May 8th, 2020 : Ellenabeich

There used to be an island called Ellenabeich (Island of the Birchwoods) but the entire center of the island was quarried out
leaving only thin walls because Ellenabeich slate was particularly fine bringing more money to the Campbells. The spoil from
the workings were used to connect the island of Ellenabeich to the island of Seil. The slate pit was 250 feet deep when the
thin walls holding back the ocean gave way and the island was no more. The village of Ellenabeich on Seil Island was built on
the filled land between the two islands.



We’ve explored Scotland’s Easdale Island thanks to our gracious resident guide. But wait! There’s more!


Great, I misspelled Ellenabeich... uh, wait I did that on purpose for a homey rustic touch. Yeah, that's it, a touch.

The main slate islands are Seil, Easdale, Luing, and Belnahua. Around 3,000 people lived on the islands when the quarries
were working. All the islands [and their quarries] belonged to the huge Breadalbane estate, owned by the Campbells
of Glen Orchy. The Campbells made a lot of money from the slate quarries but not much of it went to the quarry workers.
The Campbells used some of the money to build the huge Taymouth Castle.



Tourist information...




link

Some say that lawyer Stephen Jones did eventually name the borrowers he loaned the money to. It was just too little too late.