Inchfad

Inchfad is a small island in the south-east of Loch Lomond, stretching just over a kilometre in length. The name comes from the Gaelic Innis Fada, meaning ‘long island’, and it sits within the parish of Buchanan in central Scotland. Most of the land is covered in trees, and only one person lives there permanently. Four houses stand on the island, including a modernised farmhouse and a holiday home made of wood. A short canal, 400 metres long, runs across the island and links to the remains of a distillery. The island has a long history tied to whisky production. After illegal stills around the loch closed, Inchfad became home to a legal distillery whose ruins can still be seen. In the early 18th century the MacFarlane family took over, running a government-backed distillery until the mid-19th century. Their descendants still operate a boatyard at Balmaha and once managed the island’s mail service. Other owners included the Dukes of Montrose and Charles Collins, founder of a publishing family. Today visitors find a quiet island with woodland paths and views across the loch. The canal and old distillery ruins mark its industrial past, while the houses show how people have lived there over time. Nearby Ellanderroch, a tiny island just off Inchfad’s south-west tip, adds to the scene. The single resident keeps the place alive, but the island remains largely unchanged, offering a glimpse of rural life on Loch Lomond.