Overview of Inch Kenneth

Inch Kenneth lies off the western coast of the Isle of Mull, which itself lies off the west coast of Argyll and Bute Council Area. The uninhabited island is 55 ha (136 acres) in area and is named after St Kenneth, a contemporary of St Columba. An important ecclesiastical centre, Inch Kenneth was second only to Iona, the monks of Iona used the island for providing grain. The ruined remains of a chapel and burial ground are located in the southern half of the island.

Inch Kenneth was, for a time, the property of Sir Harold Boulton (1859 - 1935), who wrote the words of the Skye Boat Song. It then passed to the eccentric Mitford family, who were facist sympathisers. Unity Mitford, who had been a consort of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, spent her final years on the island. Its population of 13 in 1961 had fallen to 2 by 1971 and it was abandoned shortly thereafter. Now a wildbird haven, it is also home to countless rabbits.