From Issue Four of Hidden Scotland Magazine

JURA - Traveller’s Tales

The Isle of Jura, wild and traditional and largely unvisited.

Words by Jack Anstey and Sarah Afiqah Rodgers

Printed in Issue Four of Hidden Scotland Magazine, Spring and Summer 2022.

The Isle of Jura is no swarming tourist honeypot. Set among the chain of islands known as the Southern Hebrides, this often-overlooked destination has largely escaped the rush and clamour of the modern world, remaining a wild, unique and traditional place that holds its charms dear.

JURA - Traveller’s Tales, photograph by Jack Anstey and Sarah

Size can be deceptive. Jura might be the eighth largest of all Scottish islands, but it ranks a lowly 31st in terms of its population, making it one of the least densely inhabited, and most barren, of all the Hebridean islands. But don’t be misled into thinking it’s empty. On a three-day visit we were served up a wealth of native wildlife, local produce and horizon-wide scenery, all underpinned by a vibrant community feel. Bleak? Not a bit of it.

Clockwise from top left: Deer Island Distillers, Camella Crafts, The Whisky Island Gallery & Studio and Lussa Gin

As so often with visiting Scottish islands, our journey started a long way from our final destination, in this case back on the mainland, driving through the sweeping glens and forests of Argyll. The landscapes shifted as we made the journey out of the Trossachs, through the cute towns and harbours of the Kintyre peninsula and out to Kennacraig, for the two-and-a-half-hour ferry to Islay. After a quick turnaround in Port Askaig, another, far shorter ferry ride carried us across the Sound of Islay, making landfall on the Isle of Jura in heavenly afternoon light, painting the entire coastline in a warm, golden glow.