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Lismore. September 2024

Helen Rose Outdoors

Lismore is an Inner Hebridean island near Oban. The island is approximately 10 miles long by 1 mile wide. The island was called the ‘Great Garden’ because it is relatively low lying, and very green and fertile compared with the mountains of Mull, and on the mainland. It is surrounded by the waters of Loch Linnhe. https://isleoflismore.com/

Dunstaffnage Castle

The weekend walks were organised by the Glasgow HF Outdoor club. https://www.meetup.com/Glasgow-HF-Outdoor-Club/ We stayed in Oban and travelled the two days over on the small ferry which takes about 50 minutes. It is advisable to book this ferry as it can be busy in summer with day trippers such as ourselves. From the ferry, we had good views of the mainland including Dunstaffnage Castle near Oban. It is one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland The castle was built before 1240, probably by Duncan MacDougall, son of Dubhgall, Lord of Lorn, and grandson of the great Somerled, the self-styled ‘King of the Isles’. These were stirring times in Argyll, because of the struggle between the Kingdom of Scotland and Norway for control of the Hebrides.

When in Oban, a visit to the Oban Seafood Hut on the pier is a must for fresh shellfish and I recommend the crab sandwiches. Customers come from far and wide to buy the shellfish and there are always queues.

The Barr Mhor

On our first day, we arrived in Lismore and saw the welcoming red phone box at the pier.

We walked a fairly long time on the road to reach Loch Kilcheran which we walked around before climbing up a good path to the The Bar Mhor hill at 127 metres, the highest point on the island. We stopped on the top for lunch with great views all round. At the summit is a Bronze Age kerb cairn and a a cist (burial chamber). Gerena as leader had reccied the walk and minimised any difficult places to cross on the route as there are many deer fences without stiles. Thankfully, we only had one gate to climb over on the route.

On the way we passed the flag irises at the side of the road. They always remind me of the Scottish islands where they grow particularly well and brighten up the dullest day.

Waverley Pen Nib

On the second day trip to Lismore, we passed a statue to Duncan Cameron (1825 –  1901) who was a Scottish businessman, owner of The Oban Times newspaper and the inventor of the “Waverley” pen-nib. The tip’s design made the ink flow more smoothly on the paper. It was named after his son who drowned at Lismore and the monument was erected in his memory.

Lismore Visitors Centre

The walk took us on to the Lismore Visitors Centre with an excellent café for coffee and cake. The views were stunning from the balcony as we enjoyed the refreshments.. There is a museum there and I learned that the island had a history of linen weaving. The very helpful staff advised me that the flax was grown on the island for the linen and not imported. The museum was fascinating with a full history of the island. https://www.lismoregaelicheritagecentre.org/  The island is unusual in the Inner Hebrides having retained a strong Gaelic language culture.

There was also a reconstructed cottar’s cottage showing the interior and how people would have lived in the past.  Cottar is a Scots term for a peasant farmer (formerly in the Scottish Highlands for example). Cottars occupied cottages and cultivated small land lots.

Saint Moluag

We were on the Saint Moluag trail. Saint Moluag was a Scottish missionary, and a contemporary of Saint Columba, who evangelised the Picts of Scotland in the sixth century.  Saint Moluag was the patron saint of Argyll as evidenced by a charter in 1544, from the Earl of Argyll. The Lismore Parish Church is also known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Moluag. The church has fine stained glass windows. It is a working Church of Scotland and being Sunday, we had to wait for the service to conclude before we went inside.

On the trail we passed a quirky candle box at the side of the path. It was the Lismore Luminations company where all the candles are hand poured in small batches on the Island. They change the candles with the seasons and are always adding new fragrances to bring joy to your home. https://lismoreluminations.com/

Tirefour Broch

Our next stop was at Tirefour Broch or Castle. After a short climb up the hillside we reached the broch and stopped within the walls for our afternoon tea picnic. The broch was probably built in the late Iron Age (about two thousand years ago) and was inhabited during the Roman era as shown by the discovery of an enamel brooch in the foundation layer.

The broch was inhabited until the Middle Ages. Among the finds in the broch was a decorative pin from the 8th century and a Norse pin and rivets, dating from the 11th or 12th century. Located near the broch are the remains of a rectangular building in the Norse style. There is a strong Nordic historical connection all around Scotland.

On the way back to the ferry, we came across a novelty small tractor with eyes painted on. It was very amusing and everyone stopped to take a photograph of it!

Oban Sunsets.

Back in Oban we had beautiful sunsets over the bay viewed from the promenade.

This was an interesting trip to Lismore but we did not have time to take in all the interesting sights such as Castle Coeffin. For such a small island, Lismore has a lot of history and it will be a Haste Ye Back for us to see the rest of the Island. Time was against as we had to make sure we caught the last ferry back to Oban on both days. We were very fortunate with the weather as it was dry both days with some sunshine. Later, we heard it had rained heavily on the afternoons of both days. Rain can be very localised and we were obviously in the right place at the right time to avoid it!

Many thanks to Gerena for all the hard work on organising these walks and researching the island’s history. Gerena is also a professional tour guide and can be contacted at www.argyllwalks.co.uk

Coming attraction; Kippford

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