Risga Loch Sunart

Introduction

Risga is an uninhabited Scottish island located between Càrna and Oronsay at the entrance to Loch Sunart.

Risga island Loch Sunart — Risga with Ross Rock in foreground

Location

Information

Risga

Risga is not the biggest of islands at 12 hectares and with a high point at 43 metres. Risga is included in the grounds of Glenborrodale Castle and is part of Sunart Site of Special Scientific Interest. The name “Risga” is Norse

Brief Visit

The topping of the island of Risga was a very brief affair. Brief, due to the torrential rain that was distinctly taking the edge off the day. Willie and I disembarked from Nordic Fulmar and made for the rocky shore. The waterline is covered in shining slippery seaweed and can best be described as craggy. We had to paddle around fair bit to select an accommodating slab of stone that could take a dinghy. Two of us drew our breath as we knew this was to be a wet trudge through thick bracken, claggy wet grass and heather.

The terrain did not disappoint. We scrambled our way through the undergrowth and contoured up to the top and stood facing the horizontal rain hurtling in from the west. It was not the place or time to hang around. As result we hurriedly took our pictures and slithered back down to the dinghy.

We spent no more than 15 minutes on Risga and really did no justice to the history of the place. Once we topped out Willie and I scrambled back down the way we had come up. With some relief we paddled back to out the yacht. Once aboard we were down below to get dried and a gulp down nice cup of hot tea. That was Risga.

Anchorage

There is no obvious anchorage but there again there is no obvious reason to visit this ‘rock’. Eilean Fheidh bay, to the north, offers some shelter behind the island and in the lee of the Morvern mainland.

History

^.In 1920–21 some Mesolithic materials were recovered and are now in the Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. There is a shell midden, a scheduled monument that is at least 30 metres by 10 metres, which is visible as a grass-covered mound. An important shell midden was found on the E side of this island and is thought to date to the Mesolithic period. The midden seems to have been fully excavated revealing significant information on the diet and prey species of these early settlers in N Argyll. Dating is uncertain but probably between 5000 and 2500 BC. This site lies outside the SSSI area.

For fuller archaeological notes please visit Canmore https://canmore.org.uk/site/22508/risga-loch-sunart