InHab50

I fancied a new challenge.

You see, I really love islands – especially the Hebrides. There’s something about the west coast of Scotland – the wild weather, the white-sand beaches, the wildlife – that when combined with a CalMac journey (and the sense of isolation that brings) creates a wonderful whole. I feel at home on an island – I suppose that’s because I literally live on one, albeit a rather large one. But the sea is never far away on a Hebride and you never know what’s going to get blown in, or if you’ll even make it on or off the island. After visiting my 13th inhabited Hebridean island, I thought it was high time I put in some research into them – how many are there? How many people live on them? And just how can I visit them all?

InHabridean 50 InHab50

Everyone loves a round number, so I was particularly pleased that this challenge involves visiting exactly 50 inhabited Hebrides (the ‘InHab50’). The ‘A-Z’ is a B-V, from Baleshare off North Uist to Vatersay, south of Barra. There are islands with one occupant (Danna, Eilean dà Mhèinn and Soay) all the way up to the 21000+ on Lewis and Harris – and as the census data is from 2011, one job will be to check if they’re all still inhabited!

You can explore each one via this map and sortable table:

Island ⇕	Main Group ⇕	Sub Group ⇕	Area (ha) ⇕	Location ⇕	Population ⇕	Pop. Density ⇕	Households ⇕
Baleshare       Am Baile Sear	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	851.8	57.527, -7.366	58	6.8	21
Barra       Barraigh	Outer Hebrides	Barra	5793.0	56.988, -7.465	1174	20.3	549
Benbecula       Beinn nam Fadhla	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	7721.2	57.443, -7.319	1303	16.9	577
Berneray       Beàrnaraigh	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	1077.6	57.722, -7.187	138	12.8	82
Canna       Canaigh	Inner Hebrides	Small Isles	1131.4	57.062, -6.55	12	1.1	6
Coll       Cola	Inner Hebrides	Mull	7442.0	56.627, -6.57	195	2.6	87
Colonsay       Colbhasa	Inner Hebrides	Islay	3969.3	56.078, -6.21	124	3.1	70
Danna       Danna	Inner Hebrides	Islay	320.8	55.947, -5.692	1	0.3	1
Easdale       Eilean Èisdeal	Inner Hebrides	Slate Islands	20.4	56.292, -5.658	59	289.3	29
Eigg       Eige	Inner Hebrides	Small Isles	2969.9	56.904, -6.152	83	2.8	38
Eilean dà Mhèinn       Eilean dà Mhèinn	Inner Hebrides	Knapdale	4.0	56.091, -5.567	1	25.3	1
Eilean Shona       Eilean Seona	Inner Hebrides	Loch Moidart	641.1	56.796, -5.851	2	0.3	1
Eilean Tioram       Eilean Tioram	Inner Hebrides	North Highland	1.0	57.701, -5.724	6	574.4	2
Eriska       Aoraisge	Inner Hebrides	Loch Linnhe	110.6	56.532, -5.413	?*	?*	?*
Eriskay       Èirisgeigh	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	716.1	57.075, -7.292	143	20.0	73
Erraid       Eilean Earraid	Inner Hebrides	Mull	223.5	56.294, -6.367	6	2.7	4
Flodaigh       Flodaigh	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	79.3	57.476, -7.266	7	8.8	3
