Seil is cut by numerous NW-SE aligned basalt and micro gabbro dykes which form a part of the ‘Mull Swarm’ which is of early Palaeogene age. Andesitic lavas of the Lorn Plateau Lava Formation dominate the west of the island. Zones of metamorphosed intrusive igneous rocks occur within the southeast of the island. The larger part of the bedrock of Seil is provided by the Neoproterozoic age Easdale Slate Formation, a pyritic, graphitic pelite belonging to the Easdale Subgroup of the Dalradian Argyll Group. There are three other small settlements Cuan at the southern tip, Oban Seil north of Balvicar and Clachan Seil, which is closest to the Clachan Bridge. This village, known for its white slate worker's cottages, has attracted an "artist's colony" and has a number of holiday cottages and is thus fully occupied only in the summer months. On the west side of the island lies the former slate-mining village of Ellenabeich. Seil is some 7 miles (11 kilometres) miles from Oban, travelling north by road along the B844 and A 816.īalvicar, in the centre of the island, is the main settlement and has a harbour with commercial fishing boats, the island shop, and a golf club. The highest point on the island is the summit of Meall Chaise at 146 m (479 ft) above sea level. Seil forms part of Nether Lorn, a region of Argyll between Loch Awe and Loch Melfort that includes the offshore islands located in the modern council area of Argyll and Bute. Eilean Dubh Mòr is to the south-west with the Garvellachs beyond, with Insh to the north west. Smaller islands surrounidng Seil are its companion Slate Islands of Easdale, Torsa, Belnahua and Shuna. The island of Luing lies across the Cuan Sound to the south and beyond are Lunga and Scarba. To the west lies the sea-lane of the Firth of Lorn. Seil is separated from mainland Scotland by the Clachan Sound, which is only about 21.3 metres (70 ft) at its narrowest point. However, Mac an Tàilleir notes that Kilninver or Cill an Inbhir "appears to mean 'church by the river mouth', and an older form of Cill Fhionnbhair, 'Finbar's church' appears".įrom Ellenabeich village looking over Easdale Sound to Scarba island in the distance. This, he proposes, could have been a Norse interpretation of Hinba/Inbhir. Rae, equating "Hinba" with the Gaelic Inbhir, notes that the adjacent mainland parish of Kilninver means "church of Inbhir" and suggests that the derivation of "Seil" maybe of Scandinavian origin with similarities to the East Frisian place name Zijl or Syl meaning a "seep or passage of water". The Muirbolcmar (great sea bag) referred to in texts about Hinba could refer to the Seil Sound and narrows at Clachan Bridge where the "bag" captures the rapidly flowing water that floods under the bridge. Reasons include the island's association with St Brendan, its location on an inshore trade route from Antrim to the north and its suitability for a substantial settlement. It has also been argued that Seil could be the location of Hinba, an island associated with St Columba. Seil is probably a pre-Gaelic name, although a case has been made for a Norse derivation. Kilbrandon Church has fine examples of stained glass windows and an association with St Brendan. The "dangerous seas" of the Firth of Lorn have claimed many lives and there are several shipwrecks in the vicinity of Seil. Today, the economy is largely dependent on agriculture and tourism. ![]() The excavations from the island's quarries were exported all over the world during the course of the next two centuries. ![]() ![]() It became part of the estates of the Breadalbane family and in the early 18th century they began to exploit the rich potential of the Neoproterozoic slate beds. Part of the kingdom of Dalriada in the 7th century, by the sixteenth century Seil seems to have been primarily agricultural in nature. The origins of the island's name are unclear and probably pre-Gaelic. Seil has been linked to the mainland by bridge since the late 18th century. Seil ( Scottish Gaelic: Saoil) is one of the Slate Islands, located on the east side of the Firth of Lorn, 7 miles (11 kilometres) southwest of Oban, in Scotland.
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