The Oa – A Clifftop Monument Above the North Channel
About 1.5 miles on foot.
The Oa is the south-west corner of Islay, a peninsula of moor and high sea cliffs looked after by the RSPB.
On its tip stands the American Monument, a stone tower raised for the men lost from two troopships wrecked off this coast in 1918. The walk to it is a short one, a mile and a half there and round, with the North Channel far below and golden eagles sometimes overhead.
- Time
- About an hour: a round of a mile and a half, or 2.5 km, on natural paths and boardwalk with short climbs.
- The path
- Natural paths, soft underfoot in places, with short boardwalks over the wetter ground and short climbs.
- Where to start
- The RSPB's car park on the Oa, at the end of half a mile of rough track. Free, with room for 18 cars.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, and not in a strong wind. From November to January set off by 1pm. Every Islay ferry uses Port Askaig while Port Ellen's terminal is closed, until 2029. No ferry on 25 December or 1 January. Wind can stop the boat: look at CalMac's service status page on the morning you travel.
- Dogs
- On a short lead wherever livestock graze, and everywhere from 1 April to 15 August.
- Children
- The path runs along the top of high cliffs: keep children close.
- Toilets
- None on the reserve: the nearest are in Port Ellen.
- Before you set out
- A clifftop path with nowhere to shelter: not a walk for a strong wind. No barbecues on the reserve. Every Islay ferry uses Port Askaig while Port Ellen's terminal is closed, until 2029. No ferry on 25 December or 1 January. Wind can stop the boat: look at CalMac's service status page on the morning you travel.
The walk
Park at the RSPB's car park on the Oa, at the end of half a mile of rough, potholed track, about six and a half miles from Port Ellen. It's free, it has room for 18 cars, and there's no gate and no staff. From it the American Monument is three-quarters of a mile away, and the RSPB's circular walk round the clifftop by way of the monument is a mile and a half, or 2.5 km. Allow an hour, and longer with time at the monument. It's a tall stone tower shaped like a lighthouse, standing at the edge of a high cliff above the North Channel. The American Red Cross built it in 1920 for the American soldiers and sailors lost from two troopships in 1918: the Tuscania, torpedoed on 5 February, and the Otranto, wrecked in a storm on 6 October. The Oa is an RSPB reserve, and golden eagles are among the birds seen over it.
Underfoot it's natural path, soft in places, with short stretches of boardwalk over the wetter ground and a few short climbs. There are benches on the way round. The path runs along the top of the cliffs with no viewing platforms and nowhere to shelter, so keep well back from the edge, keep children close, and leave it for another day in a strong wind. Dogs are welcome on a short lead wherever livestock graze, and everywhere from 1 April to 15 August, when birds nest on the ground. There are no toilets and no café on the reserve, and the nearest toilets are in Port Ellen, so bring food and a flask. From November to January, set off by 1pm. The car park is 25 miles from the ferry at Port Askaig, about 50 minutes' drive.
Islay is reached on CalMac's car ferry from Kennacraig in Kintyre, a crossing of just under two hours. Port Ellen's ferry terminal is closed for rebuilding until 2029, so every boat lands at Port Askaig, in the north-east of the island. Book the car on before you travel, and be at the pier 30 minutes before the boat sails. On the winter timetable, from 19 October 2026 to 25 March 2027, the first boat leaves Kennacraig at 7am, or at 10am on a Tuesday and a Sunday. The last boat off the island leaves Port Askaig at 5.25pm on a Monday and a Wednesday, 6.05pm on a Tuesday and a Friday, and 6pm on a Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Until 18 October the summer timetable applies, so read the times on CalMac's Islay page. Wind can stop the boat: look at CalMac's service status page on the morning you travel.
If it rains
There's nowhere to shelter on the Oa and the paths turn soft. In heavy rain or a strong wind, keep it for another day.
Before you go
Book the car onto CalMac's Kennacraig to Port Askaig ferry before you travel, out and back, and be at the pier 30 minutes before the boat.
For further reading, before you go.