Help fund a new walkway to Finlaggan, Islay

Islay News

The wooden walkway to Eilean Mòr at Finlaggan, the ancient seat of the Lords of the Isles on Islay, has gone through a few iterations over the decades. Because of the harsh conditions at Loch Finlaggan the wood starts to decay and the wear and tear at some point makes the walkway unsafe. Over the years there have been different walkways, this is how it looked in 2006:

Picture of an old wooden walkway to a small island
Finlaggan walkway in 2006

In 2007 it was replaced by a new walkway built by the Army 39 Engineer Regiment after removing the old rotting walkway. Visitors soon enjoyed good access to Eilean Mòr again:

Picture of a group of visitors next to a information board, a new wooden walkway in the background
Visitors after crossing a new walkway in 2007

In 2008 the visitor centre also saw some significant renovation and extension, making it the valuable place to learn about Islay’s history it is today:

Picture of a visitor centre extension under construction
Finlaggan visitor centre under construction in 2008

The walkway built in 2007 has now aged so much that it needs to be replaced to ensure continued access to the site. To do this the Finlaggan Trust needs support. The Finlaggan Trust writes:

We have already secured partial funding from a number of sources and are able to contribute a certain amount ourselves, but there remains a £30,000 shortfall in the £86,000 total nonetheless. If successful in our fundraising we hope to begin work in September/October 2021, with a five- to seven-week timescale for completion of the build, C-19 restrictions and weather conditions permitting.

The Lordship of the Isles needs you – Tha feum aig Rìoghachd nan Eilean ortsa

If you want to support the Finlaggan Trust you can make a donation at The Finlaggan Walkway Project JustGiving campaign. As of writing this in the early days of the campaign 8% of the target have been reached, hopefully that will jump up soon and continued access to Finlaggan can be secured:

Picture of a small island with ruins in a lake, a walkway leading to it
Finlaggan from the air, walkway bottom right

Author: Armin Grewe

I blog about Islay.

17 thoughts on “Help fund a new walkway to Finlaggan, Islay”

  1. Our donation is winging its way! Such an evocative place. Our family ties to Islay make it a much loved Island, and Finlaggan is always on our list of places to visit. It never ceases to be atmospheric!

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