The Island of Lismore

Isle of Lismore
If you’ve not yet visited our island you could be in for a special experience. Just 7 miles by car ferry from Oban and a mere 5 minute crossing by passenger ferry from Port Appin, it is one of the most accessible of Argyll islands. Yet despite its accessibility you will feel when you step off the ferry that you’ve arrived in a different world. There is an immediate sense of peace, of having “got away”. Once the ferry traffic has departed, there is little sound but the calling of birds. The air is pure and intoxicating!
Lismore, long, narrow, low-lying and fertile, sits neatly in Loch Linnhe in the south-western end of the Great Glen. The island is tranquil and unspoiled, and surrounded on all sides by stunning mountain scenery, from Ben Nevis in the north (snow-covered in winter) and the Glencoe hills, round, in a clockwise direction, to Ben Cruachan, the hills of Mull to the south and Morvern to the west.

The island is steeped in history, particularly religious history, having been the seat of the Bishops of Argyll, with a Cathedral church, dating from the 13^th century, partly surviving in the present Church of Saint Moluag. Saint Who? Saint Moluag, a contemporary, and legend has it, rival of Saint Columba: Moluag it was who brought Christianity to Lismore.

But we’ve also got an Iron Age Broch, a ruined Norse stronghold – ruined castles enough, in fact, to satisfy all your romantic fantasies!

The population of the island is at present about 180. A small community but a friendly one, with a strong community spirit. As well as the church, there is a primary school, a shop/post office, a Public Hall and our most recent proud addition, an award-winning Gaelic Heritage Museum and café. The museum, plus reconstructed croft house, must be seen to gain a better understanding of the Island’s history

There is self-catering and bed-and breakfast accommodation on the island: details on this site.

So if you haven’t been here yet, what are you waiting for? Check out the ferry timetables, also available through this site.