Portal:Scottish islands

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The Scottish Islands Portal
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Looking from the Isle of Mull towards Ardnamurchan peninsula as the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry MV Clansman sails past the Rubha nan Gall lighthouse
Tobermory waterfront on Mull
Portree Waterfront, Isle of Skye
Seilebost on Harris
Clisham in the distance, Harris
Tiree
The Cuillin, Isle of Skye
Tombolo connecting St Ninian's Isle to Mainland, Shetland
View from Elgol on the Isle of Skye across to the Cuillin

Scotland has around 900 offshore islands, most of which are to be found in four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, sub-divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. There are also clusters of islands in the Firth of Clyde, Firth of Forth, and Solway Firth, and numerous small islands within the many bodies of fresh water in Scotland including Loch Lomond and Loch Maree. The largest island is Lewis and Harris which extends to 2,179 square kilometres, and there are a further 200 islands which are greater than 40 hectares in area. Of the remainder, several such as Staffa and the Flannan Isles are well known despite their small size. Some 94 Scottish islands are permanently inhabited, of which 89 are offshore islands. Between 2001 and 2011 Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702.

The geology and geomorphology of the islands is varied. Some, such as Skye and Mull, are mountainous, while others like Tiree and Sanday are relatively low lying. Many have bedrock made from ancient Archaean Lewisian Gneiss which was formed 3 billion years ago; Shapinsay and other Orkney islands are formed from Old Red Sandstone, which is 400 million years old; and others such as Rùm from more recent Tertiary volcanoes. Many of the islands are swept by strong tides, and the Corryvreckan tide race between Scarba and Jura is one of the largest whirlpools in the world. Other strong tides are to be found in the Pentland Firth between mainland Scotland and Orkney, and another example is the "Grey Dog" between Scarba and Lunga. (More on Scottish islands...)

