Where? Colonsay? With everyone to choose from, why the heck would you choose an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, barely 10 miles long by 2 miles wide, with only 130 inhabitants? Here are the reasons, and they are quite compelling:
1. Save the world: anyone in Britain can reach Colonsay by public transport; the mainland port is Oban, which can be easily reached by train or bus. Both ScotRail and CityBus offer frequent services between Glasgow city center and Oban. There is no private pollution and enjoy a stress-free ride, no traffic jams, no motorway gas stations, just the tranquility and comfort of a bygone era.
2. The pleasure of the journey: The West Highland Railway (ScotRail) is recognized as one of the most scenic journeys in the world, and is followed by a 2-hour cruise on the magnificent Firth of Lorne, aboard a comfortable modern boat. operated by CalMac Ferries Ltd, wholly owned by the government.
3. The Fascinating Geology: You don’t need to be an expert to recognize the overwhelming power of the ancient ice sheets in the surviving contours of the earth, nor to appreciate the massive pressures that repressed the island and so slowly revealed the extraordinary relief. current beach exhibitions. There are dramatic levees filled with magma from long-extinct volcanic action and the evident action of erosion on a landform first created about 4 billion years ago.
4. The magic of the island: vibrant with one of the largest bird colonies in the Inner Hebrides, blessed with hundreds of species of wild flowers, surrounded by the sea and lined with literally miles of pristine golden sands.
5. The romance of the place: At a critical junction of the maritime routes of antiquity, Colonsay is endowed with important remains from almost all eras. The Mesolithic sites are among the best in the UK, and there are also Bronze Age tombs, Iron Age forts, early Christian chapels, Viking settlements, and enigmatic settlement systems and fields from all eras.
6. The lure of a proper vacation: all destinations are within walking distance, there is golf, fishing, castling in the sand, slim baths, painting, photography, cycling and everything else that makes for a true relaxation, and two restaurants and a pub, a bookstore, a brewery, a selection of two local gins and an excellent variety of crafts … not to mention the ceilidhs and the craic!
7. The satisfaction of a good choice: With the pound plummeting, vacations abroad are a bit of an indulgence. With airports becoming more crowded and oppressive with each passing day, flying is the new purgatory. With pollution and global warming being what they already are, no one wants to make things worse.
Of course, you could say “Why Colonsay?” You might even say “Why not Skegness? Or Mull? Or Coventry? Or London?” In fact, you’ll only ask that question if you haven’t been to Colonsay yet; just look it up and be amazed. It may be small, but it is very special, it is easily accessible and it can easily become that very special place for you and your family.