Island Davaar

Island Davaar lies off the east coast of Kintyre in Argyll and Bute. A tidal island, it joins the mainland at low tide by a shingle causeway called The Doirlinn. The crossing takes about forty minutes on foot. The name comes from the Gaelic Eilean Dà Bhàrr, meaning ‘double-pointed island’. Between 1449 and 1508 it was called the island of Sanct Barre. The Stevenson brothers built the lighthouse in 1854, and it was automated in 1983. The island has a lighthouse, a wartime observation post, holiday cottages and farmland. The Lookout, a restored Royal Observer Corps post, now serves as a holiday cottage. Rare-breed sheep and Highland cattle graze the land, and feral goats roam freely. Seven caves punctuate the coastline, one holding a cave painting of the Crucifixion painted in 1887 by Archibald MacKinnon. The painting was vandalised in 2006 but has been restored again. Visitors find quiet paths across the island and views over Campbeltown Loch. The lighthouse stands on the north side, and the converted Lookout offers a place to stay. The cave with the painting lies near the shore, reached by a short walk. The island is one of forty-three tidal islands that can be walked to from the mainland of Great Britain.