Home Travel The perfect place to stay if you REALLY want to get away from it all: Inside a cosy bunkhouse on the remote Scottish island of Canna (population – 20)

The perfect place to stay if you REALLY want to get away from it all: Inside a cosy bunkhouse on the remote Scottish island of Canna (population – 20)

by Merry
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Paul Kirkwood visits the island of Canna in Scotland and stays in the remote bunkhouse shown here

The only time a crowd gathers on the island of Canna is for the arrival of the ferry five times a week in summer.

Visitors bustle along the pier looking for their hosts like wartime evacuees.

But once everyone is paired up and has gone their way, peace quickly descends, though it never truly leaves this Hebridean hideaway.

Almost five square miles in length, Canna is one of the Small Islands, reached by ferry from Mallaig, an hour’s drive from Fort William.

The population of Canna peaked at 436 in 1821 but, after the Highland Clearances in 1860, the number was reduced to 127. It is now around 20.

Paul Kirkwood visits the island of Canna in Scotland and stays in the remote bunkhouse shown here

The only time a crowd gathers on the island of Canna is for the ferry arrivals five times a week in summer, Paul writes.

The only time a crowd gathers on the island of Canna is for the ferry arrivals five times a week in summer, Paul writes.

Paul reveals:

Paul reveals: “We soon met the island’s visitors: a cyclist from New Zealand, a man we had seen earlier camping alone on the white sands of Sanday, three students staying with a friend and an intrepid young family from four members who arrived on bicycles, children in child seats and luggage on their backs’

Gareth Cole, chef at Café Canna, came here with his wife in 2018 and previously worked in IT in London.

‘Until then we had only visited Canna on the ferry stopover.

‘We practically had two hours on the island to decide if this is what we wanted to do and where we wanted to live.

“Thankfully we did and it’s been absolutely amazing.”

Isebail MacKinnon works on the island’s only farm and runs the camp and bunkhouse.

As part of the Canna Island Community Development Trust, it also runs the community store and is involved in the renewable energy project.

The population of Canna peaked at 436 in 1821, but following the clearing of the highlands in 1860 the number was reduced to 127. It is now around 20. Pictured: the island's Sanday Bridge

The population of Canna peaked at 436 in 1821, but following the clearing of the highlands in 1860 the number was reduced to 127. It is now around 20. Pictured: the island’s Sanday Bridge

The island (pictured) is owned by the National Trust for Scotland, to which it was donated in 1981 by the then laird, John Lorne Campbell, a Gaelic scholar and nature lover determined to preserve the island's ecology and traditions, Paul says.

The island (pictured) is owned by the National Trust for Scotland, to which it was donated in 1981 by the then laird, John Lorne Campbell, a Gaelic scholar and nature lover determined to preserve the island’s ecology and traditions, Paul says.

Nearly five square miles in length, Canna is one of the Small Islands. It is reached by ferry from Mallaig, an hour's drive from Fort William.

Nearly five square miles in length, Canna is one of the Small Islands. It is reached by ferry from Mallaig, an hour’s drive from Fort William.

Isebail MacKinnon works on the island's only farm and runs the camp (pictured) and the bunkhouse where Paul stayed.

Isebail MacKinnon works on the island’s only farm and runs the camp (pictured) and the bunkhouse where Paul stayed.

His family is from Canna and he returned there in 2016 after working in London and Africa.

“I can see a lot of similarities between living on the west coast of Scotland and living in Ghana and Uganda, as the logistics in both places are a bit complicated,” he says.

My wife and I stayed in the bunkhouse, an old cabin from the mid-18th century, perched alone at the foot of a basalt cliff with only a windswept sycamore for company.

Accommodation is simple, with two bunk beds and a separate shower and toilet block, but the views of Canna and the islands of Sanday and Rum more than make up for this.

Accompanied by her dog, Isebail brought a breakfast basket every morning. In the evening we had dinner in the cafeteria, a 15 minute walk through the fields.

The menu includes local lobster and steak from the farm’s Belted Galloway cattle.

Accommodation in the barracks is simple, says Paul,

Accommodation in the bunkhouse is simple, says Paul, “with two bunk beds and a separate shower and toilet block, but the views of Canna and the islands of Sanday and Rum more than make up for it.”

In the evening, Paul had dinner in the cafeteria, a 15-minute walk across the fields. Above: the bunkhouse picnic table

In the evening, Paul had dinner in the cafeteria, a 15-minute walk across the fields. Above: the bunkhouse picnic table

The birds provide the only commotion you're likely to find on this island, whose emptiness is the essence of its appeal, Paul says.

The birds provide the only commotion you’re likely to find on this island, whose emptiness is the essence of its appeal, Paul says.

Tourists enjoy views of Canna's spectacular coastline.

Tourists enjoy views of Canna’s spectacular coastline.

The two-bed dormitory in the Canna bunkhouse costs from £40.

The two-bed dormitory in the Canna bunkhouse costs from £40.

One night we were joined by a group that arrived in rigid inflatable boats from yachts anchored in the harbor.

We soon met the island’s visitors: a cyclist from New Zealand, a man we had previously seen camping alone on the white sands of Sanday, three students staying with a friend, and an intrepid young family of four who arrived by bicycle. , children in child seats and luggage on their backs.

The island is owned by the National Trust for Scotland, to which it was given in 1981 by the then landowner John Lorne Campbell, a Gaelic scholar and nature lover determined to preserve the island’s ecology and traditions.

Their former home, Canna House, is being restored and a visitor facility is being built.

The ruined Coroghan Castle stands at one end of the beach, near the pier, on a rocky outcrop that looks like a sandcastle.

You can climb Compass Hill, with its views of the island, or go to the lighthouse and return, passing sea stacks filled with puffins in spring.

The birds provide the only commotion you are likely to find on this island, whose emptiness is the essence of its appeal.

TRAVEL DATA

The two-bed dormitory in the Canna bunkhouse costs from £40. Minimum stay two nights (cannacampsite.com). Ferries run to Canna from Mallaig five times a week during the summer and three times a week in winter (calmac.es).

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