Sanda, Scotland

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Sanda is a small island in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, off the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula. The island is known for the ruins of a chapel built by Saint Ninian, for its Celtic crosses and its reputed holy well.

At the southern tip of the island there stands a lighthouse built in 1850 by Alan Stevenson.

In the 2001 census, Sanda was one of four Scottish islands with a population of one person. However, since then there has been some development: a pub was opened in 2003, named Byron Darnton after the largest vessel to have been wrecked on the island (1946). The Byron Darnton was named after an American war correspondent whose son John Darnton also became a journalist and wrote of his visit to the island in 2005 [1].

The island is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its importance for both migrating and breeding birds. Sanda Bird Observatory was the first bird observatory to be set up on the west coast of Scotland.

The island is privately owned and has had a number of different owners in its history, including in 1969, Jack Bruce of the rock group Cream.

It should not be confused with islands called Sanday, nor with Handa.