Gruinard Island

Gruinard Island lies in Gruinard Bay, a small oval piece of land about two kilometres long and one kilometre wide. It sits roughly one kilometre offshore between Gairloch and Ullapool in the Highlands. Dean Munro wrote of the island in the mid-16th century, describing it as part of Clan MacKenzie territory. By the late 18th century the island served as grazing land for sheep and a small fishing dock. Its population dwindled to six by 1881 and soon vanished entirely. In 1942 the island became a testing ground for biological warfare. Scientists from Porton Down detonated anthrax bombs near tethered sheep to study the effects. The strain used, Vollum 14578, proved highly virulent and the spores resisted all early attempts at cleaning. The government requisitioned the island and declared it unsafe for decades. In 1981 a group calling itself Operation Dark Harvest landed and removed soil samples to force action. Today the island shows signs of recovery. After spraying 280 tonnes of formaldehyde solution across 196 hectares, tests confirmed the land safe by 1990. A flock of sheep placed on the island remained healthy, and warning signs were removed. A wildfire in 2022 burned much of the vegetation but was said to have done good. Visitors will find a quiet, recovering landscape with no permanent buildings, only the memory of its unusual past.