Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SMALL ISLES
The scattered jewels of the Small Isles - Rum, Eigg, Muck and Canna - lie strewn across
the silvery-blue cloth of the Cuillin Sound to the south of the Isle of Skye. Their distinctive
outlines enliven the glorious views from the beaches of Arisaig and Morar.
Rum is the biggest and boldest of the four, a miniature Skye of pointed peaks and dra-
matic sunset silhouettes. Eigg is the most pastoral and populous, dominated by the mini-
ature sugarloaf mountain of the Sgurr. Muck is a botanist's delight with its wildflowers and
unusual alpine plants, and Canna is a craggy bird sanctuary made of magnetic rocks.
If your time is limited and you can only visit one island, choose Eigg; it has the most to
offer on a day trip.
Getting There & Away
The main ferry operator is
CalMac
(
www.calmac.co.uk
)
, which operates the passenger-
only ferry from Mallaig.
Canna
£22.45 return, two hours, four a week
Eigg
£12.10 return, 1¼ hours, five a week
Muck
£18.40 return, 1½ hours, four a week
Rum
£17.85 return, 1¼ hours, five a week
You can also hop between the islands without returning to Mallaig, but the timetable is
complicated and it requires a bit of planning - you would need at least five days to visit all
four. Bicycles are carried for free.
In summer Arisaig Marine (
Click here
) operates day cruises from Arisaig harbour to
Eigg (£18 return, one hour, six a week), Rum (£25 return, 2½ hours, two or three a week)
and Muck (£20 return, two hours, three a week). The trips include whale-watching, with up
to an hour for close viewing. Sailing times allow four or five hours ashore on Eigg, two or
three hours on Muck or Rum.
Isle of Rum
POP 37
The Isle of Rum - the biggest and most spectacular of the Small Isles - was once known as
the Forbidden Island. Cleared of its crofters in the early 19th century to make way for
