the sea. The surrounding waters are part of a national scenic area, offering views of Mull and the Inner Hebrides. The island itself remains wild and unspoilt, with no signs of permanent settlement today. Its rocky shores and steep slopes make it a quiet place, far from modern development. The only traces of past lives are the ruins of old cottages and the stories of those who once lived there. The landscape still carries the memory of those who tried to make a home on its rugged ground.