I wasn’t sure of what to expect on the Isle of Colonsay and was amazed at the landscape and the stark beauty of the land. The trip here was made mainly to visit Oronsay Priory established by one of the Lords of the Isles. Caught an early morning ferry for the two and a half hour ride to this wild and rugged island west of the islands of Islay and Jura. Another rainy, dreary day so we drove around to get our bearings before our check-in time – on a very narrow, single track road. Forget two lane highways! These roads, as on Eigg, are narrow and have room for only one car at a time so you must be aware of other cars coming from the opposite direction and pull over in the areas provided. Makes for very aware driving to be sure! The landscape is wild and rugged and it is a wonder that anyone lives here at all. Met a lovely girl in the bar at the Colonsay Hotel who is a native and lives on a croft not far from the hotel. She went to school on the mainland in Oban and on weekends would fly back in to Colonsay.
We had passed the airfield and had not driven down the “less than single track” road leading to it but had noticed the Colonsay Golf Course, supposedly 200 years old. Difficult to really see where the greens were but we were at the 1st tee along the road. Will have to get more photos of it. It seems that we may not get to Oronsay as the next few days the tides are to be high and the crossing not good. We will try and get some way to get over there to see the priory. Meanwhile, I learned that Somerled’s ancestral home is just above the hotel and that he used Machrins Bay as his headquarters when going out to battle between here and Islay. So, definitely related to the Lords of the Isles. We will definitely explore further tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be much better. The Lords of the Isles have left many traces here and we will explore them for the next two days.
