Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands: So Near, So Far

Paul Murton sets out to experience island life on the myriad of islands that lie off the Scottish coast. In this edition, he visits a little-known string of islands off the west coast of Oban, starting with island of Kerrera. Paul learns of Kerrera's vital part as a base for the RAF's Seaplane Squadron during WWII, where the Sunderland seaplanes took off from to provide air cover to convoys during the Battle of the Atlantic. He then crosses the renowed 'Bridge over the Atlantic' on the mainland to get to Easdale. Here he discovers the role that this island's quarries, and those of its neighbours Luing and Belnahua, played in building Britain's empire and reviews how little life has changed on the island. His final destination is Eileach an Naoimh, one of the Garvallach islands, home to the oldest Christian burial site in Scotland, and believed to be the final resting place of Saint Columba's mother.