Coll
Location
OS grid reference:	NM207584
Names
Gaelic name:	Colla
Meaning of name:	Hazel
Area and Summit
Area:	7,685 ha
Area rank:	18
Highest elevation:	Ben Hogh 104 m
Population
Population (2001):	164
Population rank:	35 out of 98
Main settlement:	Arinagour
Groupings
Island Group:	Mull
Local Authority:	Argyll and Bute
References:	[1][2][3]
If shown, area and population ranks are for all Scottish islands and all inhabited Scottish islands respectively.

Coll (Scottish Gaelic: Colla) is a small island, west of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and for Breachacha Castle.

Geography and geology

Coll is about 21 km long by 5 km wide (13 miles by 3 miles) and has a population of less than 200. The island has a small village, Arinagour, from which ferries operated by Caledonian MacBrayne sail to Scarinish on Tiree and to Oban on the mainland.^[4] The journey to Oban normally takes about two hours, but in stormy winter weather it can take much longer.

Coll's sandy beaches rise to form large sand dunes.

The highest point on Coll is Ben Hogh in the south west of the island which rises to a height of 104 metres (341 ft).

View of Arinagour

History

Coll was home to a branch of the Clan MacLean for 500 years, not all of which were peaceful. In 1590 the MacLeans of Duart invaded their cousins on Coll with the intention of taking the island for themselves. A battle was fought at Breachacha Castle where the Coll clan overwhelmed the Duarts, chopped off their heads and threw them in the stream which is still known as "the stream of the heads".

The Macleans of Coll retained their baronial fief and Castle of Breachacha until 1848 when Alexander Maclean of Coll emigrated to Natal where he died unmarried.

Breachacha Castle on the south coast dates from the fifteenth century. It was restored by the Project Trust,^[5] a gap year organisation that sends school leavers abroad for a year's voluntary work. They send 17-19 year olds on a whole year abroad, and have extensive selection and training weeks.^[6] An 18th century mansion house stands nearby.

The population of Coll was much higher in the past. In the late 1700s there were about 1,000 people supported by agriculture and fishing.^[2] During the Highland Clearances of the 1830s and 1840s, half the population left, many of them moving to Australia, Canada or South Africa.

Traigh Feall (Feall Beach), Isle of Coll

Project Trust

Project Trust, founded by Nicholas Maclean-Bristol and based on the island, has sent over 5,500 volunteers overseas, many of them gap year students. In 2008 this organisation, which brings over £370,000 per annum to Coll's economy, celebrated its 40th anniversary.^[7][8]

Wildlife

There is an extensive RSPB reserve towards the west end of the island.^[9] One of the main attractions is the rare corncrake. Traditional local farming practices have helped this once common British bird survive.

Coll in fiction

Mairi Hedderwick, the illustrator and author, once lived on Coll and has used the island as the setting her Katie Morag series of children's books. In the books, Coll is known by the fictional name of the Isle of Struay.^[10]

See also

• Religion of the Yellow Stick

Footnotes

1. 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
2. ^{a b} Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 1841954543. 
3. Ordnance Survey. Get-a-map [map].
4. "route information". Caledonian MacBrayne. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
5. "Overview of Coll". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
6. "Project Trust". Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
7. Kerr, Moira (17 March 2008) "Charity plays vital role in survival of remote island". Aberdeen. Press and Journal.
8. "About Project Trust" Project Trust. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
9. "Guide to Coll". RSBP. Retrieved on 2008-01-06.
10. "Random House - Mairi Hedderwick". Retrieved on 2008-01-06.

External links

• Isle of Coll Website
• BBC Island Blog Website
• Coll Parish Church Website
• The Coll Hotel Website
• The Coll Magazine Archive
• The Coll Community Centre Project
• Project Trust

Islands of the Hebrides Inner Hebrides Ascrib Islands · Canna · Cara · Càrna · Coll · Colonsay · Crowlin Islands · Eigg · Gigha · Iona · Isay · Islay · Jura · Kerrera · Lismore · Oronsay · Muck · Mull · Raasay · Rona · Rùm · Skye · Slate Islands · Soay · Staffa · Summer Isles · Tiree · Treshnish Isles · Ulva Outer Hebrides Barra (Isles) · Benbecula · Berneray · Eriskay · Flannan Isles · Great Bernera · Harris and Lewis · Monach Islands (Heisgeir)  · North Rona · North Uist · Rockall · Scalpay · Shiant Isles · South Uist · St Kilda

Coordinates: 56°38′00″N 6°33′26″W / 56.633333, -6.55722

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Coll". Image Credit.

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