Fraoch-eilean       Fraoch-eilean	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	47.8	57.504, -7.246	?*	?*	?*
Gigha       Giogha	Inner Hebrides	Islay	1396.2	55.69, -5.744	163	11.7	74
Gometra       Gòmastra	Inner Hebrides	Mull	457.2	56.489, -6.285	2	0.4	1
Great Bernera       Beàrnaraigh Mòr	Outer Hebrides	Lewis (Loch Ròg)	2041.2	58.23, -6.841	252	12.3	116
Grimsay (North)       Griomasaigh	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	712.0	57.492, -7.237	169	23.7	80
Grimsay (South)       Griomasaigh	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	76.3	57.405, -7.276	20	26.2	7
Iona       Ì Chaluim Chille	Inner Hebrides	Mull	853.9	56.329, -6.408	177	20.7	69
Islay       Ìle	Inner Hebrides	Islay	61798.1	55.765, -6.232	3228	5.2	1479
Isle of Ewe       Eilean Iùbh	Inner Hebrides	North Highland	351.6	57.833, -5.623	7	2.0	3
Jura       Diùra	Inner Hebrides	Islay	36493.7	55.971, -5.901	196	0.5	93
Kerrera       Cearrara	Inner Hebrides	Firth of Lorn	1206.0	56.398, -5.545	34	2.8	19
Lewis and Harris       Leòdhas agus na Hearadh	Outer Hebrides	Lewis and Harris	213987.5	58.136, -6.684	21031	9.8	9503
Lismore       Lios Mòr	Inner Hebrides	Firth of Lorn	2183.5	56.51, -5.515	192	8.8	93
Luing       Luinn	Inner Hebrides	Slate Islands	1420.0	56.229, -5.644	195	13.7	98
Muck       Eilean nam Muc	Inner Hebrides	Small Isles	520.9	56.837, -6.245	27	5.2	11
Mull       Muile	Inner Hebrides	Mull	88332.4	56.457, -5.966	2800	3.2	1271
North Uist       Uibhist a Tuath	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	29858.6	57.596, -7.311	1254	4.2	608
Oronsay       Orasaigh	Inner Hebrides	Islay	516.1	56.018, -6.244	8	1.6	4
Raasay       Ratharsair	Inner Hebrides	Skye	6128.6	57.406, -6.048	161	2.6	77
Rona       Rònaigh	Inner Hebrides	Skye	980.3	57.548, -5.973	3	0.3	1
Rùm       Rùm	Inner Hebrides	Small Isles	10682.9	56.998, -6.341	22	0.2	9
Sanday       Sandaigh	Inner Hebrides	Small Isles	194.4	57.05, -6.492	9	4.6	3
Scalpay (Harris)       Sgalpaigh na Hearadh	Outer Hebrides	Harris	683.6	57.864, -6.67	291	42.6	138
Scalpay (Skye)       Sgalpaigh	Inner Hebrides	Skye	2474.6	57.3, -5.969	4	0.2	2
Seil       Saoil	Inner Hebrides	Slate Islands	1375.8	56.299, -5.621	551	40.1	252
Shuna       Siuna	Inner Hebrides	Slate Islands	449.4	56.214, -5.604	3	0.7	1
Skye       An t-Eilean Sgitheanach	Inner Hebrides	Skye	163477.8	57.366, -6.234	10008	6.1	4453
Soay       Sòdhaigh	Inner Hebrides	Skye	1009.8	57.149, -6.219	1	0.1	1
South Uist       Uibhist a Deas	Outer Hebrides	Uists and Benbecula	30872.3	57.254, -7.328	1754	5.7	781
Tanera Mòr       Tannara Mòr	Inner Hebrides	Summer Isles	303.9	58.011, -5.409	4	1.3	2
Tiree       Tiriodh	Inner Hebrides	Mull	7856.3	56.505, -6.884	653	8.3	316
Ulva       Ulbha	Inner Hebrides	Mull	1832.5	56.481, -6.209	11	0.6	6
Vatersay       Bhatarsaigh	Outer Hebrides	Barra	931.3	56.93, -7.537	90	9.7	38

* These islands are known to be populated but their resident populations weren’t counted in the last census.

