A ferry sails from Easdale to Ellenabeich (Gaelic: Eilean nam Beathach) on the nearby island of Seil (Gaelic: Saoil), which is separated from Easdale by only a narrow channel. Confusingly, Ellenabeich is sometimes known as Easdale as a result of its traditional connections with the island.
Once the centre of the British slate industry, Easdale had a community of more than 500 working as many as seven quarries, some of which extended to 300 feet below sea level. Easdale slate helped to build major cities of the British Empire and can still be seen on rooftops as far a field as Melbourne, Nova Scotia, Dunedin and Dublin. The last slate was cut in the 1950s and the once active quarries are little more than still pools which provide a safe haven for a wide variety of flora and bird life.[5]
Nearby Eilean-a-beithich (island of the birches) once stood in the Easdale Sound between Easdale and Seil. However, it was quarried to a depth of 76 metres (249 ft) below sea level leaving only the outer rim of the island. This was eventually swept away by the sea and little visible sign of the island now remains.[6]
By the early 1960s, the population had dwindled to only four people and the island appeared doomed. Descendants of the original quarrymen, along with others from around the world, have moved to Easdale to create a model of island regeneration. The island now has a population of around sixty people and is the smallest permanently inhabited island of the Inner Hebrides.[7][8] The island is home to a folk museum operated by the Scottish Slate Islands Heritage Trust as well as a bar/restaurant called "The Puffer". A company who operate high speed boat trips to view wild life and other local places of interest in the area have their base on Easdale.[9]
In 2005 the local authority, Argyll and Bute Council, discussed plans to build a bridge between the island and Seil, linking the island to the mainland by road,[10] despite there being no roads on Easdale.
The World Stone Skimming Championship[11] has taken place annually on Easdale since 1997.
^See List of islands of Scotland. This is true if bridged and tidal islands are excluded. Eilean Bàn, which is part of the Skye Bridge and Eilean Donan, which is tidal, were both inhabited at the time of the 2001 Census and smaller.
