Rinns of Islay


The Rinns of Islay is an area on the west of the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
It is a peninsula that is attached to the main body of the island by a narrow isthmus towards its northern end. The main population centres are Port Charlotte and Portnahaven, based on the A847 that runs along its eastern coast.
It is designated a Special Protection Area due to its importance for a number of breeding and wintering birds, particularly Greenland white-fronted goose and chough. The significance of the area owes much to its wide variety of habitats including bog, moorland, dune grassland, maritime grassland, marsh and extensively-farmed agricultural land.
The Rinns of Islay lighthouse is located on the island of Orsay.
The Rhinns complex, a deformed igneous complex that is considered to form the basement to the Colonsay Group of metasedimentary rocks takes its name from the Rhinns of Islay.