- Eriska
Infobox Scottish island |
GridReference=NM902429
celtic name=ùruisg,
norse name=Aoraisge
meaning of name= 'water nymph island' or 'Erik's island'
area= 310 ha
area rank= 86=
highest elevation= 47 m
Population=
population rank=
main settlement=
island group=Loch Linnhe
local authority=Argyll and Bute
references= [2001 UK Census perList of islands of Scotland ] cite book| author=Haswell-Smith, Hamish| title=The Scottish Islands| year=1997| isbn=0862415799] [ [http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/language/gaelic/pdfs/placenamesC-E.pdf Pàrlamaid na h-Alba placenames] ] [ [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ Ordnance Survey] ]Eriska is a flat, tidal island at the entrance to
Loch Creran on the west coast ofScotland . Privately owned, the island is run as a hotel with wooded grounds.Geography
The island is largely of
schist andslate with the lower ground to the west as a raised beach. To the east of the bridge, there is a partly submergedCrannog , or fortified dwelling, dating from the Bronze Age around 200 B.C.cite web| url=http://www.eriska-hotel.co.uk| title=Eriska Island| accessdate=2007-07-20]Eriska House
Eriska House was built in 1884 by the Stewarts of Appin. Built in the
Scottish Baronial style by architectHippolyte Blanc , who was highly acclaimed for his meticulous attention to detail and for a very high degree of specification in materials.Eriska was occupied by the Blairs and Clark Hutchisons, who built the bridge over the drying channel, connecting the island to the mainland at all states of the tide. When they left in 1930 little upkeep was done until the island was purchased by the Buchanan-Smith family in 1973. The house remains essentially the same with the surrounding buildings converted to become part of the hotel.
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