All you need to do is visit each one of the ‘InHab50’ and check if anyone’s home. I doubt there are too many people who can already lay claim to visiting all fifty, but anyone who can prove so will become an honorary President of the challenge. And of course, anyone who completes all 50 in the future will be welcomed into the club – and get a sweet t-shirt that totally exists and wasn’t just made in MS Paint…

Data

A few different sources were needed to create a nice, connected dataset. The 2011 Census, National Records of Scotland (NRS) and Wikipedia had enough info in them to create a decent spatial dataset, with a few fixes: Fraoch-eilean needed to be split from Grimsay (North) in the NRS data, and Eriska wasn’t included so had to be digitised and added. Finally, there was some confusion around Eilean Tioram, which the NRS data showed to be in Loch Maree and *not* the site of Castle Tioram as many websites presume. The correct site is known as ‘Dry Island’ on most maps (from the meaning of its Gaelic name), but OS goes with the Gaelic for both sites, hence the confusion.

• Habitation data for the 2011 census came from this NRS Islands PDF.
• Hebridean island lists (and some supplimentary population info) came from these two lists on Wikipedia.
• Island names, gaelic names, locations and statistics were QAed from the above resources and a merged CSV file was created with any corrections included.
• Spatial data came from this NRS Islands shapefile from this website. It was then was modified, added to and linked to the CSV data to create this GeoPackage file (can be opened in a GIS). Areas and population densities were then calculated from these polygons, which were then simplified for display above.
• All background mapping is from the NLS Historic Maps API, and the island polygons were made with leaflet for R.

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Hebridean Visits

I’ve now been to 13 of the 50, a decent start to the challenge. I’ll hopefully be adding to that list soon, but for now this is my record of those islands and the trips to them. May a new Hebride be in my pocket shortly…

Barra Barraigh
⛴ 2018 👪︎ 1174 🏠︎ 549

Barra was a delight, albeit a wet & wild one. Tiny pockets of good weather were taken advantage of, with visits up to the beach airport and across to Vatersay (see below). Just walking around Castlebay was rewarding – it feels like a bit of a hub (in Outer Hebrides terms), with a supermarket, museum and a community shop. You can’t help but fix your eyes on Kisimul Castle, a potentially-inhabited island but no residents in the last two censuses – no boat trips nor lights at home during my October visit either.

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Coll Cola
⛴ 2018 👪︎ 195 🏠︎ 87

I spent an amazing week on Coll, living in Arinagour and cycling around the island each day. It’s a surprisingly varied landscape, with plenty of hills, bogs, lakes, beaches and lovely roads around the island, with just the NE corner remaining untamed. The fantastic Community Centre offered a market, play and film-screening during my stay and the lovely hotel supplied locally caught crab and langoustines a-plenty.

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Erraid Eilean Earraid
⛴ 2017 👪︎ 6 🏠︎ 4

Reached at low tide by walking over a beach, Erraid is a lovely little island that features an rent-free community living in the old lighthouse cottages. The ‘lighthouse’ is actually a now-disused signal station for the Skerryvore and Dubh Artach lighthouses, many miles to the west / south-west (respectively) across the sea.

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Gometra Gòmastra
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 2 🏠︎ 1

Reaching Gometra was via a 10 mile rough track from Ulva Ferry. This was the start of the adventure (I wouldn’t recommend trying it with road bikes in the rain!) and the island was fascinating. We bumped the population up to 5 during our visit, with 2 or 3 on the island regularly. Jane Ann’s Bothy was amazing, totally off-grid and no mobile reception, so the peace and tranquility of the island really shone through. The previous occupant of the bothy was recorded for a documentary called My Island, which highlights the highs, lows and ethos of the island in modern times.

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Iona Ì Chaluim Chille
⛴ 2017 👪︎ 177 🏠︎ 69

Iona in the sunshine is a delight. I’ve no idea what it’s like in the cold & rain because the sun shone the whole time. Famous for being a religious island, it also has plenty of stunning beaches to explore, with Godwits flitting about on the shores. The very brief CalMac ferry from Fionnphort was later utilised to secure some crab and lobster caught locally, but unable to be delivered back to Mull by the small fishing boat due to increasing winds. After that delicious meal, it was definitely an ethereal experience.

