Eilean Shona

Eilean Shona is a tidal island at the entrance of Loch Moidart on Scotland’s west coast, just north of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. It covers 525 hectares with six peaks over 150 metres, the highest reaching 265 metres. Views stretch across the sea to islands such as Rum, Eigg and Skye. The island is reached by a short boat trip from Dorlin Pier, 4 kilometres north of Acharacle. Its name may come from Old Norse for ‘sea island’, though earlier Gaelic records called it Airthrago, meaning ‘foreshore island’. Castle Tioram guards the loch and was once held by the Macdonalds of Clanranald. The island’s history includes the Jacobite cause, when Charles Edward Stuart drew support from these lands in 1745. In 1851, potato blight forced thirty-seven families to leave. Captain Swinburne bought the main house in 1853 and planted one of Europe’s most diverse pinetums. Later owners included writer J. M. Barrie, who wrote parts of Peter Pan and A Kiss for Cinderella on the island. In 1934 it became a wedding gift for Lady Howard de Walden, whose family improved the grounds. Visitors find a restored house and eight Hebridean croft cottages available for holiday lets. The island runs conservation work for rare pinewoods, Celtic rainforest and wildlife such as red squirrels and pine martens. It hosts art residencies, writing workshops and film locations including The Isle and The Burning Baby. A Golden Eagle Breeding Programme operates with the Highland Raptor Study Group. The Old Schoolhouse, built in the 19th century, sits two miles down a track, isolated at the owner’s request.