Oronsay, Colonsay

[3][note 1] The island rises to a height of 93 metres (305 feet) at Beinn Orasaigh and is linked to Colonsay by a tidal causeway called An Tràigh (The Strand) consisting of sands and mud flats.

[12] There is comparatively little evidence for life during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages although a picture emerges of "small farming communities and changes in technology occurring slowly over a long period of time" on Colonsay and environs.

[13] By the close of the Iron Age around 500 AD Colonsay and Oronsay were part of the Gaelic-speaking Kingdom of Dál Riata although which of the main Dalriadan kindreds controlled them is unknown.

[3][16] The site of a Norse ship burial has been found on Oronsay and another on Colonsay dated to the mid 9th century[17] at which point these islands were likely part of the far-flung Kingdom of the Isles.

[29] Writing in 1549, Sir Donald Monro, High Dean of the Isles stated of "Orvansay" that it was a low-lying island with "ane Monasterie of Channonis" and "full of hares and polecats, with a good anchorage for Highland galleys and shallow waters".

MacFie had been hiding on Eilean nan Ròn (an islet south-west of Oronsay) but he was spotted there by Colkitto's men, apprehended and then tied to a stone and summarily shot.

However, not long after this Colkitto lost his own life in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and by 1701 the Campbells had sold both islands to a MacNeill of Knapdale, whose family held these lands until the early 20th century.

[21] Dean Munro also mentioned the nearby islet of Eilean Ghaoideamal under its earlier name of Ellan na muk, noting that it was "gude for swine and uther bestiall".

The Scottish Government introduced the Bee Keeping (Colonsay and Oronsay) Order 2013 to prevent cross breeding with other honeybees (Apis mellifera) and to protect it from diseases common on the mainland.

The Environment and climate Change Minister Paul Wheelhouse MSP said: "The Bee Keeping Order illustrates how our non-native species legislation can be used to protect our native wildlife.

Cross No. 1 on Oronsay
Tomb of Murchardus Macdufie, who died in 1539. [ 25 ] [ note 2 ]
From one of the small beaches on the east coast of Oronsay, looking towards the Paps of Jura in the distance