Southwest Coast

Place of the lighthouse

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The Holy Isle (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean MoLaise) is one of a number of islands in the United Kingdom which go under the name "Holy Island". It is located in the Firth of Clyde off the west coast of central Scotland, inside Lamlash Bay on the larger island of Arran. The island is around 3 kilometer long and around 1 kilometer wide. Its highest point is the hill Mullach Mòr.

The island has a long history as a sacred site, with a spring or holy well held to have healing properties, the hermit cave of 6th century monk St Molaise, and evidence of a 13th-century monastery.

An old Gaelic name for the island was Eilean MoLaise, Molaise's Island; this is the origin (via Elmolaise and Limolas) of "Lamlash", the name of the village on Arran that faces Holy Island.Some runic writing is to be found on the roof of St Molaise's cave and a Viking fleet sheltered between Arran and Holy Isle before the Battle of Largs.

The island is now owned by the Samyé Ling Buddhist Community, who belong to the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The settlements on the island include the Centre for World Peace and Health, founded by Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, on the north of the island.

This is an environmentally designed residential centre for courses and retreats which extends the former farm house. It has solar water heating and a reed-bed sewage treatment system. There is a regular ferry service from Lamlash. The approach from the ferry jetty is decorated with Tibetan flags and stupas. On the southern end of the island lives a community of nuns who are undertaking three year retreats.

The remainder of the island is treated as a nature reserve with wild Eriskay ponies, Saanen goats, Soay sheep and the replanting of native trees. The rare Rock Whitebeam tree is found on the island, an essential link in the evolution of the Arran Whitebeam species. These are indigenous and unique to Arran.

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Building the Lighthouse - Holy Isle, Inner lighthouse

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The Inner lighthouse on Holy Isle faces the east coast of the Isle of Arran at the south entrance of Lamlash Bay. The lighthouse was built in 1877, engineered by David Lillie and Thomas Stevenson.

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It is locally known as "Wee Donald", though the current lighthouse keepers don't know why anymore. With automation at the beginning of the 20th century, one lightkeeper was made redundant.

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Building the Lighthouse - Holy Isle, Outer or Pillar Rock lighthouse

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The Outer or Pillar Rock lighthouse is the youngest of the three lighthouses around the Isle of Arran and was built in 1905, by David Allen and Charles Stevenson. The lighthouse is situated on the southwestern shore of Holy Isle to the east of Arran in Lamlash Bay. It was the Northern Lighthouse Board's first square lighthouse. Together with Holy Isle’s Inner lighthouse, Pillar Rock was electrified in 1977 and operates fully automatic since.

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The lighthouse has several rooms inside for the men who worked there. Lighthouse cottages were built to house four families of the lighthouse keepers and a walled garden was made.

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