The Oa

The Oa is a rugged, circular peninsula on Islay’s south-west coast, joined to the rest of the island by a narrow four-kilometre neck between Kintra and Port Ellen. Its highest point is Beinn Mhòr, a 202-metre hill that rises near the cliff edge on the southern shore. The land was once home to 800 people in the early 19th century, but the Highland Clearances left it deserted. A single road leads to the American Monument, built by the American Red Cross to mark the wartime loss of the liner Tuscania and the HMS Otranto in 1918. The monument stands within an RSPB nature reserve where choughs, golden eagles, corn crakes and seabirds are regularly seen. The reserve covers 1,931 hectares, most of it designated a Special Protection Area for choughs. On clear days the coast of Ireland appears across the water, adding a distant landmark to the scene. The cliffs and moorland also attract peregrines and hen harriers, while seals often rest on the rocky shoreline below. Paths wind from the road up Beinn Mhòr and along the cliff tops, offering sweeping views over the reserve and the Sound of Islay. Wildflowers colour the slopes in summer, and autumn brings flocks of migrating geese. The quiet tracks pass ruined crofts and old stone walls that recall the peninsula’s lost community. From the American Monument the land drops steeply to the sea, where seabird colonies nest on ledges below.