"This is the time of the year," reports ForArgyll "when we can all take advantage of events primarily created to benefit summer visitors, introducing them to the character and history of the places they find themselves in.


Flooded slate quarries at the north of Luing

"Most of us don’t know either – because for us there’s always tomorrow, mostly it doesn’t come, and we live knowing very little about where we live.

"From 5th -7th August, two of Argyll’s slate islands – Belnahua and Luing are the  focus of an exhibition at Cullipool Hall on Luing.

"Luing History Group, which is mounting the exhibition, says that the story of these islands’ slate being exported around the world is a matter of real pride. The geological fingerprint of the islands is found in far fling places.

"This was, of course, infamously, a world that changed overnight when a freak and vicious storm in November 1881 saw the islands lashed by heavy seas, with the slate quarries, some 76metres deep and with only a rim above ground to protect them,  flooded irrevocably.

"There were no pumps in those days. This was the immediate end of a major local industry that had begun in 1630 and of the livelihoods there of the quarrymen.

"Today’s visitors see only the water-filled quarries and cliffs with the old photographs revealing the story of Luing’s industrial past. The exhibition will showcase the heritage of the slate industry as well as its demise, showing how the blue/black slate continues to shape the islands’ culture.

"Part of the exhibition will be an illustrated explanation of the Latvian connection with Belnahua and Luing – and the moving story of a tragic shipwreck off Belnahua in 1936.

"Belnahua (Courtesy above)  is no longer inhabited. But Luing is working vigorously to ensure its sustainability (right slate buttons from Luing. Courtesy: Bratach).

• On Friday 5th August and Saturday 6th August the exhibition will be open from  11.00 – 19.00.
• On Sunday 7th august it will be open from 11.00 -  16.00.

Entry by donation and light refreshments.
For SatNavs, the postcode is: PA34 4UB.
The Car Ferry to Luing runs 7 days per week.
Its timetable is here.