The Wildlife Map of the Hebrides

26. Shiant Isles

Pronounced 'Shant' these islands rival Staffa for spectacle with their cliffs of towering columns of volcanic basalt rock up to 150 metres high. There is a fine natural arch on Garbh-eiliean is connected to Eiliean Tighe by a shingle ridge. The islands are famous as one of the last remaining British sites for the ship rat or black rat, whose fleas carried the plague! The last inhabitants left at the turn of the century but shepherds visit occasionally and live in the bothy once owned by the writers Sir Compton Mackenzie and Nigel Nicolson. Boat trips are available from Tarbert in the summer.