Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 27 on 09/06/2006.

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Lismore's long history

In the latest in his series on lesser known islands, John Hannavy visits Lismore

My first sight of the island of Lismore was from Duart Castle on Mull in early summer 1991 – a blue grey pencil of land just visible in the distance, and lying quietly beneath a spectacular low rainbow on Loch Linnhe.

Less than a week later, back in Oban, my young son and I were boarding the little Caledonian MacBrayne ferry MV Eigg for the hour’s journey to the island. A total complement of two cars and about six passengers were on board as the ferry set sail, all bound for an island which is dotted with the remains of a thousand years of Hebridean history – a landscape strewn with the ruins of a broch and two ancient castles, and with a tiny parish church which was once a cathedral.

On that first visit, staying in the island’s only bed and breakfast – the former manse next door to the little church – we found ourselves in great company, including a popular writer, and the well known Scottish artist Tom Shanks – the three of us all using different media to capture the essence of the place.

The streetlights went out long before midnight, and my son, then eight years of age, experienced real darkness for the first time. As for myself? Sitting in the late night silence of the guest house garden, a whisky in one hand and a cigar in the other, gazing up at the stars – now that’s a rare privilege.

Fifteen years later, it is still MV Eigg which carries passengers to Lismore, although CalMac apparently has plans to build a new ship in the future.

The manse is no longer a guesth.....

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By John Hannavy

Section : Scottish Islands

Page number : 18