A Unique Eco-friendly Holiday on a Private Hebridean Island  Escape the stresses of modern life and get back to nature on an island where time stands still. Imagine a holiday with no cars, no telephones, no roads, just an abundance of wildlife (red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, otters, seals, eagles) and the romance of life on a private island. A model for sustainability, Shuna, a working farm, has no ugly power lines. Solar panels and a small turbine harness the power of the sun and the wind for electricity. With a boat (provided) to visit neighbouring islands and explore Shuna's hidden coves you may even catch your own fish supper!
The Island
Shuna is approximately three miles long and one and a half miles wide, covering an area of over 1,000 acres. The island is 20 miles south of the Hebridean tourist hub of Oban, known as "The Gateway to the Isles". The boat trip to Shuna from the mainland pier at Arduaine takes around 20 minutes. Shuna has just six holiday cottages so you often feel as if you have the whole island to yourself. Visitors are free to explore without restriction. Sheep are farmed on the island, which remains a working estate and visitors are welcome to join in with the farming activities when appropriate. The main architectural feature is the ruined castle - a Victorian neo-gothic classic. Legend has it the local Argyllshire architect went down with the Titanic in 1912, complete with the plans he was hoping to export to America.
Until 2006, Shuna holidaymakers had to rely solely on gas and paraffin, but thanks to a cutting edge renewable energy system, all houses now have electricity. Water comes through taps from private natural sources for you to filter in your cottage. In keeping with the island’s “green” ethos, houses also have low-voltage electric lighting systems. Fires or wood-burning stoves (fuelled by logs you chopped earlier!!) provide warmth and atmosphere as you rest up in the evening to discuss your island adventures. Shuna is a paradise for dogs and we welcome them free of charge – please make sure they don’t chase the sheep though, especially when they have young lambs! Why don't you...Get away from it all... Have a proper adventure on your own private island... Take the whole island for a special week with all your friends... Stay for a special long stay... Get out and about in your kayaks... Bring the whole family... and the dogs... Boats and the Sea A knowledge of boating and the sea is NOT necessary to enjoy a holiday on Shuna. Rob and Kathryn James, who live on the island and run the cottages, will pick you up at Arduaine Pier at the start of your adventure. There is a car park at Arduaine for your convenience. Included with each holiday let is a 17 foot aluminum hulled open assault craft with a small outboard motor. You can visit sheltered bays, picnic on unspoilt beaches and make land on uninhabited islands! Lifejackets are provided. We also have a fleet of sit on canoes for use in our own sheltered Pier Bay.
|
Paddling stealthily
through silk seas
we hold our breath
as the otter surfaces.
His log body floats across the waves
head raised
then with a flick
he is gone
long tail sliding into darker depths.
Up again
like a champagne cork
bobbing and chomping
on a luckless fish.
We hear bones crunching.
There’s snow in the air
and the ridges are dusted
like Christmas Stollen.
A cloud the size of Scotland
presses down on the heron’s languid flight
and a rubber-headed seal
pounces on a bouy
a toy to play with in its loch-sized bath.
Then hail hits the waves
A pounding of diamonds
Beautiful and sharp.
Mica Schist captures the brilliance
In its ripples
Nature’s mirror ball
Reflecting the rainbow’s fraying end.
We float home
with eiders whistling in our ears
the urgent flock of redwings
in the twinkling of our eyes
our heads ablaze
with birds and beasts and light.
© Sally Brown
| |