Erraid

Erraid

Gaelic name	Eilean Earraid
Pronunciation	[ˈelan ˈɛrˠətʲ]
Meaning of name	Tidal island (Old Gaelic name: Arthraigh)
Rock near the summit of Cnoc Mor
Location
Erraid Erraid shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference	NM298199
Coordinates	56°17′N 6°22′W / 56.29°N 6.36°W / 56.29; -6.36
Physical geography
Island group	Mull
Area	187 hectares (0.72 sq mi)
Area rank	112
Highest elevation	Cnoc Mòr 75 metres (246 ft)
Administration
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Council area	Argyll and Bute
Demographics
Population	6
Population rank	74=
Population density	3.2 people/km2
References

The Isle of Erraid (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Earraid) is a tidal island approximately one mile square in area located in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It lies west of Mull (to which it is linked by a beach at low tide) and southeast of Iona. The island receives about 100 centimetres (39.4 in) of rain and 1,350 hours of sunshine annually, making it one of the driest and sunniest places on the western seaboard of Scotland. It is attended by numerous uninhabited small islets, the largest being Eilean Dubh (of which there are two), Eilean nam Muc, Eilean Chalmain, Eilean Ghomain and Eilean na Seamair.

The island features a disused signal station for the lighthouses on Dubh Artach and Skerryvore and a row of cottages built for the lighthouse keepers.

Satish Kumar has also visited the island and his autobiography includes an account of the event.

The island is privately owned and is home to an intentional community, part of the Findhorn Foundation.

There is a well-known anchorage on the western side of the island called 'Tinker's Hole'[1]. It is a deep but narrow channel between Erraid and the westernmost of the islets called Eilean Dubh.

Erraid is one of the locations featured in the novel Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson. David Balfour, the hero of this tale was marooned for a while on the island having been shipwrecked on the Torran Rocks, which lie to the south. Stevenson's father, Thomas was involved in the construction of the nearby lighthouses, and the stones for Dhu Heartach were quarried on the island, and the young Robert Louis visited the island on several occasions, recalling one such excursion in his book Memories and Portraits. He later based the fictional island of Aros, the setting of his short story "The Merry Men", on the island.