Luing
Encyclopedia
Slate Islands
The Slate Islands are an island group in the Inner Hebrides, lying immediately off the west coast of Scotland, north of Jura and southwest of Oban. The main islands are Seil, Easdale, Luing, Lunga, Shuna, Torsa and Belnahua...
, Firth of Lorn, in the west of Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, about 16 miles south of Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
. It has a population of around 200 people, mostly living in Cullipool, Toberonochy (Tobar Dhonnchaidh), and Blackmillbay. A regular ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service crosses the 200 m wide Cuan Sound
Cuan Sound
Cuan Sound is a narrow channel, wide, in Argyllshire, western Scotland. It separates Seil Island and Luing and later becomes the Firth of Lorn. It has a very strong current. The Cuan Ferry service crosses the sound...
which separates Luing from the neighbouring island of Seil
Seil
One of the Slate Islands, Seil is a small island on the east side of the Firth of Lorn, southwest of Oban, in Scotland.Seil has been linked to the Scottish mainland since 1792 when the Clachan Bridge was built by engineer Robert Mylne...
, which is in turn connected by bridge to the mainland.
The main industries on Luing are tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, lobster
European lobster
Homarus gammarus, known as the European lobster or common lobster, is a species of clawed lobster from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Black Sea. It is closely related to the American lobster, H. americanus. It may grow to a length of and a mass of , and bears a...
fishing and beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
farming, although slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
ing was important until 1965, with quarries at Toberonochy, Cullipool, and a smaller one at Port Mary. Slate from Luing was used in the construction of the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
and re-roofing of Iona Abbey
Iona Abbey
Iona Abbey is located on the Isle of Iona, just off the Isle of Mull on the West Coast of Scotland. It is one of the oldest and most important religious centres in Western Europe. The abbey was a focal point for the spread of Christianity throughout Scotland and marks the foundation of a monastic...
.
For such a small island, Luing has produced numerous mod
Mod (Scotland)
A mod is a festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture. Historically, the Gaelic word mòd refers to any kind of assembly. There are both local mods, and an annual national mod, the Royal National Mod...
gold medallists:
Nan MacInnes (1926, in Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
), Sandy Brown (1938, in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
) and Hughie MacQueen (1985, in Lochaber
Lochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
).
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
Alexander Campbell.
Luing cattle
Luing cattle
Luing cattle are a beef breed developed on the island of Luing in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland by the Cadzow brothers; Ralph, Denis and Shane, after 1947. It was formed by breeding first cross Beef Shorthorn/Highland heifers to a Beef Shorthorn bull. The breed of red-brown cattle are moderately...
were first developed here, as a commercial beef breed hardy enough to prosper under adverse weather. They are a breed of red beef cattle, produced by the Cadzow family in 1947 from a cross between Beef Shorthorn
Beef Shorthorn
The Beef Shorthorn breed of cattle was developed from the Shorthorn breed in England and Scotland in around 1820. The Shorthorn was originally developed as a dual purpose breed, suitable for both dairy and beef production. However different breeders opted to concentrate on one purpose rather than...
and Highland cattle
Highland cattle
Highland cattle or kyloe are a Scottish breed of beef cattle with long horns and long wavy coats which are coloured black, brindled, red, yellow or dun....
.