Argyll and Bute is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod. The administrative centre for the council area is in Lochgilphead at Kilmory Castle, a 19th-century Gothic Revival building and estate. The current council leader is Robin Currie, a councillor for Kintyre and the Islands.
Lismore is an island of some 2,351 hectares in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The climate is damp and mild, with over 166 centimetres (65 in) of rain recorded annually. This fertile, low-lying island was once a major centre of Celtic Christianity, with a 6th-century monastery associated with Saint Moluag, and later became the seat of the medieval Bishop of Argyll. There are numerous ruined structures including a broch and two 13th-century castles.
The Slate Islands are an island group in the Inner Hebrides, lying immediately off the west coast of Scotland, north of Jura and southwest of Oban. The main islands are Seil, Easdale, Luing, Shuna, Torsa and Belnahua. Scarba and Kerrera, which lie nearby are not usually included.
Graemsay is an island in the western approaches to Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The island has two lighthouses. Graemsay lies within the parish of Stromness.
Seil is one of the Slate Islands, located on the east side of the Firth of Lorn, 7 miles southwest of Oban, in Scotland. Seil has been linked to the mainland by bridge since the late 18th century.
Luing is one of the Slate Islands, Firth of Lorn, in the west of Argyll in Scotland, about 16 miles (26 km) south of Oban. The island has an area of 1,430 hectares and is bounded by several small skerries and islets. It has a population of around 200 people, mostly living in Cullipool, Toberonochy, and Blackmillbay.
Scarba is an island, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, just north of the much larger island of Jura. The island has not been permanently inhabited since the 1960s. Until his death in 2013 it was owned by Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys; its owner now is Shane Cadzow who farms Luing cattle on the nearby island of Luing and grazes some of the cattle on Scarba. Kilmory Lodge is used seasonally as a shooting lodge, the island having a flourishing herd of red deer.
Belnahua is one of the Slate Islands, in the Firth of Lorn in Scotland, known for its deserted slate quarries. The bedrock that underpins its human history is part of the Scarba Conglomerate Formation and its value has been on record since the 16th century. Likely uninhabited before commercial quarrying commenced, under the control of the Stevenson family during the 19th century the population expanded to over 150 before the island was abandoned again in 1914.
Torsa is one of the Slate Islands in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Lying east of Luing and south of Seil, this tidal island was inhabited until the 1960s. There is now only one house there, which is used for holiday lets. The underlying bedrock is slate but unlike Torsa's immediate island neighbours this has never been worked commercially. The island's name is of Norse origin but the most prominent historical structure on the island is the ruined Caisteal nan Con on the northeast shore, once held by Clan Campbell. The abundant sea life in the waters surrounding the island are protected by the Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura Marine Protected Area.
Bunessan is a small village on the Ross of Mull in the south-west of the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Kilfinichen and Kilvickeon, and is situated on the A849.
Lunga is one of the Slate Islands in the Firth of Lorn in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Grey Dog" tidal race, which runs in the sea channel to the south, reaches 8 knots (15 km/h) in full flood. The name "Lunga" is derived from the Old Norse for "isle of the longships', but almost all other place names are Gaelic in origin. The population was never substantial and today the main activity is an adventure centre on the northern headland of Rubha Fiola. The surrounding seas are fished for prawns and scallops and there is a salmon farm off the south eastern shores. The Special Area of Conservation of which the island is part hosts a growing number of outdoor leisure pursuits.
Fladda is the northernmost of the Treshnish Isles. Its name comes from the Old Norse Flat-ey meaning "flat island". Fladda is owned by the Hebridean Trust.
Ornsay is a small tidal island to the east of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
Eilean Musdile (Mansedale) is an islet, and lighthouse to the south west of Lismore in the Inner Hebrides.
Eilean Trodday is an island in The Minch just off the north coast of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye in Scotland.
Eilean Loain is a small island in Loch Sween and one of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
The Cairns of Coll refers primarily to a region of rocky outcrops in shallow waters extending from the north end of the Island of Coll in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The extension is about 1.1 miles from shore, 1.6 if the Cairns of Coll Rocks 0.5 miles further are to be included. The outcrops of the Cairns are too small to be inhabited. The swift and unpredictable tidal currents between them make navigation hazardous to boats. They are rich in abundant and varied marine life, including the marine mammals.
The Ruvaal, Rhuvaal, or Rubh'a' Mhàil Lighthouse is a listed 19th century lighthouse, located at the north-eastern end of the island of Islay, in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. The active lighthouse marks the northern approaches to the Sound of Islay a narrow channel separating Islay from the adjacent island of Jura, and is one of the seven lighthouses operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board, which act as maritime aids to navigation on and around Islay.
