NM2763 : Coll - Sorisdale - Beach and bay
taken 3 years ago, near to Sorisdale, Coll, Argyll And Bute, Scotland
Sorisdale is a partly-abandoned settlement at the northeastern tip of the Isle of Coll.
A century or more ago it was a comparatively thriving community but now many of its former dwellings are abandoned and in various states of ruin. There are however a few occupied houses here, including a new building near the shore which looks to have reused part of one or more of the old crofts.
See Link for an image of the hamlet in the 1930s.
There are various Canmore references, viz.
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The Isle of Coll lies in the Sea of the Hebrides to the west of the much larger island of Mull, and immediately to the northeast of its neighbour, Tiree (Tiriodh).
Coll is much hillier and far less suitable for agriculture than Tiree, though the latter has slightly higher hills at its western edge whereas Coll has a distribution of c.60m hills over much of its terrain. Its highest point, Ben Hogh, achieving just 106m (348'). This difference in topography results in Coll having less than a third of the population of its neighbour.
Whereas Tiree is criss-crossed by a network of roads and lanes, Coll only really has one major road with a few (dead-end) 'branches'. Like Tiree, it is famed for its beaches, especially along its northwest coast and the massive expanse of dunes at the southwest of the island between Feall and Crossapol Bays.
Just off the SW coast is the small uninhabited island of Gunna (69ha, 170 acres (c.¼ mile²)) and off its NE coast a collection of uninhabited islets, the "Cairns of Coll" the largest of which is Eilean Mòr (c.18ha, 45 acres)
Statistics (Coll main island)
Area: 7,685ha (29.67 miles²)
Population: 195 (2011 census)
Density 2.537/km² (6.572/mile²)
Highest Point: Ben Hogh, 106m (348')
Principal settlement: Arinagour (with about ¼ of the island's population)