His reasons include the island's association with St Brendan, its location on an inshore trade route from Antrim to the north and its suitability for a substantial settlement. Rae (2011) has argued that Seil could be the location of Hinba, an island associated with St Columba. The police also expressed concerns that two golden eagles and one white-tailed sea eagle have been found poisoned near Seil in recent years, involving use of the banned substance Carbofuran. Forty of the animals, whose setts were believed to be long established, may have been gassed to death, according to the police. Wildlife concernsĪccording to wildlife experts the entire badger population of the island may have been deliberately exterminated in 2007. The mother of Princess Diana, Frances Shand Kydd, lived there until her death in 2004. Ferries sail from Ellenabeich to Easdale, and from Cuan on the island to Luing. Located in a former slate quarry-worker's cottage, the centre has displays on life in the 19th century, slate quarrying and the local flora, fauna and geology. The Ellenabeich Heritage Centre which opened in 2000, is run by the Scottish Slate Islands Trust. Parts of Ring of Bright Water were filmed here. This village is a conservation area with a number of holiday cottages and is fully occupied only in the summer months. At the end of the road lies the former slate-mining village of Ellenabeich. Also known as the "Bridge Over the Atlantic", the bridge is still used today and in early summer is covered in fairy foxgloves ( Erinus alpinus).īalvicar, in the centre of the island, is the main settlement with a fishing industry, the island shop, and a high percentage of houses that are occupied all year round. Seil has been linked to the Scottish mainland since 1792 when the Clachan Bridge was built by engineer Robert Mylne.
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