Things you didn't know about the Isle of Coll

Literary heroes have been stranded on the Isle of Coll

On their famous tour of the Western Isles, Dr Johnson, compiler of the first dictionary, and his biographer James Boswell took refuge on Coll during a ferocious storm.

The "Religion of the Yellow Stick" originated on the Isle of Coll

This was the ironic description of the habit of the Laird of Coll to forcibly drive Catholic tenants to the Protestant Kirk (church) on Sundays—with a cane. The expression spread throughout the Western Isles in the 18th century.

Only 11 per cent of the Isle of Coll can be farmed

Despite the land being essentially quite fertile, the constant depositing of wind-blown sand onto the land from vast coastal dunes undermines its fertility.

The Isle of Coll made many MacLeans lose their heads

In 1590 a vicious battle between two factions of the MacLean family resulted in the beheading of all those on the losing side. The stream into which the heads were thrown is still known as the stream of the heads.

Corncrakes are still plentiful on the Isle of Coll

These rare meadowland birds thrive on the Isle of Coll mainly due to the sympathetic land husbandry here. The birds' habit of ground-nesting means that they die out in most arable lands when they are ploughed. Much research has been carried out on Coll into how mowing techniques can be modified to allow chicks to escape the grim reaping.

The Isle of Coll is home to rock swingers

No, not a hippy commune. Perched on the top of a hill a giant stone can be moved about its pivot by hand, and was deposited there as a result of the last ice age. Dr. Johnson was fascinated by the folklore surrounding this object, but seems to have been ignorant of its true origin.

The Isle of Coll has made thousands of children happy

Mairi Hedderwick created the famous Katie Morag books and lived on the Isle of Coll while raising her children and writing the series. The books are set on the fictional Isle of Struay.