HighlandsofScotland.net - Eilean Ban Trust

Business type: Visitor Centre

Area: Skye & Lochalsh

Eilean Ban Trust

The Eilean Ban Trust has secured a long-term lease agreement with the Scottish Office to manage the six-acre island within the local community. The island has a wealth of natural heritage of local and national importance and this will be safeguarded through the Trust and with the permanent presence of a newly appointed Warden. Eilean Ban still retains the feel of an island although the Skye road bridge passes over the island. An opportunity to visit the island by boat will be available to anyone with an interest and there are no ability restrictions. Access to and on the island is being designed with advice from DASH (Disability Alliance in the Scottish Highlands).

The aim of the "Trust" is to bring Eilean Ban back into community ownership with a view to re-emphasize its associated heritage, and to instigate a program of environmental and conservation measures. Any such measures will not only benefit the many species that inhabit the Island, but also establish the island as a community asset. This will have a historic resonance as well as a significant bearing on the economic well-being of the locality.

To this end, the Bright Water Visitor Centre has been opened in Kyleakin, giving people a fun and informative environment to learn about Eilean Ban and the surrounding area. Boat trips operate from the Bright Water Visitor Centre in Kyleakin, to Eilean Ban from April to October. Outside these months, visits may are be arranged through the Bright Water Visitor Centre. On Eilean Ban, the lighthouse keepers cottages have been restored to a habitable standard and are now occupied by the Trusts warden. This cottage were the last home of the late author and naturalist, Gavin Maxwell. His Long Room (a forty foot long sitting room) has been recreated, using many of his original furnishings and with painstaking attention to detail. There has also been work carried out on the island. Nature trails wind around the island leading to the wildlife hide, the viewing platform, the sensory garden, and Teko the otter's memorial stone.

Contact details:	Tel:	01599 530040
The Eilean Ban Trust The Pier, Kyleakin Isle of Skye, IV41 8PL	Fax:	01599 530000
	Email:	enquiries@eileanban.org
	Website:	http://www.eileanban.org
Price Guide: - There is no entrance fee to the centre, however any donations will help to ensure the continued success of the project. Please contact the centre for details of the boat trips

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