ST201905

PARTY CAPITAL FOR

ANCIENT MAN

ORONSAY

Off Colonsay*, Inner Hebrides

Secret swimming off deserted white-

sand beaches is the main attraction

here, your only company likely to be

grey seals, a chough or two and a

handful of rare plants. Tràigh Uamha

Seilbhe is one of the best, a gorgeous

protected beach.

Cross the still-wet sands of The

Strand that separates Oronsay from

neighbouring Colonsay and, from May

onwards, the machair (rare dune

grassland) is covered with wild f lowers

that sparkle like gems against the white

sands of the beach.

The well-preserved Augustinian

priory ruins probably date from the

mid-14th century. There is an amazing

set of carved gravestones and the

beautiful Celtic Oronsay Cross is one of

the best examples of its kind. In autumn,

more than 1,000 grey seals come to the

skerries at the southern tip, noisily

pupping and fishing in a scene worthy

of a David Attenborough voiceover.

A single visit for the duration of low

tide will not be enough to explore all

that drew Mesolithic peoples to this

peaceful and special place.

Good fact Along the east coast are shell

middens – mounds of kitchen waste left

by early man. It is thought that Oronsay

was once the venue for parties thrown

by the hunter-gatherers, with much

feasting, matchmaking, and gossip,

although the menu was mainly limpets,

limpets, and more limpets.

Don’t miss Trying to spot the elusive

corncrake. Stop at the springnearSeal

Cottage and drink cold, clearwater

from the metal cup provided.»

*Technically Oronsay is only really possible as a day trip if you are already on the island of Colonsay in the Inner
Hebrides, but would you look at the colour of that sea? How could we resist?