Shuna Island

This article is about the island in Loch Linnhe. For other places with the same name, see Shuna (disambiguation).

Shuna Island^[6] or simply Shuna is an island in Loch Linnhe, offshore from Appin, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The island is approximately two kilometres (1+1⁄4 miles) long and one kilometre (5⁄8 mi) wide, and extends to some 155 ha (383 acres) in total. The island is characterised by a table topped hill at its southern end.^[7] The name Shuna is probably derived from the Norse, for "sea island".^[1] The island is separated from Appin by the Sound of Shuna.

Shuna Island

Scottish Gaelic name	Siùna[1]
Meaning of name	Probably "sea island" from Norse[1]
Location
Shuna Island Shuna shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference	NM916490
Coordinates	56.59°N 5.395°W / 56.59; -5.395
Physical geography
Island group	Loch Linnhe
Area	155 ha (383 acres)
Area rank	121 [2]
Highest elevation	Tom an t-Seallaidh 71 m (233 ft)
Administration
Council area	Argyll and Bute
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	0[3]
References	[4][5]

The farm on Shuna

Shuna is recorded in a late 16th-century document as belonging to John Stewart, the Laird of Appin.^[5] He may have built Castle Shuna, a small tower-house, which is now in ruins and lies at the south end.^[8] In the 18th century, Shuna Farmhouse replaced Castle Shuna as the residence on the island: it is a Category B listed traditional farmhouse dating from the 1740s.^[9] Opposite Castle Shuna, at the head of Loch Laich, is the island fortress of Castle Stalker, also historically a possession of the Stewarts of Appin.^[10]

The island forms part of the Lynn of Lorn National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland.^[11]

In 2012 the island was placed on sale via agents Savills for £1.85 million.^[12]

Notes and references

1. Mac an Tàilleir p. 105
2. Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
3. General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Scotland's Census 2001 – Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
4. Ordnance Survey. OS Maps Online (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure.
5. Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 117-18
6. "Shuna Island". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
7. "Overview of Shuna". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
8. "Castle Shuna". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
9. Historic Environment Scotland. "Shuna Farmhouse (Category B Listed Building) (LB12343)". Retrieved 28 March 2019.
10. Historic Environment Scotland. "Castle Stalker (Category A Listed Building) (LB12345)". Retrieved 28 March 2019.
11. "National Scenic Areas" Archived 2017-03-11 at the Wayback Machine. SNH. Retrieved 30 Mar 2011.
12. Welsh, Susan (5 June 2012) "Buy a piece of paradise". Glasgow. The Herald.

Further reading

• Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
• Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Ainmean-àite/Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012.

56°35′14″N 5°23′43″W