Easdale Island Community Hall

Stay Informed! Please subscribe to our mailing list for news about upcoming Easdale Island events!

how to find Easdale Island

From Oban, take the A816 south following signs for Campbeltown. After about 9 miles take a right turn on to the B844, which is sign posted for Easdale.

About 4 miles further on you will cross Clachan Bridge, the famous 'Bridge Over the Atlantic', bringing you onto Seil Island.

Continue along the road to the village of Balvicar. At Balvicar follow the road around to the right at the junction with the road to Cuan. Continue on the road over the hill to the conservation village of Ellenabeich.

At the end of the village you will find car parking signposted to your right (north). The passenger-only ferry to Easdale can be summoned during operating hours by pushing the klaxon or light buttons in the ferry waiting shed on the pier.

The ferry crossing to Easdale Island only takes about three minutes, and the ferry runs according to the timetables below.

The post code for the island is PA34 4TB, but do not believe your satnav if it tells you that you can drive onto the island - you can't. Easdale Island really is an island.

Easdale Island accommodation

There is a list of accommodation, both on Easdale Island and in the surrounding area, on the Eilean Eisdeal website

Easdale Island ferry timetable

The Easdale Island Ferry is run by Argyll and Bute Council and the timetable below is subject to change. Please see the Argyll and Bute Council website for the latest infomation.

(Crossings marked in red must be booked by phoning 01852 300559 giving 24 hrs notice)

Summer: Easter - end of October

Monday to Saturday
07.15 (not Sat); 07.45; 09.00; 09.15; 09.30; 09.45; 10.15; 10.45.
On demand from 11.15 until 12.45
 Break
On demand from 14.00 until 16.15.
16.45; 17.15; 17.45; 18.00; 18.15
 Break
19.30; 20.00; 20.30; 21.00; 23.00 (Fri & Sat only)

Sunday
09.15; 09.45; 10.15; 10.45.
On demand from 11.15 until 12.50
 Break
On demand from 14.00 until 16.15.
16.45; 17.15; 17.45; 18.15; 19.00

Winter: November - Easter

Monday to Saturday
07.15 (not Sat); 07.45; 09.00; 09.15; 09.30; 09.45; 10.15; 10.45; 11.15; 11.45; 12.15; 12.45
 Break
14.15; 14.45; 15.15; 15.45; 16.15; 16.45; 17.15; 17.45; 18.00; 18.15
 Break
19.30; 20.00; 20.30; 21.00; 23.00 (Fri & Sat only)

Sunday
09.15; 09.45; 10.15; 10.45; 11.15; 11.45; 12.15; 12.45
 Break
14.15; 14.45; 15.15; 15.45; 16.15; 16.45; 17.15; 17.45; 18.15; 19.00

hall diary

Please contact diary@easdale.org if you want to add something to the diary

hall facilities

The gallery section has an album of hall pictures you can look at.

main hall

  • size 10m x 10m
  • capacity 170 standing, 130 seated
  • versatile modular staging: 7 units 2m x 1m; 1 triangular unit 1m x 1m
  • full blackout if required
  • oak floor with under-floor heating

PA system

  • Mixing desk: Soundcraft LX7 II (sited at back of hall)
    Download User Manual: full version; essentials only
  • main speakers: Mackie SA1521 (each unit: 500 watts internal power)
  • monitor speakers: 4 x Mackie SRM450 (each unit: LF amp - 540 watts, HF amp - 150 watts)
  • microphones: 6 x Shure SM58; 4 x Shure SM57; 5 x AKG C1000
  • Yamaha SPX990 Reverb/Effects
    Download User Manual: SPX990
  • 31-band stereo Graphic Equaliser
    Download User Manual: Ultra-Graph Pro

piano

  • Technics SX-PX665 digital piano: Real Concert Grand Piano Sound with Variations, Natural Response Action, 350 Sounds, 64 note polyphony

lighting

  • desk: Zero 88 Level 12 plus DMX (sited at back of hall)
  • dimmers: Zero 88 Betapack 2 - Hardwired 12 X 10A
  • Lamps: 10 X Fresnel c/w Barndoor T26 650w; 2 X Selecon Acclaim Profile c/w T26 650w

audio-visual

  • NEC MT1065 Digital Projector: wall-mounted and keystone corrected
  • Pioneer DV-757 Ai DVD Player:
  • mounted projection screen: 5m x 4m

ancillary areas

  • bar
  • fully equipped catering-standard kitchen
  • spacious reception area
  • disabled toilet and baby-changing facilities
The Hall is wheelchair-friendly with level access to all areas. However, the ferry to the island contains four steps down into the vessel.

photo gallery

hall background

The spectacular building is a mix of the traditional and the modern. The original square hall and pyramidal wooden roof are still in place, but much-welcomed warmth and light have been brought into the space by means of an under-heated oak floor and roof windows. At the front and side of the hall the glass-fronted bar and reception areas complement the existing structures and traditional materials of the hall and surrounding buildings, while introducing a touch of the new and experimental to the island's architecture. This unique community building is both a celebration of the past and an inspiration for the future.

The opening of the hall could not have been achieved without the ideas, enthusiasm and hard work of the community, who put their time and labour into making the new building the special place that it has become.

The Easdale Island Community Hall is a centre for community, educational, social and arts activities. Ever-increasing audiences continue to enjoy the hall's unique island location, spectacular architecture and superb facilities, as well as appreciating the consistently high standard of performance and presentation which the Eilean Eisdeal Arts Programme offers.

history

The hall was built in 1871 as a drill hall for the volunteer force of the island population, which at that time numbered over 450. Being the only building on the island large enough to accommodate more than a few dozen people, it was customarily used for all social gatherings, meetings, ceilidhs, weddings, and as a church. As the population of Easdale Island dwindled almost to nothing during the 1950s, the hall ceased to be used as a meeting place and community hall. Its slate roof was stripped and it was turned into a storage shed for the local fishing industry.

In the 1980s fish processing equipment was installed and for a decade the hall was the centre of a small but thriving fish processing industry. When the fish factory moved to Balvicar in 1993 the hall became virtually derelict. It needed a new roof and floor, although the main structure was sound. It was bought in 1996 by islander Adrian Laycock with the intention of restoring it for the use of the islanders, whose population by this time was increasing again to over 50 permanent people.

The main building is 12 metres square in plan, with a 7 metre high central column supporting a pyramidal roof. The column is formed from a ships mast, generally agreed to be from the 630 ton sailing ship Norval which went down at the southern tip of near-by Inish Island in December 1870. The massive rafters are supported by eight heavy struts which radiate from the central column like the spokes of an umbrella. Flying struts in turn support the intermediate rafters in the corner quadrants. It is possible that these timbers also came from the wreck, which was carrying wood from Montreal to Glasgow. The instant impression of this intricate timberwork is one of eternal harmony with the island and its history.

Easdale Island Folk Museum

For more information on the history of The Hall and Easdale Island, please visit Easdale Island Folk Museum

Creative Scotland