Ian Ketchin Smallpipes from the Small Isles
About the Small Isles
The Small Isles are a group of four islands in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland, in the area known as Lochaber.
The islands are called Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna (the first two might be familiar from the lyrics to the Skye Boat Song!). The four islands each have their own very distinctive character. Rum, the largest, is very mountainous and is a national nature reserve managed by Scottish Natural Heritage. Eigg was the subject of one of Scotland's first community land buy-outs: it is now mostly owned by the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust and has a flourishing local traditional music culture. Canna is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is the home of John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Fay Shaw's outstanding collection of Gaelic song and folklore.
Muck, the island where I lived until 2006, is the smallest of the Small Isles. It is tiny - only about 1½ miles long by 1 mile at its widest point. It reputedly gets its name from a shortening of Muc Mara which is the Gaelic for sea-pig or porpoise. Certainly the seas around the island provide many close encounters with porpoises, minke whales, orca, basking sharks, seals and a wealth of seabirds. For over a hundred years the island has been in the ownership of the MacEwen family who live and work there. There are only 14 households with a population of just over 30 including 11 children, no shops (apart from a restaurant and craft shop open for visitors in the summer) and only 1¼ miles of single track road which has grass growing up the middle of it for much of the way. Electricity is generated by a small windpower scheme.
All the Small Isles welcome visitors all year round although boats are less frequent and more vulnerable to the weather in winter.
click on images to enlarge
The Small Isles from the air,
with Muck in the foreground