Crowlin Islands

The Crowlin Islands are three small, uninhabited islands in the Inner Hebrides, lying between Skye and the Applecross peninsula on the mainland. The largest is Eilean Mòr, with Eilean Meadhonach and Eilean Beag completing the group. Their rugged shores face the Inner Sound, a strait known for strong tides and clear waters. The islands have no permanent residents today, but their past is visible in scattered ruins and caves. Archaeologists have found Mesolithic tools and Iron Age middens, showing people lived here for thousands of years. The shoreline was walked by volunteers between 1999 and 2004 as part of Scotland’s First Settlers project. The islands were used for fishing, sheep grazing and kelp gathering from 1810 to 1920. Families evicted from Applecross were allowed to settle on Eilean Mòr under an agreement with the Mackenzie laird. They built drystone cottages, shielings and a small chapel, ruins of which still stand near Camas na h-Annait. A steam trawler, the Scomber, sank off Eilean Beag in 1923, though its exact resting place remains unknown. The islands also hold six caves and rock shelters with signs of prehistoric habitation. These traces show how people adapted to a remote island life over centuries. Visitors find quiet shores, low hills and the remains of old homes and chapels. The north-east corner of Eilean Mòr holds ruined cottages and shielings built by 19th-century settlers. Archaeological sites include caves with Mesolithic tools and Iron Age middens. The coastline is rocky and exposed, with clear views across to Skye and Applecross. The islands offer a sense of isolation and history without crowds or modern development. Their empty beaches and grassy slopes make them a place to walk and imagine past lives.