Isle of Colonsay Scalasaig, Scotland
United Kingdom
3
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Frequently Asked Questions
Small ships anchor off Scalasaig, the island's only village, and tenders come alongside near the ferry pier. The village is tiny and everything is walkable from the moment you step ashore.
The old ferry waiting room turned gallery and visitor centre, the general store, a microbrewery, a publishing house with a bookshop devoted to the Hebrides, the Georgian parish church and the island hotel, whose bar serves as the village square.
Three options, depending on taste and tide: the walk to Kiloran Bay, the gardens of Colonsay House, or the walk across to Oronsay if the tide allows. The island is only thirteen kilometres long, but everything is earned on foot or by bicycle.
A sweep of golden sand between two headlands in the northwest of the island, regularly named among the finest beaches in the country. Atlantic swell rolls in long lines, cattle sometimes graze right up to the dunes, and the view runs across to the mountains of Jura.
A good hour on foot by road, unless you hire a bicycle or take an excursion shuttle. It is the longest trip of the call: build the return leg into your timings before setting off.
The wooded gardens of the eighteenth-century home of the lairds of Colonsay, in the middle of the island, known for rhododendrons and species from the antipodes that the Gulf Stream allows to flourish at this improbable latitude. The walled gardens and adjoining café open on certain days in season; the woodland walks are always accessible.
Yes, but only at low tide: a sand bar then uncovers the crossing, walked barefoot with shoes in hand. The medieval priory on Oronsay is the reward. Check the tide tables carefully — the water comes back quickly and makes no exceptions.
Yes, for families who walk. Kiloran Bay is a magnificent beach for running, and the crossing to Oronsay feels like an adventure. There is no public transport and no organised programme: you plan it yourself.
Barely more than a hundred, proud of their school, their festivals and their quiet self-reliance. You meet this community at the shop, the microbrewery or the hotel bar, and they carry their independence with a mix of humour and stubbornness.
Pounds sterling and English. The best window runs May to September, when the gardens are in flower and the days long. Carry cash: services are few and coverage patchy. Tendering ashore depends on sea conditions.
