Mike and his 5 friends are sailing around the islands off the west coast of Scotland on a yacht when they come across an island that isn't marked on any of their maps. Ignoring the signs, which warn them that the island is dangerous and that they should keep away, they land and set off to explore. They discover the remains of several dead animals and a ruined cottage, which contains some strange equipment. Then a helicopter appears and blows up their boat to prevent them from leaving the island and they realise that their mobile phones don't work. Soon some of them start to feel ill. Don't expect a happy ending because there isn't one. The moral of this story is that Danger, Keep Out signs shouldn't be ignored.
The story, which is written for the teenage market, is based on the real Scottish island of Gruinard, which is located in Gruinard Bay halfway between Gairloch and Ullapool. In 1942 the British government carried out chemical weapons experiments there with anthrax on sheep. The island was then quarantined until 1986 when it was chemically treated to kill the spores and the island was declared safe in 1990.
6/10 Islands covered - Gruinard
Gruinard Island from the mainland.
I haven't visited the island myself and don't intend to! At the closest point Gruinard is less than a mile from the mainland.
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