No one can be sure how Eilean Righ - the ''Royal Island'' - got its name. It may have been named after the Danish sea-king Olaf who is reputed to have died in this region or it might have been in honour of one of the many early Scottish kings who were crowned in mid-Argyll, but whatever its true history it is easy to see it as a modest place of royal residence. It had, in any case, a more recent royal association for it belong to Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston who was the famous tutor of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China. In the film, The Last Emperor, Johnston was played by Peter O'Toole. In 1934, after he had retired from his work in China and returned to Scotland, Sir Reginald modernised the island's two houses and settled in with his memories. It was here that he wrote the greater part of his book, Twilight in the Forbidden City.
Eilean Righ (pronounced elan ree), not much more than a mere 200 acres in area, is snugly situated in Loch Craignish, a sea-loch which is separated from the Sound of Jura by the powerful tidal rips of the Dorus Mor. A little further south is Crinan and the entrance to the canal which links to Loch Fyne. With good hill pasture and a fairly large area of mature woodland consisting of oak, ash, rowan, alder and hawthorn spreading along its east shore, the island was bought in 1992 by Viscount Chewton (a Somerset farmer and brother of the former government minister, William Waldegrave). He had spent all his childhood holidays on Scottish islands and he wanted his sons to have the same wonderful experience. But for family reasons he put the island back on the market a few years later and consequently, at the moment, Eilean Righ lies unwanted and unloved.
The road from the newly constructed jetty climbs steeply through the dense belt of mixed woodland, stippled with primroses amid a tangle of brambles, before it reaches the attractive group of buildings. These are almost at the centre of the island and they are set around a courtyard with a central flagpole. There is also a Confucian temple and stone lantern built by Sir Reginald who owned many Chinese artefacts and antiques. When he died, there was a local report that valuable porcelain and china were thrown into the loch, but this seems a very unlikely story.
To the north of the buildings is one of Eilean Righ's two Iron Age duns or forts set on the grassy summit of a ridge. It is oval-shaped and a number of minor artefacts were recovered from it by archaeologists during excavations in 1982. The other dun - Dun Righ, on a flat-topped ridge in the south-west, is rectangular but has an oval structure in the corner, and just south of it is a fine example of a large cup-mark on a lichen-covered rock. This surely must have been a very important island to have justified having two forts!
The trees attract a lot of birds. Raptors and owls can be seen, and even the occasional pheasant pays a visit from the mainland. From October to March wintering divers frequent the shores which also support extensive wild mussel beds. There is a small resident herd of wild goats on Eilean Righ and one would assume that they might occasionally swim over to the nearby islet which is called Eilean nan Gabhar - isle of the goats - but I must admit that I have never yet seen any goats on it. This tiny islet is probably better known for the shelter it gives to the occasional boat which tucks into the pleasant anchorage between it and the reef.
l Access: Kingfisher Cruises, Ardfern, 01852 500662, or Farsain Cruises, Craobh Haven, 01852 500664.
l OS Maps - 1:50000 Sheet 55. 1:25000 Sheet 365. Admiralty Chart: 1:25000 2326.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article