On 24th August we took a boat trip to the Garvellachs, a group of uninhabited islands off the west coast of Scotland.
Known for their early Christian settlements, the ruins of which are still visible, the Garvellachs are now a sanctuary for wildlife. Covered in heather, bracken and wild flowers, they’re a naturalist’s paradise, and the habitat is largely undisturbed. We photographed as many species as possible during our short time there, but I’m sure that, if you visited in spring or early summer, you’d find a completely different range of flowers in bloom.
To add to the magic, many of the plants were growing in the walls of the ruined monastery; harebells and lichen had made a home among the ancient stones, and the graveyard was a mass of yellow hawkweed and mauve self-heal.
You can read more about our visit to the Garvellachs, and see some photos of their wonderful historical remains, in my recent entry in Jo’s Journal.
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- Wild Juniper (Juniperus communis) in heather
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- Juniper with harebells and heather
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- Stonecrop on moss
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- Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
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- Lichen on wall of ruin
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- Ling (Erica cinerea) and Bell Heather (Erica carnea); ling is the paler flower
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- Erica cinerea with leaves of honeysuckle
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- Heather, hawkweed, tormentil and eyebright
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- Wild thyme
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- Bell heather
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- Devil’s-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis)
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- Hawkweed (Hieracium sp) and Common self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)
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- Monastery sign
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- Bramble leaves
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- Bracken
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- Goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea)
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- Erica cinerea, white and pink
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- Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris) with knapweed
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- Grass of Parnassus, showing buds
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- Harebell
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- Harebells and Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
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- Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia)
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- Knotted Pearlwort (Sagina nodosa)
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- Knotted Pearlwort (Sagina nodosa) and wild thyme
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- Lichen-covered stone
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- Red leaves, possibly sorrel
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- Hawkweed with Common Self-heal in graveyard
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- Lichen and stonecrop on a rock
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- Harebells in wall
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- Settlements on the Garvellachs, with knapweed in foreground
[...] Wild flowers of the Garvellachs: in late August, harebells and knotted pearlwort were among the many plants blooming in the ancient ruins. [...]