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Selected picture

Image 1Fingal's Cave on Staffa
Credit: Unknown (c. 1900)
Image 2A boat leaving a slipway stacked with creels in Elgol Bay, Skye, with the Cuillin in the background
Credit: Paul Hermans
Image 3Rubha nan Gall lighthouse, Tobermory, Mull, built in 1857 by David and Thomas Stevenson, with a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry in the background
Credit: Colin
Image 4The cliffs of Eshaness, North Mainland, Shetland
Credit: ThoWi
Image 5Fishing boats in Stromness Harbour, Orkney
Credit: Renata
Image 6Aerial view of Kisimul Castle, a small medieval castle on an islet off Barra
Credit: DJI_0077
Image 7The tied island of St Ninian's Isle is joined to the Shetland Mainland by the largest tombolo in the UK
Credit: ThoWi
Image 8A scattered settlement on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, beneath Beinn Sciathan
Credit: Mipmapped
Image 9A common or harbour seal breast-feeding a pup on Skye
Credit: Nevit Dilmen
Image 10Portree, the main settlement on Skye
Credit: Bert Kaufmann
Image 11Aerial view of the low-lying island of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides, known for its sandy beaches backed by machair
Credit: Doc Searls
Image 12Shetland mouse-ear, a rare plant species unique to Shetland and found only on two serpentine hills in the Keen of Hamar reserve on the island of Unst
Credit: Melvin Grey
Image 13Common or harbour seal, seen off Lismore
Credit: Charles J Sharp
Image 14The Bruichladdich distillery, one of eight on Islay; single-malt whisky is a major product of the islands
Credit: Bdcl1881
Image 15Duart Castle, a 13th-century castle on Mull, the historical seat of Clan Maclean
Credit: Philippe Giabbanelli
Image 16Neist Point Lighthouse on Skye was designed by David Alan Stevenson and dates from 1909
Credit: Lionel Ulmer
Image 17The Neolithic farmstead of Knap of Howar on Papa Westray, Orkney, dates from 3700 BC and might be the oldest surviving stone dwelling in northern Europe
Credit: Me677
Image 18Kilarrow Parish Church, known as the Round Church, is a Georgian building in Bowmore on Islay
Credit: Ronsteenvoorden
Image 19Aerial view of the ruins of a hermitage on Canna
Credit: Peter Van den Bossche
Image 20Sandy beach at Eoropie, Lewis
Credit: AmosWolfe
Image 21Blackhouses were the traditional form of house across the Hebrides and the Highlands; this example is at Arnol, Lewis
Credit: LornaMCampbell
Image 22White-tailed eagle fishing off Mull, one of several islands to which the birds have been successfully re-introduced
Credit: Jacob Spinks
Image 23Skye Bridge, opened in 1995; the toll was lifted in 2004
Credit: Gene Selkov
Image 24The 1st-century Dun Carloway on Lewis is a well-preserved example of an Iron Age broch, a type of complex Atlantic roundhouse only found in Scotland
Credit: Morris R. Maciver
Image 25The Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, Orkney was built from two Nissen huts by Italian prisoners of war during World War 2; the interior frescoes are by Domenico Chiocchetti
Credit: Renata
Image 26The main ridge of the Cuillin, Skye
Credit: Adrian Pingstone
Image 27Barra Airport is the only one in the world to use a beach as a regular runway
Credit: Steve Houldsworth
Image 28Sgùrr nan Gillean, in the Cuillin on Skye, from Sligachan
Credit: Diliff
Image 29Sandy beach at Mealista, Lewis
Credit: Peter Moore
Image 30Wildflowers in machair, a coastal dune grassland found in the Outer Hebrides and elsewhere
Credit: Jon Thomson
Image 31The Corryvreckan Whirlpool in the narrow Gulf of Corryvreckan between Jura and Scarba
Credit: Walter Baxter
Image 32The ferry from Glenelg to Kylerhea on Skye has run for 400 years; the present boat, MV Glenachulish, is the only hand-operated turntable ferry still in operation
Credit: Wojsyl
Image 33The highest of the Fairy Pools, a series of waterfalls near Glen Brittle, Skye
Credit: Drianmcdonald
Image 34Satellite image of Skye, showing the surrounding islands including Rona, Raasay and Scalpay to the north east and Soay, Canna and Rùm to the south
Credit: NASA
Image 35Alasdair Crotach MacLeod is the first McLeod not to be buried on Iona; his tomb on Harris dates from 1528, and is among the finest of this period in Scotland
Credit: Gvdwiele
Image 36Eilean Donan Castle at the confluence of three sea lochs, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh
Credit: Diliff
Image 37Baile Mòr, the village on Iona
Credit: Clydecoast

Selected island group

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Orkney (/ˈɔːrkni/; Scots: Orkney; Old Norse: Orkneyjar; Norn: Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands (archaically "The Orkneys"), is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, the Mainland, has an area of 523 square kilometres (202 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney's largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall.

Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and an historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents.

The islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts. Orkney was colonised and later annexed by the Kingdom of Norway in 875 and settled by the Norsemen. In 1472, the Parliament of Scotland absorbed the Earldom of Orkney into the Kingdom of Scotland, following failure to pay a dowry promised to James III of Scotland by the family of his bride, Margaret of Denmark.

In addition to the Mainland, most of the remaining islands are divided into two groups: the North Isles and the South Isles. The local climate is relatively mild and the soils are extremely fertile; most of the land is farmed, and agriculture is the most important sector of the economy. The significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance; the amount of electricity that Orkney generates annually from renewable energy sources exceeds its demand. Daytime temperatures generally range between 7 °C (45 °F) in winter and 16 °C (61 °F) in summer. (Full article...)

