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Please be aware that the website will be undergoing routine maintenance work between 8am–9am on Tuesday 27 August. At this time, the site may not be available. If this happens, please try again after 9am.
Please note Canna House and its garden are closed until spring 2025.
About this place
Thousands of years of history and home to 20,000 breeding seabirds
Take your binoculars – Canna is a bird sanctuary and the island’s coastline supports over 20,000 breeding seabirds.
Seek out the Punishment Stone, where unruly islanders had their thumbs wedged into the hole.
Discover the amazingly rich archaeological landscape – from prehistoric fortifications to early 19th-century abandoned settlements.
The Isle of Canna, along with adjoining island Sanday, forms part of the Small Isles – an archipelago of islands situated in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides.
It is an incredibly special place with a passionate and engaged community. Most of the island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest thanks to its geographical and biological importance. It also has a Special Protection Area due to its 20,000 breeding seabirds, and it is part of the wider Small Isles National Scenic Area designation.
Canna was bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland in 1981 by the previous owners, Gaelic scholars John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Fay Shaw. Together, they amassed and researched a huge archive of Gaelic and Celtic songs, stories, poetry as well as a unique collection of butterflies and moths.
Calling all seabird lovers, dog walkers, visitors and those with an internet connection! Iconic species such as puffins are under threat. But we can help to protect them with your support.
