New Southern Hebrides Website

When I did the research for the new Southern Hebrides website I found out that there is so much interesting to learn about the fifty or so islands that make up the Southern Hebrides. The area stretches from the isles of Mull and Lismore in the north, Coll and Tiree in the west to Gigha in the south. When I read about these islands it gave me a better understanding of how the area where Islay is part of evolved in history. It also showed that these islands often had an important role in Scottish history. Islay was once the centre of power in the west of Scotland with the Lordship of the Isles, but the other islands have had their interesting share of history too. Take for instance the island of Iona where Columba in 563, with his twelve companions, set about building Iona's first church, made of clay and wood construction. Another surprise to discover were the McCormaig Isles from which Eilean Mor is owned by the Scottish National Party and, besides a medieval chapel, offers stunning views towards Islay and Jura. I have also found some remarkable islands which I never heard of before such as the Treshnish Isles and The Garvellachs just to name a few. On the map some of these islands look so very small but in fact they all have played an important part in history.

The new website is almost ready, as far as a website can ever be called ready of course. Coll and Tiree are missing from the list but they will get a page in the next weeks. Another feature of the new website is a blog where I will post travel reports, images and other snippets of the Hebridean islands every now and then.

New to the site is the Southern Hebrides Blog with news backgroundinformation and images of the area.