Eilean Bàn

Island in Highland council area, Scotland

57°17′N 5°44′W / 57.28°N 5.74°W / 57.28; -5.74Physical geographyIsland groupSkyeArea2.4 ha (6 acres)Highest elevation mAdministrationSovereign stateUnited KingdomCountryScotlandCouncil areaHighlandDemographicsPopulation0

References^[1]^[2]^[3]Eilean Bàn Lighthouse
Kyleakin

View of the lighthouse and Skye Bridge above

Coordinates57°16′40″N 5°44′33″W / 57.277745°N 5.742434°W / 57.277745; -5.742434Constructed1857Constructionmasonry towerHeight21 metres (69 ft)Shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lanternMarkingswhite tower, black lantern, ochre trimOperatorEilean Bàn Trust^[4]Heritagecategory B listed building

Deactivated1993
maintained as daybeacon

Eilean Bàn (Scottish Gaelic meaning White Island) is a six-acre (2.4 ha) island^[5] between Kyle of Lochalsh and the Isle of Skye, in the historic county of Ross and Cromarty in the Highland local government area. The Skye Bridge uses the island as a stepping-stone as it crosses the mouth of Loch Alsh from the mainland to Skye.

Eilean Bàn was the last home of the author of Ring of Bright Water, Gavin Maxwell. He moved here after his home at Sandaig, which he called Camusfeàrna in his books, was destroyed by fire in 1968.^[6] He invited John Lister-Kaye to join him on the island to help build a zoo and work on a book about British wild animals. Both of these had to be abandoned after Maxwell's death in 1969. Lister-Kaye wrote his account of working with Maxwell in his book, The White Island.^[7]

Since 1998 the island has been owned by the Eilean Bàn Trust who run it as a nature reserve and holiday lets.^[5]

In 2001 the island had a population of two as recorded by the census^[8] but in 2011 there were no "usual residents" living there.^[9]

Kyleakin Lighthouse

Kyleakin Lighthouse is situated at the south-western end of Eilean Bàn. It was built by David and Thomas Stevenson in 1857, and is linked to a pair of keepers' houses. The lighthouse was automated and converted to use acetylene gas in 1960.^[10] Following the start of construction of the Skye Bridge, the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1993. It is a Category B listed building.^[11]

References

^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
^ Ordnance Survey
^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Ainmean-àite/Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Scotland: Highlands". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
^ ^a ^b "The Eilean Bàn Trust". Retrieved 13 April 2008.
^ Botting, Douglas (22 March 2017). Gavin Maxwell : a life. ISBN 978-1-78060-106-9. OCLC 964380844.
^ Lister-Kaye, John (1972). The White Island. Longman. ISBN 0-582-10903-5.
^ General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Scotland's Census 2001 – Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
^ National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
^ "Eilean Ban, Kyleakin Lighthouse | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
^ "Eilean Ban, Kyleakin Lighthouse". Listed Building Report. Historic Scotland. Retrieved 19 May 2012.