Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
40.8km²
Area
61km
Coastline
135m
Highest point
124
People
14°C
Warmest sea
August
745km
To the mainland
When to go to Colonsay
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (14 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull
Colonsay is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Inner Hebrides. It covers 40.8 km², with 61 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 135 m. About 124 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 745 km away.
Getting there
- Islay Airport (ILY)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 43 km in a straight lineCar hire at GLA airport (Glasgow)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesPort Askaig - Colonsay, Oban - Colonsay
- 745 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Colonsay.
- 21beachesQueen's Bay / Loch Staosnaig, Tràigh Bàn, Tràigh nam Bàrc and 18 more
- 1lighthouses
- 2ferry terminalsColonsay Ferry Terminal
- 12named peaksCarnan Eoin, Beinn Bhreac, Beinn nan Gudairean and 9 more
- 2castles and fortsDùn Meadhonach, Dùn Eibhinn
- 24ruins and archaeological sitesQueens Bay, dun site, Beinn nan Gudairean, dun site, Dun site and 21 more
- 2hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 1restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Colonsay in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Colonsay, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
1mountainPeakyas
1lakeLakeyas
Largest lake
0.11km²
Loch an Sgoltaire
according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
13.8°C
Kiloran Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Loch an Sgoltaire0.11km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 39 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 71 %0–50 m
- 29 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Sea (°C) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 165 | 122 | 112 | 79 | 94 | 98 | 113 | 134 | 119 | 162 | 160 | 167 |
| Wet days | 23 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.3 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 6.4 | 7.6 | 7.0 | 6.1 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
| Wind (km/h) | 34 | 31 | 29 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 26 | 29 | 32 | 32 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +1.2 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.6 |
| 2024 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.2 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.6 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Islay
United Kingdom615 km²491 m34 km away
JuraUnited Kingdom363 km²785 m29 km away
Isle of MullUnited Kingdom883 km²966 m45 km away
IonaUnited Kingdom8.5 km²97 m32 km away
UlvaUnited Kingdom18 km²313 m46 km away
StaffaUnited Kingdom0.30 km²42 m42 km away
Isle of ArranUnited Kingdom428 km²874 m82 km away
TireeUnited Kingdom79 km²141 m64 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q511539) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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