Creinch

Creinch is a small island in Loch Lomond, part of West Dunbartonshire. It lies on the Highland Boundary Fault and is covered entirely in ivy-draped trees. The Gaelic name, Craobh-Innis, means ‘Tree Island’. In 1800 the traveller Garnett called it ‘Grange’ in his writings. Four islands—Inchcailloch, Torrinch, Creinch and Inchmurrin—mark the fault line across the loch. It sits just north of Inchmurrin and a little south of Inchcailloch. The island’s dense woodland shelters wildlife and spring wildflowers. Wych elms grow among the ivy, their branches heavy and tangled. In spring the forest floor turns white and blue with wild garlic, wild hyacinths and wood anemones. By summer the thick growth makes the interior hard to reach. The ivy and trees create a quiet, shaded world away from the loch’s busier shores. Visitors find a green canopy and little open ground. The island shows how woodland can reclaim a small piece of land. There are no buildings or paths, only the natural tangle of branches and undergrowth. The loch water laps against the ivy-covered shoreline, marking the island’s edge. It is a place where plants and trees dominate the scene.