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News

Proposed spaceport site at Lamma Ness, Unst

12 February: The BiFab construction yard at Arnish near Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, is purchased by InfraStrata.
11 February: Wild fires occur in Benbecula; and at Achmore and Sildinish in the Isle of Lewis; Horsaclete in Harris; Brevig in Barra; and Eubhal in North Uist.
19 January: Barra and Vatersay are put under tier-4 restrictions after an outbreak of Covid-19.
18 January: The Shetland Space Centre submits plans for a spaceport on Unst (proposed site pictured), Shetland, including three rocket launch pads.
8 January: Distilleries in Orkney and South Uist receive government grants to research ways of reducing their CO₂ emissions.
4 January: After the UK leaves the European Union, the Northern Celt, an Irish fishing boat based out of Greencastle, County Donegal, is ordered to leave the 12-nautical-mile zone around Rockall by officers of Marine Scotland.
1 January: A total of 72 cases of Covid-19 are recorded in an ongoing outbreak in Shetland.
9 December: A review by a committee of MSPs into the commissioning and building of two new dual-fuel Caledonian MacBrayne ferries, MV Glen Sannox and "hull 802", criticises CMAL, Transport Scotland and the Scottish government, as well as the ship builders, Ferguson Marine.
3 December: North-east Lewis, Sea of the Hebrides and Shiant East Bank are designated Marine Protected Areas, while East Mainland Coast Shetland, Sound of Gigha, Coll and Tiree, Rùm, the west coast of the Outer Hebrides, and the waters off St Kilda and Foula are designated Special Protection Areas.
30 November: Michael Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, and David Stewart and John Finnie, MSPs for the Highlands and Islands region, will stand down at the 2021 election.
17 November: Phytophthora ramorum-infected larch trees in Arran are to be felled over a 543-acre area, to prevent the fungus-like pathogen from spreading.
4 November: The Scottish Wildlife Trust objects to a proposed salmon farm in the Marine Protected Area of Wester Ross, near Horse Island, Summer Isles, because of the potential impact on kelp forests and maerl beds.

More news from the Scottish islands

Selected fauna

Soay ewe

The Soay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep (Ovis aries) descended from a population of feral sheep on the 100-hectare (250-acre) island of Soay in the St Kilda Archipelago, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) from the Western Isles of Scotland. It is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep breeds.

It remains physically similar to the wild ancestors of domestic sheep, the Mediterranean mouflon and the horned urial sheep of Central Asia. It is much smaller than modern domesticated sheep but hardier, and is extraordinarily agile, tending to take refuge amongst the cliffs when frightened. Soays may be solid black or brown, or more often blonde or dark brown with buffish-white underbelly and rump (known as lachdann in Scottish Gaelic, which is cognate to the Manx loaghtan); a few have white markings on the face.

In the early twentieth century, some Soay sheep were relocated to establish exotic flocks, such as the flock of "Park Soay" at Woburn Abbey, established by the Duke of Bedford in 1910, and selected for "primitive" characteristics. A number of Soay sheep were translocated from Soay to another of the St Kilda group, the island of Hirta by the Marquess of Bute in the 1930s, after the human population and their sheep were evacuated. The name of the island is from Old Norse Seyðoy, meaning "Island of Sheep". The breed was introduced to and live wild on Holy Isle off Arran.

Soay sheep were introduced from St Kilda to Lundy, an island in the Bristol Channel, by Martin Coles Harman soon after he purchased the island in 1925. There is also a small population living wild in and around the Cheddar Gorge in Somerset. The breed was used in experimental archaeology at Butser Ancient Farm because it closely resembles British prehistoric breeds. (Full article...)

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Selected history & culture article

The stoor worm, or Mester Stoor Worm, was a gigantic evil sea serpent of Orcadian folklore, capable of contaminating plants and destroying animals and humans with its putrid breath. It is probably an Orkney variant of the Norse Jörmungandr, also known as the Midgard Serpent, or world serpent, and has been described as a sea dragon.

The king of one country threatened by the beast's arrival was advised to offer it a weekly sacrifice of seven virgins. In desperation, the king eventually issued a proclamation offering his kingdom, his daughter's hand in marriage, and a magic sword to anyone who could destroy the monster. Assipattle, the youngest son of a local farmer, defeated the creature; as it died its teeth fell out to become the islands of Orkney, Shetland and the Faroes, and its body became Iceland.

