Eorsa

Eorsa is an uninhabited island in Loch na Keal on the Isle of Mull. It lies to the east of Ulva in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island forms part of the Loch Na Keal National Scenic Area, one of forty such areas in the country. Loch na Keal itself is a sea loch on Mull’s west coast, surrounded by high hills. Ulva, a nearby inhabited island, lies just across a narrow sound. The island’s name appears in early records connected with the Abbey of Iona.

Eorsa once belonged to the Abbey of Iona before passing to the Duke of Argyll. During the First World War it served as a British naval anchorage. The island inspired Nigel Tranter’s 1952 comic novel *Bridal Path*, later adapted into a film. Tranter chose Eorsa as the setting, avoiding any suggestion of local sensitivities. Wildlife is limited by the mile-wide stretch of water separating it from Mull.

Visitors find a quiet, unspoilt landscape with few traces of human activity. The absence of land animals reflects its isolation in the water. The surrounding hills and loch create a peaceful scene of water and rock. The island’s cultural links remain in its literary associations rather than physical remains. Its setting within a national scenic area adds to the sense of remoteness.