theme, it is assumed that Tranter deliberately chose an unpopulated island to avoid giving offence. Treshnish Islands The Treshnish Isles form an archipelago of small islands and skerries, lying beyond the mouth of Loch na Keal but within the designated area of the national scenic area. The archipelago stretches for roughly from the island of Bac Beag in the south towards Cairn na Burgh Beag to the north east. The largest island in the group is Lunga, which is west of Gometra, southwest of Rubha' a' Chaoil on Mull, south east of Coll, and north west of Staffa. Other larger islands in the group are Cairn na Burgh Mòr, Fladda and Bac Mòr. There are numerous smaller skerries, particularly north of Lunga. All the islands are of volcanic origin. Nature and conservation Loch na Keal gives its name to the Loch na Keal National Scenic Area, one of the forty national scenic areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The designated area covers 44,250 ha in total, of which 13,507 ha is on land, with a further 30,742 ha being marine (i.e. below low tide level). The designated area covers the shoreline of the loch from Treshnish Point in the northwest to Rhubha na h-Uamha in the south, as well as the islands of Staffa, Ulva, Gometra and the Treshnish Isles. The land on the southern side of the loch is designated as a Special Protection Area under the Natura 2000 programme due particularly for its importance to golden eagles, which have a long history of breeding in the area, having been monitored since the early eighties. Golden eagles within the SPA have an unusually high breeding productivity compared to other populations on the west coast of Scotland, leading to one of the highest density populations of these birds in the UK. The outer waters of the loch are also protected under Natura 2000 as a Special Area of Conservation, due to the presence of harbour porpoises. The Burg estate, covering 617 ha of land at the tip of the Ardmeanach peninsula on the southern side of the loch, has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1932. The imprint of a 50 million year-old tree, known as MacCulloch’s Fossil Tree, can be seen in the rocks at Burg. The area also contains