This is the first book ever to be written on the collective history of the little group of islands between Ardnamurchan and Skye. As some of the best known Hebridean islands, Canna, Rum, Eigg and Muck have a long and varied history, but are also amongst the least documented. Rum was the playground of the Macruari kings of the Northern Hebrides; Eigg was the island meeting point where their descendants conceded primacy to the Islay Macdonalds, while Muck and Canna were the property of Iona, spiritual nerve centre of the west. With reference to both the extensive material remains on the islands and rare original source material, this book is a dynamic and wideranging account of the Small Isles and their history.

A guidebook to 15 day walks and 1 multi-day trek on the Isles of Rum, Eigg, Muck, Canna, Coll and Tiree. Exploring the beautiful scenery of the Western Isles, the routes are suitable for walkers of all abilities. The day walks range in length from 9 to 27km (5–17 miles) and include a challenging round of Rum Cuillin. A 3-day trek around the coast of Rum covering 40km (25 miles) is also described. 1:50,000 OS maps included for each walk Detailed information on public transport to and around the islands Highlights include an ascent of An Sgurr Information included on local history, geology and wildlife

Some ten thousand years ago, hunter-gatherers moving through a landscape newly emerged from the grip of the last Ice Age reached four islands on the western seaboard. The shores they landed on were deserted. After making camp, they struck out to hunt and explore. We know this because the evidence of their presence has been preserved down the millennia - in traces of flint and quartz, in charred fragments of grain and animal bone, in great heaped piles of ancient shellfish. The islands were Rum, Eigg, Canna and Muck - four distinctive shapes rising from the waters of the Inner Hebrides between Ardnamurchan and Skye. Collectively, they are known as the Small Isles.From those first moments on, people have been working these islands and using their resources, adapting each landscape to suit the changing needs of the communities they served. In this definitive new book, archaeologist John Hunter searches for the stories of the Small Isles in the evidence that survives - from the fragmentary physical remains of dwellings, defences, places of worship and monuments, to the records of early antiquarians, historians and travellers.This is a journey to rediscover communities that were erased by the mass migrations of the nineteenth century, and the rise of the Victorian sporting estate. Within a few generations cultural identity on the islands disappeared and a new order developed. Placenames were changed, buildings and structures abandoned, and traditions forgotten. The Small Isles became islands without memories.This comprehensive guide - illustrated with a wealth of photographs, maps and drawings - takes readers on a tour of both place and time. Crisscrossing the landscapes of four fascinating and evocative islands, it reveals traces of a forgotten past in everything that has been left behind.

This guidebook describes 30 day walks all over the Isles of Harris and Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides. The walks range from 2 and 14 miles (4 to 22km) in length, and are easily accessible from Stornaway or Tarbet. Routes vary from short strolls to long wilderness hikes, high-level and low-level, and include the An Cliseam horseshoe, visits to ancient historic monuments like the stone circles of Calanais and the famous Butt of Lewis lighthouse, all illustrated with OS 1:50,000 maps and dramatic photography. The routes take in most of the main summits as well as historical and geographical places of interest. A list of all the Marilyns (British hills of any height with a drop of at least 150m on all sides) on Harris, Lewis and St Kilda is included at the back. Tips are also included about walking on St Kilda, Berneray, Taransay, The Shiant Islands and The Flannan Isles, along with a short Gaelic glossary and route summary table, and advice on practicalities to make the most out of any walking trip on Harris and Lewis.

In 1938 John Lorne Campbell bought the Hebridean isle of Canna. He wanted to prevent it becoming a rich man's playground (like so many other islands and Highland estates), to preserve a part of traditional Gaelic culture and show that efficient farming methods could be compatible with wildlife conservation and sustainability. But his determination to get the island left him burdened by debt, and even after he gave it to the National Trust for Scotland in 1981 he still had to fight to secure his legacy. This acclaimed book is an insightful and human portrait of one of the twentieth century's most significant scholars of the Gaelic world, and of his 60-year partnership with Margaret Fay Shaw, who together created the world-famous library of Gaelic song and other material at Canna House.

“Excellent . . . Almost the perfect marriage of travelogue to the inner landscape of political ideas and cultural reflections . . . a super read.” —New Statesman Few landscapes are as striking as that of the Hebrides, the hundreds of small islands that speckle the waters off Scotland’s northwest coast. The jagged, rocky cliffs and roiling waves serve as a reminder of the islands’ dramatic geological history. Facing the Atlantic, the Hebrides were at the center of ancient shipping routes and have a remarkable cultural history. After years of hearing about Scotland as a place interwoven with the story of her family, Madeleine Bunting went to see for herself this place so full of history. Over six years, Bunting returned again and again to the Hebrides, fascinated by the question of what it means to belong there. With great sensitivity, she takes readers through the Hebrides’ history of dispossession and displacement, a history that can be understand only in the context of Britain’s imperial past, and she shows how the Hebrides have been repeatedly used to define and imagine Britain. Love of Country is a revelatory journey through one of the world’s most remote, beautiful landscapes that encourages us to think of the many identities we wear as we walk our paths. “A remarkably thorough digest of the many histories of the Hebrides.” —Wall Street Journal “Moving and wonderful. . . . Both the author and reader of this book end up losing themselves not just in politics and history and the details of nature, but a sense of wonder” —The Guardian “Makes you feel you are there even if you have just left.” —Observer, Best Books of the Year