A man who lives on a tranquil Scottish island with 60 people and no cars says there are 3 mistakes tourists should avoid when they visit

06.09.2023 - 18:49 / insider.com

Easdale Island is the smallest permanently inhabited island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, according to its website.

The island on Scotland's west coast has 60 residents, no roads — and therefore no cars — and is home to the World Stone Skimming Championships, according to Donald Melville, who has lived on the island for 30 years.

Speaking to Insider, Melville said he and his family moved to Easdale because they had relatives who were living there at the time and they were attracted to the sense of community that comes with island life.

"You just get involved in things. The smaller the community, the more people get involved," he said. "The community is very open to anyone coming in and joining and helping out."

After three decades on the island, Melville said he and his wife are preparing to relocate to the nearby town of Oban to be closer to family. He's selling his two-bedroom home that was converted from two slate miners' cottages. 

Reflecting on his time on the island, Melville said he'll miss the "peace and quiet" that comes with living so close to the water as well as the surrounding natural scenery.

Easdale dominated Scotland's slate industry for more than three centuries and at one time had a population of 500 people, according to the Slate Islands Heritage Trust. But in 1861, a massive storm caused flooding in the area that damaged the quarries, according to Canmore, the National Record of the Historic Environment. 

The damage had a devastating impact on Easdale's slate industry and over the years the population dwindled, according to Canmore. 

Just under 70 people lived there in 2018, The Guardian reported at the time, and today the island is occupied by around 60 residents, according to Easdale's website.

Even so, the island is frequently visited by tourists from around the world, with the majority of international visitors coming from the US, Germany, and Sweden, Melville said.

Visitors are enticed by the island's natural wildlife, the quarries, and the World Stone Skimming Championships, which is due to be held on September 24. The championships usually bring in between 600 and 900 visitors from across the world, Melville said.

He shared the three main mistakes visitors make when they travel to Easdale.

Unlike some other islands in Scotland, there are no bridges connecting Easdale to the mainland.

The island is accessible via a small ferry from Seil, another island that's connected to the mainland by a bridge. A round-trip on the ferry costs £2.50, or around $3,10, according to Argyll and Bute Council's website.

According to Melville, some visitors don't take the time to research the ferry timetable as they assume that the island is connected to a bridge and that they can drive