Seanna Chnoc

Seanna Chnoc, known locally and more correctly as Seana Bheinn, is a small islet of around 22 acres in outer Loch Ròg, off the west coast of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. It lies north-west of Great Bernera and Bearasaigh, with the sea stack of Stac nam Balg offshore to the north. Both names mean “old hill”, and the island has a cave in its north-west.

Landscape

Seanna Chnoc is a rugged, rocky island, rising steeply from the waters of outer Loch Ròg, exposed to the Atlantic swell. The outer loch is a wild seascape of islands, stacks and skerries, with the beaches of Uig and the hills of west Lewis beyond, and it is a beautiful area to explore by boat.

History

The name Seana Bheinn has always been used locally, though it is likely that the island once had a Norse name. The name Seanna Chnoc was introduced by the Ordnance Survey on the advice of language academics, but it is considered incorrect. In the early 19th century the island seems to have been called Garvilan, from the Gaelic Garbh Eilean, “rough island”, and in 1549 Dean Monro described “ane Ile callit Garvellan, gude for store and fishing, perteining to Mccloyd of Leozus”, the MacLeods of Lewis.

Great Bernera, linked to Lewis by a bridge, has a reconstructed Iron Age house at Bostadh beach.

More about Seanna Chnoc

Its neighbour, Bearasaigh, was the stronghold of Neil MacLeod, who held out there against the Crown in the early 17th century. Great Bernera, linked to Lewis by a bridge, has a reconstructed Iron Age house at Bostadh beach.

Visiting

There is no regular access to Seanna Chnoc, but boat trips run locally in summer around the islands of Loch Ròg. You can collect Seanna Chnoc as a sighting in your Island Passport.

Wildlife and area

Look out for Grey Seal, Eurasian Otter, Minke Whale and Common Dolphin, and for Gannet, Fulmar, Shag and Puffin. Other islands nearby include Bearasaigh, Flodaigh, Campaigh, Cealasaigh, Little Bernera and Pabaigh Mòr.