![]() When we reached our destination, the village of Ellenabeich, we were very pleasantly surprised. The place where this happened is still clearly visible.” Luckily it was night and the pit was unmanned but 240 families lost their only means of support and severe poverty ensued. There was a violent storm and the sea broke through. In November 1881 the inevitable happened. Gunpowder was then used for blasting and by 1880 the pit was 75m deep, nearly 250 feet below sea-level, with only narrow walls of slate keeping the sea out. The main quarry on the south side went deeper and deeper into the ground as the men chiseled out the slate. Slate quarrying was not without risk if you read the following quote from the Southern Hebrides website: “The fourth Earl of Breadalbane, who was the landowner at the time, built picturesque villages for the workers. ![]() During the peak of the slate quarrying period hundreds of people worked on these islands to quarry slate which was used to roof the homes of people in Scotland, Ireland and beyond. Extensive slate quarrying have left their marks in the landscape of these islands as well as the other islands that belong to the Slate Islands group. Speaking about the shape of Easdale and the deep water holes in Seil for that matter…. The Isle of Mull with its impressive cliffs provides the backdrop for this curiously shaped island. Easdale is car(e) free and it can be reached via a wee ferry from Ellenabeich Harbour. Before you arrive in Ellenabeich make sure to keep an eye out over the sea to take in the views of the neighboring Isle of Easdale, the smallest permanently inhabited island of the Inner Hebrides. ![]() Capital is a big word for such a small island but the fact is that most people and amenities can be found here. After a few miles near Balvicar there’s a junction, left takes you to the Isle of Luing via a wee ferry which crosses the 200 mtr of the Cuan Sound, right is the direction for the main settlement on this beautiful island, Ellenabeich. This island also belongs to the Southern Hebridean Isles which are also referred to as the Islands of Argyll. After you’ve crossed the Atlantic Bridge you find yourself on one of the Slate Islands.
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