The Hebrides - Scotland's West Coast Islands Quiz

Answer: Skye

Skye's geology is complex. The Cuillins are divided into the Black Cuillin, a range of jagged gabbro and basalt peaks, and the Red Cuillin, a group of more rounded granite hills. The Quiraing and neighbouring Storr are the result of a succession of landslips, forming a succession of distinctive plateaux and pinnacles.
Skye also has a rich history and a thriving cultural life which, along with the landscape, make it a very popular tourist destination.

Answer: Lewis

Unusually, there is no single name for the whole island! In both Gaelic and English, Lewis and Harris always referred to by its two parts, which are usually treated as separate entities, and historically were administered separately. Lewis is mostly moorland, and rich in ancient history: noted sites are the Callanish standing stones and Carloway Broch. Harris is hilly with amazing (and often deserted) beaches of white sand, and noted for its tweed.

The bedrock throughout is Lewisian Gneiss, one the most ancient rocks in the world.

The overlying granite hills on Harris are the remnant of later volcanic action.

Answer: Barra

Barra is at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides. Most of the 1,200 inhabitants live on the coast and are served by a single-track road that runs round the island. Castlebay, Barra's main settlement, is named after Kisimul Castle which stands on an island in the bay.
Castlebay was the location for the 1949 classic film, "Whisky Galore".
The airport, on Barra's north coast, is unique in using the beach as the runway for scheduled commercial flights.

Answer: Islay

Islay malt whisky is famed for its peatiness, derived from the local water supply and the treatment of the barley used, and each of the whiskies produced has its own distinct character. The distilleries are a major tourist attraction and a source of considerable revenue.
Bowmore, the island's capital, has a distinctive round 18th century parish church. As with many of the Hebrides, many of the place names on Islay reflect Viking influence, as the Kingdom of Norway controlled Scotland's West Coast (and much of Ireland) from the 9th to the 13th Century.

Answer: Jura

Jura is almost cut in two by Loch Tarbert; the connecting neck of land is less than a mile wide.
To the south are the Paps of Jura, three distinct quartzite peaks, up to 2,575 feet high, which dominate the landscape. Most of the population live along Jura's only road, which follows the coast round the bottom of the island. At the 2011 Census, 31 people inhabited Jura's 142 square miles, making it one of Scotland's least densely populated islands. While Jura is only four miles from the mainland, the main ferry comes from Islay, on the far side, requiring two journeys to reach Jura.
To the north, there is very little settlement, and Jura's only road diminishes to a track before it reaches Barnhill, where George Orwell spent much of the last four years of his life.

Answer: Scarba

Scarba is an uninhabited island immediately to the north of Jura. The only maintained building is used as a shooting lodge; Scarba hosts a herd of deer. Between Scarba and Jura is the Gulf of Corryvreckan. Here, strong tides flowing through the narrow strait and a submerged pinnacle combine to produce the third largest whirlpool in the world, a hazard to navigation and a rich source of local mythology.

Answer: Iona

Iona is a small island immediately to the west of Mull, and the site of a monastery traditionally founded in the 6th Century by St Columba. The monastery was dissolved during the Reformation and the buildings demolished. In the 1930s, George Macleod, a Church of Scotland minister, led a project to restore the monastery as a contemporary Christian community.

The Iona Community now uses the rebuilt monastery to provide an ecumenical retreat and resource centre.

Answer: Tiree

Tiree is the westernmost of the Inner Hebrides, nearly four hours from Oban by ferry.
Apart from three small hills to the south, much of Tiree is machair (dune grassland) with few places more than 70 or 80 feet above sea-level. 'Tiree' means 'land of corn', and historically, Tiree provided grain for the monks on Iona. While crofting continues on Tiree, tourism is now a significant source of income, the main attractions being the island's history, wildlife, views and water sports, with a climate that allows these to be enjoyed.

Answer: Seil

The Bridge over the Atlantic is a small hump-backed bridge connecting Seil to the mainland near Oban.
Seil is the largest of the Slate Islands which, early in the 20th Century, yielded eight million slates a year, mostly used for roofing tiles. A five-minute crossing away from Ellanabeach at the end of the road, is Easdale, home of the World Stone Skimming Championships, making good use of the remaining slate fragments and a flooded quarry.

Answer: Mull

At 338 square miles, Mull is one of the larger Hebridean islands. Many of its population live in or near Tobermory, popularised on children's TV as "Balamory". Tobermory's Mull Theatre is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as 'the smallest professional theatre in the world'.
In addition to the wealth of plant and bird life, the coast provides a home for otters, basking sharks, dolphins and porpoises, and minke whales.