Inchconnachan
Scottish Gaelic nameInnis Chonachain
Meaning of nameThe Colquhoun's Island
Location
Inchconnachan is located in West Dunbartonshire
Inchconnachan
Inchconnachan
Inchconnachan shown within Scotland
OS grid referenceNS375918
Coordinates56°05′28″N 4°36′43″W / 56.091°N 4.612°W / 56.091; -4.612
Physical geography
Island groupLoch Lomond
Area35 ha[1]
Area rank(Freshwater: 12) [2]
Highest elevation50 m
Administration
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryScotland
Council areaArgyll and Bute
Demographics
Population~7-10 Wallabies
Lymphad
References[3][4]

Inchconnachan (Innis Chonachain in Gaelic, meaning 'The Colquhoun's Island') is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland, in the Trossachs National Park.[5] It is accessible by boat from the village of Luss on the south side of the Loch.

The island is uninhabited and is an Area of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.

Wallabies

Wallabies, of the species Macropus rufogriseus (Red-necked Wallaby), were introduced by Fiona Gore, Countess of Arran in the 1940s, and still roam wild.[6] It is one of the very few places outside Australia which has a viable population of wallabies.[7]

Sale

On 9 July 2020, Inchconnachan was put up for sale by the Colquhoun family, at a price of over £500,000. It was sold to Soho House founder, Nick Jones and his wife, Kirsty Young.[8]

The sale included a derelict colonial-style timber bungalow dating from the 1920s, built for the tea merchant Admiral Sullivan, which was later the holiday home of the family of Fiona Gore, Countess of Arran. Planning consent and detailed architectural drawings are in place to replace the bungalow with a new four-bedroom lodge and one-bedroom warden's house, along with a boat house and pier.[9]

Objections have been received to the development including an online petition of over 100,000 signatures and an objection from the Woodland Trust Scotland, as the building work would involve cutting down trees including ancient oak woodland.[10][11][12]

References

  1. ^ Rick Livingstone’s Tables of the Islands of Scotland (pdf) Argyll Yacht Charters. Retrieved 12 Dec 2011.
  2. ^ Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
  3. ^ Ordnance Survey
  4. ^ "Overview of Inchconnachan". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
  5. ^ Steven, Alasdair (10 June 2013). "Obituary: Countess Arran, power-boat champion". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  6. ^ The Sunday Times January 23, 2022, page 3
  7. ^ "Loch Lomond Islands: Inchconnachan". Loch Lomond.net. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  8. ^ Macaskill, Mark. "Kirsty Young to find new home for Scottish island wallabies after Chris Packham intervention". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Uninhabited Loch Lomond 'wallaby island' up for sale". BBC.com. 9 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Kirsty Young and the deserted island wallabies". BBC News. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Petition to save Loch Lomond wallabies reaches 100,000 signatures". The National. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  12. ^ "Woodland Trust joins objection to Kirsty Young's plan for Scottish island". The Guardian. 9 February 2022. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 November 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Inchconnachan.

56°5′24″N 4°36′54″W / 56.09000°N 4.61500°W / 56.09000; -4.61500

Islands of Loch Lomond, Scotland
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