Similarities between Assipatle's defeat of the monster and other dragon-slayer tales, including Herakles' destruction of a sea monster to save Hesione, have been noted by several authors. It has been suggested that tales of this genre evolved during a period of enlightenment when human sacrifices to bestial divinities were beginning to be suppressed. (Full article...)

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Selected island

Aerial view of Staffa, with The Colonnade in the foreground and Am Buchaille to the right

Staffa (Scottish Gaelic: Stafa, pronounced [ˈs̪t̪afa], from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from vertically placed tree-logs.

Staffa lies about 10 kilometres (6 miles) west of the Isle of Mull; its area is 33 hectares (82 acres) and the highest point is 42 metres (138 feet) above sea level.

The island came to prominence in the late 18th century after a visit by Sir Joseph Banks. He and his fellow-travellers extolled the natural beauty of the basalt columns in general and of the island's main sea cavern, which Banks renamed 'Fingal's Cave'. Their visit was followed by those of many other prominent personalities throughout the next two centuries, including Queen Victoria and Felix Mendelssohn. The latter's Hebrides Overture brought further fame to the island, which was by then uninhabited. It is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...that the MacCrimmons (pictured), one of Scotland's most famous bagpiping families, have been thought to have roots in Cremona, Italy?
... that prehistoric structures on Whalsay include the Neolithic Benie Hoose, Pettigarths Field Cairns and the Standing Stones of Yoxie, and the Iron Age Huxter Fort?
... that the German battleship SMS König sank the Russian battleship Slava during Operation Albion in 1917?
... that the Fairy Flag is traditionally thought to have been a gift from the fairies to the chiefs of Clan Macleod?

More did you know facts

Selected portrait

Image 1A Hebridean spotted orchid in machair on Lewis
Credit: Etherp
Image 2Seabird colonies on a crag on the Brough of Birsay, Orkney
Credit: Tbc
Image 3Seals hauled out by Lyrie Geo on Hoy
Credit: Claire Pegrum
Image 4Columba was a 6th-century Irish-born saint who spread Christianity in Scotland and founded Iona Abbey, where he is commemorated in this stained-glass window
Credit: Vegansoldier
Image 5The Standing Stones of Stenness, near Stromness, Orkney, started by 3100 BC and possibly Britain's oldest henge site
Credit: Fantoman400
Image 6Reconstruction of a timber crannog, an ancient man-made island, on Loch Tay; several hundred crannog sites have been recorded in Scotland
Credit: Dave Morris
Image 7The 8th-century Kildalton Cross, Islay, one of the best-preserved Celtic crosses in Scotland
Credit: Tom Richardson
Image 8The North Carr Beacon at low tide; the unlit beacon was built between 1813 and 1821 by Robert Stevenson to warn shipping of the North Carr Reef near Fife Ness
Credit: Kathrinpassig
Image 9Fossilised dinosaur print on Staffin beach, Skye
Credit: maproom
Image 10Puffins and guillemots on Lunga in the Treshnish Isles, with Bac Mòr (known as Dutchman's Cap for its distinctive shape) in the background
Credit: Simaron
Image 11Scottish Gaelic speakers in the 2011 census; the Outer Hebrides, Tiree, Raasay, Skye and Lismore have the highest proportion of speakers
Credit: SkateTier
Image 12Jurassic sandstone rock arch on the Strathaird peninsula of Skye
Credit: John Allan
Image 13Eilean Ruairidh Mòr, one of many forested islands in Loch Maree
Credit: Jerry Sharp

Selected geography article

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ([ˌs̪ɔɫ̪ ˌmoɾ ˈɔs̪t̪ɪkʲ]) (Great Barn of Ostaig) is a public higher education college situated in the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, Scotland with an associate campus at Bowmore on the island of Islay. