From the shores of the mainland, the island appears very quiet and peaceful.
But in the 1940s, it was a different story.
Anthrax is one of the best known agents of biological warfare, and one of the most feared.
When not treated, condition of the patient rapidly deteriorates resulting in a swift death within 48 hours.
Thousands of prisoners of war died after being intentionally infected with the bacterium.
In the early years of the Second World War, the Allies began investigating anthrax.
So they needed a remote and uninhabited island where they could carry out testsone that could be kept quarantined.
Gruinard Island was found suitable for the purpose.
A declassified film showing the trials at Gruinard Island.
Within days of exposure, the sheep were dropping like flies.
This became the mission of Operation Vegetariana diabolic plan to drop anthrax-infected linseed cakes over German fields.
Five million cakes were made ready to be disseminated in Germany.
Some of the cakes were also tested on the sheep at Gruinard Island.
At the end of the war, the cakes were destroyed in an incinerator.
280 tonnes of formaldehyde was sprayed over the island and the worst-contaminated topsoil around the dispersal site was removed.
To see whether the clean-up was successful, a flock of sheep was released on the island.
No ill effects were seen.
Finally, four years after the soil was soaked in formaldehyde, the island was deemed safe to visit.
The junior Defence Minister himself visited the island and removed the warning signs.
Also see:Vozrozhdeniya Island, a similar island from Russian tests on biological weapons.
Photo credit:Kevin Walsh/Flickr
