Luing

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title: "Luing" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["luing", "slate-islands", "islands-of-argyll-and-bute"] description: "Island in Scotland" topic_path: "general/luing" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luing" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Island in Scotland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Scottish island"]

Field	Value
Image	LuingIsland.JPG
ImageCaption	View from near Toberonochy, Luing
location_map	Scotland Argyll and Bute
caption	Luing shown within Argyll and Bute
coordinates
GridReference	NM740100
celtic name	Luinn
meaning of name	pre-Gaelic name of unclear meaning
area	1430 ha
area rank	40
highest elevation	Binneinn Furachail, 87 m
Population	187
population rank	35=
population density	11.5 PD/km2
main settlement	Cullipool/Culapul
island group	Slate Islands
local authority	Argyll and Bute
references
<ref name	MacanTMac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 83
::

|Image=LuingIsland.JPG |ImageCaption=View from near Toberonochy, Luing |location_map=Scotland Argyll and Bute |caption=Luing shown within Argyll and Bute |coordinates = |GridReference=NM740100 |celtic name= Luinn |norse name= |meaning of name=pre-Gaelic name of unclear meaning |area= 1430 ha |area rank= 40 |highest elevation= Binneinn Furachail, 87 m |Population=187 |population rank= 35= |population density =11.5 PD/km2 |main settlement= Cullipool/Culapul |island group=Slate Islands |local authority=Argyll and Bute |references= Luing ( ; ) is one of the Slate Islands, Firth of Lorn, in the west of Argyll in Scotland, about 16 mi south of Oban. The island has an area of 1430 ha and is bounded by several small skerries and islets. It has a population of around 200 people, mostly living in Cullipool, Toberonochy (Tobar Dhonnchaidh), and Blackmillbay.

Geology

The larger part of the bedrock of Luing is provided by the Neoproterozoic age Easdale Slate Formation, a pyritic, graphitic pelite belonging to the Easdale Subgroup of the Dalradian Argyll Group. Thin bands of quartzite are also present. Zones of metamorphosed intrusive igneous rocks occur within the northeast of the island. Luing is cut by NE-SW aligned Siluro-Devonian felsite dykes and by numerous later NW-SE aligned basalt and microgabbro dykes which form a part of the ‘Mull Swarm’ which is of early Palaeogene age. Raised marine deposits of sand and gravel occur widely around the margins of the island, a legacy of late Quaternary changes in relative sea-level.

Economy and culture

A regular ferry service crosses the 200 m Cuan Sound which separates Luing from the neighbouring island of Seil, which is in turn connected by bridge to the mainland.

The main industries on Luing are tourism, lobster fishing and beef farming, although slate quarrying was important until 1965, with quarries at Toberonochy, Cullipool, and a smaller one at Port Mary. Slate from Luing was used in the construction of the University of Glasgow and re-roofing of Iona Abbey.

For such a small island, Luing has produced numerous mòd gold medallists: Nan MacInnes (1926, in Oban), Sandy Brown (1938, in Glasgow) and Hughie MacQueen (1985, in Lochaber).

Luing cattle were first developed here, as a commercial beef breed hardy enough to prosper under adverse weather. They are a breed of red beef cattle, produced by the Cadzow family in 1947 from a cross between Beef Shorthorn and Highland cattle.

Etymology

According to Haswell-Smith (2004) the name "Luing" may derive from the Old Norse lyng, meaning "heather" or long meaning ship. However, Mac an Tàilleir (2003) states "this is probably a pre-Gaelic name of unclear meaning."

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Kilchatton_Church.jpg" caption="Ruins of Kilchattan Church"] ::

In the early part of the Christian era Luing would have formed part of the Gaelic kingdom of Dalriada. From the 9th to 13th centuries almost all of the Hebrides came under the control of Norse settlers and formed part of the Kingdom of the Isles. However, when Edgar of Scotland signed a treaty with Magnus Barefoot in 1098, formally acknowledged the existing situation by giving up Scottish claims to the Hebrides and Kintyre, Luing and Lismore were retained by the Scots.

The graveyard at the ruined church of Kilchattan documents the lives of past islanders, with quarriers, sailors and crofters side by side. Gravestones of note include those of Covenanter Alexander Campbell.

Footnotes

References

References

1. {{RESAS
2. Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 70
3. (2011). "Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 55 ''Lochgilphead & Loch Awe''". Ordnance Survey.
4. Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 83
5. "Luing". Undiscovered Scotland.
6. "Onshore Geoindex".
7. "Kilmartin, Scotland sheet 36, Bedrock and Superficial deposits". British Geological Survey.
8. "Luing Cattle". Luing Cattle Society.
9. "Overview of Luing". [[Gazetteer for Scotland]].
10. Sellar (2000) p. 191
11. "Luing: Heritage". Isle of Luing Website.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::