Jura comes from the Norse
words meaning Deer Island. Today over 6500 deer live on six estates on the island. In
contrast, the human population is only around 200. The local telephone directory is said
to list 97 numbers.
The island is 29 miles long
and 7 miles wide in places. The west is wild and virtually uninhabited, occupied only by
the three Paps of Jura which are known in Gaelic as The Mountain of the Sound, The
Mountain of Gold and The Sacred Mountain. The island's annual Fell Race takes place on the
last Bank Holiday weekend in May.
Many caves and raised beaches
can be found on the west coast, but you'll have to be a good walker to reach them.
Wildlife lovers will be
interested to know that there are over 100 species of birds (including golden eagles) on
the island, together with wild goats, seals, rabbits, hares, stoats and otters.
How to get to Jura
Take the small,
privately-owned, vehicle ferry from Port Askaig on the Isle of Islay for the 5-minute ride
over to Feolin on the southern tip of Jura. Contact Western Ferries on 0141 332 9766.
The timetables are now provided online by the Islay and Jura Marketing Group.
The local bus is run by Alex
Dunnichie - telephone 01496 820314.
There's talk of starting a
17-car ferry direct to Jura from the mainland. It is part of a proposal by a group of
Islay-based businessmen who would then like to see tourists driving 20 miles across Jura
and taking the short ferry over to reach Islay which would be shorter for them than the
current ferry from Kennacraig to Islay.