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Islay Ìle
⛴ 2015 👪︎ 3228 🏠︎ 1479

Islay has always brought me there for whisky, in one way or another. My family and friends descended on the island for my 30th birthday – my first visit to the island, but an amazing place to stay. I’ve since visited every distllery on the island in an action-packed two day trip, but there’s more to come, so I’m sure I’ll be back again soon.

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Lewis and Harris Leòdhas agus na Hearadh
⛴ 2009 👪︎ 21031 🏠︎ 9503

One of my earliest Hebridean adventures, Lewis and Harris rained down on us for a solid 3 days, bar about half an hour at the amazing Luskentyre Sands. Our visit to Callanish was well worth the effort, despite the driving rain – although that’s the kind of weather that goes well with the mysticism. The road around South Harris is an underlating adverture, which can be broken up with a trip to Berneray in calmer conditions than ours..

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Mull Muile
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 2800 🏠︎ 1271

Mull is wilder than I expected. I’d always thought of it as the ‘easy one’ to get to (perhaps now eclipsed by Skye), but it offers a great island experience, with plenty of untouched corners. It’s also the gateway to a bunch of smaller islands, all of which I’d highly recommend visiting. Ben More (A’ Bheinn Mhòr) rises high towards the west coast, with otters and sea eagles common sights on the surrounding shores – or so I hear, I’ve only seen seals! The cycle from Ears Fors Waterfall (Waterfall Waterfall Waterfall) > Torlisk > Dervaig > Tobermory is a varied delight.

Seil Saoil
⛴ 2008 👪︎ 551 🏠︎ 252

My very first Hebride – although I didn’t really know it at the time. We crossed the ‘Bridge over the Atlantic’ to the ‘House of Trousers’ (Tigh an Truish) pub, then went to explore this Slate Island. I regret not making it over to Easdale for their World Stone Skimming Championshiops, but another time…

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Skye An t-Eilean Sgitheanach
⛴ 2017 👪︎ 10008 🏠︎ 4453

Skye has enticed me back 4 times since first visiting in 2009, its combination of dramatic mountains, weather and wildlife hard to pass up. Well known for it’s popularity with tourists, this issue is easily reduced by visiting Oct-Apr, when tourists and midges are generally replaced with rain! Unlike some of the other Hebridean islands that really shine when the sun comes out, Skye works with wild weather – walk the Quiraing (A’ Chuith-Raing) as the clouds roll in and you’ll be transported to a fantasy world you won’t want to leave.

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Tiree Tiriodh
⛴ 2018 👪︎ 653 🏠︎ 316

Noticeably flatter than its neighbour to the NE, Tiree is also more populated and ‘built-up’ than Coll. It’s hardly a metropolis, but more the land is worked and utilised thanks to its low profile. This pancake nature brings plenty of wind, which is harnessed by the multitude of windsurfers flocking to the area – only challenged by the peewitting residents who exploit the surrounding farmland.

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Ulva Ulbha
⛴ 2019 👪︎ 11 🏠︎ 6

It’s only 1 minute ferry ride from Mull, but Ulva feels like a different place entirely. Its 800-strong population has long gone, but their presence is felt across the island. Pockets of woodland dot the eastern end of the island, leading to a wilder and more varied terrain towards Gometra. The southern shores were once home to the family of David Livingstone, today this quiet shoreline is a great place to watch otters instead.

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Vatersay Bhatarsaigh
⛴ 2018 👪︎ 90 🏠︎ 38

I took advantage of a small sunny weather window to cycle over to Vatersay from Barra, and the white sand beaches and crystal clear water are particularly breathtaking in this light. It’s the westernmost island in this list, and probably has the most-westerly inhabitants too. Home to both the Vatersay Raiders, the memorial for the wrecked Annie Jane and a crashed Catalina seaplane, it’s an island not short of history either.

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And finally..

Leave a comment below on your own progress through the #InHab50 list, or follow the action via the Twitter hashtag: