Inchtavannach

Inchtavannach
Location
Inchtavannach
Inchtavannach shown within Scotland
OS grid reference NS365915
Names
Gaelic name Innis Taigh a' Mhanaich
Meaning of name island of the monk's house
Physical geography
Island group Loch Lomond
Area 70 ha[1]
Area rank 174= (Freshwater: 4)[2]
Highest elevation Tom na Clag 84 m
Political geography
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country Scotland
Council area Argyll and Bute
Demographics
Population 3[3]
Population rank 80= (Freshwater: 2=)[2]
References [4][5]

Inchtavannach (Scottish Gaelic: Innis Taigh a' Mhanaich; English: Island of the Monk's House), is one of the larger islands in Loch Lomond.[6]

Geography

Inchtavannach faces the settlement of Aldochlay. Bandry Bay separates the island from the mainland, just south of Luss. According to Rev. Wilson, the island is "comparatively steep and lofty, mostly covered with natural oak".[7] A northern summit, Tom nan Clag (English: Mound of the Bell), rises steeply to 282 feet (86 m), the highest point on the loch.[6] A southern summit reaches 180 feet (55 m) in height.

History

Bay on Inchtavannach

It is thought that St Kessog was killed here.

It was once the site of a monastery, giving rise to its translated name of 'Monk's Isle'. A large house has stood on the site of the monastery since 1760. The island is predominantly wooded. It is here that the monks rang the bell to the call of prayer.

Roe Deer are recorded to have lived here. Sir James Colquhoun built a winding path up to the summit in the 17th century.[6]

The poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, together with Wordsworth's sister Dorothy, visited in August 1803.[8]

The producer of Take the High Road lived in a house on the island for ten years.[9]

Footnotes

  1. Rick Livingstone’s Tables of the Islands of Scotland (pdf) Argyll Yacht Charters. Retrieved 12 Dec 2011.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands >20ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
  3. National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013) (pdf) Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland - Release 1C (Part Two). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland’s inhabited islands". Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  4. Ordnance Survey. Get-a-map (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure. Ordinance Survey. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  5. Lacaille, AD (9 January 1928). "Ecclesiastical Remains in the Neighbourhood of Luss" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 62: 85–106.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Garnett, T. (1800). Observations on a Tour of the Highlands ... London. V.1. p. 38.
  7. Wilson, Rev. John The Gazetteer of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1882) Published by W. & A.K. Johnstone
  8. "Overview of Inchtavannach". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
  9. "Introduction to Loch Lomond Islands". Callander, Trossachs and Loch Lomond. Retrieved 2008-10-29.

External links

Coordinates: 56°5′18″N 4°37′38″W / 56.08833°N 4.62722°W