Isle of Cairn na Burgh Mòr

My picture I took on my trip. I did not go onto the Island.






Isle of "Cairn na Burgh Mòr" (means Cairnburgh More) is a tiny Island in the northern Treshnish Isles of Scotland in the Inner Hebrides. The island's location is north of Ulva, south of Coll and off the west coast of the Isle of Mull. I sailed right past the Island in 2006 on my journey with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. The captain of my ship told me that historically and locally this is the place where the Vikings buried their loot and treasures that they stole from the Isle of Iona (Iona Abbey) and elsewhere during the 700s, 800s, 900s AD. The captain also told me that no one has ever found any treasures on the island however this is where it is suppose to be. Maybe one day someone will find treasure!
The island just by looking at it, you can tell it is very hard just to get on the island, it is totally surrounded by high cliffs! You might need some serious rock climbing training. The island is home to the ruins of Cairnburgh Castle and its chapel. There is also a well on the island. The Cairnburgh Castle's fortifications straddle both Cairn na Burgh Mor and its sister island Cairn na Burgh Beag. There is also a guard house on the smaller island of Beag. The castle on the Island may have began as a Viking fortress named "Kiarnaborg" as locally and historically this is where they held their loot and treasure. It was recorded as being one of the castles belonging to the Kingdom of Isles and Man under King Somerled in The Saga of Haakon Haakonarson. It was later recorded as property of the MacDougalls of Lorne, later the
MacDonalds owned it, then later it was owned by MacLeans of Duart. When the MacLeans rebelled in 1504, King James IV (1473 - 1513) besieged the castle. In the 1650's Oliver Cromwell's army took the fortress. Government troops during the Jacobite Rebellions were housed on this island's castle in the 1700s. This island now is nothing but a bird colony, it is home to thousands of birds but it has a long history very few know about. Today very few if anyone visits the island.

Isle of Ulva

In August 2006, I traveled to the Isle of Ulva off the west coast of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides as a volunteer with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. When we explored it at night, the hills were covered by a heavy cloud of mist which made the island really mysterious. This is one of many islands in the Hebrides I've visited but it really was neat! When I visited, the island had one visible old cottage on the island as you can see in one of the pictures. Also while walking on the island, I fell into a mini hole which I thought was sturdy ground. ha ha The Vikings were one of the first to find this island, they named it ‘Ullfur’ which is their word for ‘Wolf Island.' Originally there were a lot of people living here, in 1837 there were 604 people living on the island working for the kelp industry. Currently, there are only around 16 people living on the island. Ulva was home to the
MacQuarrie clan. During the Jacobite era, a man from Ulva carried a banner back from Culloden, he carried it wrapped around his body and swam home across the sound.
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie of the British Army who served as the Governor of New South Wales and is known as the "The Father of Australia" was born on this island.

For more info on Ulva:
http://www.isleofulva.com/history/