Inchlonaig is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland.
Meaning of name | "Island of Yew Trees" |
---|---|
Location | |
OS grid reference | NS380934 |
Coordinates | 56°06′N 4°36′W / 56.10°N 4.60°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Loch Lomond |
Area | 80 ha[1] |
Area rank | 162= (Freshwater: 3) [2] |
Highest elevation | 62 m |
Administration | |
Council area | Argyll and Bute |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
References | [3] [4] |
Geography and geology
editInchlonaig is the most northerly of the larger islands in the Loch Lomond, just south of where it narrows into a ribbon loch, and north of Inchconnachan.[5]
History
editInchlonaig has traces of human habitation dating back to 5000BC.
Scattered across the island are yew trees. The travel writer, H.V. Morton visited in the 1930s, and mentions:
- Inchclonaig [sic], the 'marsh isle' whose yew trees, it is said, were planted by Robert the Bruce for his archers.[6]
It is also stated that King Robert used this supply to make bows before the fourteenth century Battle of Bannockburn.[6][7][8] The island was thus of great value and the trees maintained with the utmost care.[9]
Strathcashel, a stronghold of the Dukes of Montrose was opposite Inchlonaig.[8]
Rob Roy fixed the amount of money he was to extort from Clan Colquhoun here.[8]
At various times, the island has been a deer park, especially by Sir James Colquhoun in the 17th century[5][9] and a place of confinement for drunkards and the mentally ill.[8]
In 1873, Sir James Colquhoun, the clan chief, and some ghillies drowned after going hunting here, and they are buried together at Luss.[8]
Current use
editA stone cottage is now used as a holiday home.[7] The island is classified by the National Records of Scotland as an inhabited island that "had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses."[10]
The beaches on the island are also a common location for campers who are looking for a more quiet campsite.
See also
editFootnotes
edit- ^ Rick Livingstone’s Tables of the Islands of Scotland (pdf) Argyll Yacht Charters. Retrieved 12 Dec 2011.
- ^ Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
- ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 56 Loch Lomond & Inveraray (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2012. ISBN 9780319229811.
- ^ "Overview of Inchlonaig". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
- ^ a b Wilson, Rev. John (1882). The Gazetteer of Scotland. Edinburgh: W. & A.K. Johnstone.
- ^ a b Morton, H. V. (1933). In Scotland Again. London: Methuen. p. 145.
- ^ a b "Loch Lomond Islands: Inchlonaig". Retrieved 24 August 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Worsley, Harry (1988). Loch Lomond: The Loch, the Lairds and the Legends. Glasgow: Lindsay Publications. ISBN 978-1-898169-34-5.
- ^ a b Garnett, T. (1800). Observations on a Tour of the Highlands ... London. V.1. p. 42.
- ^ National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.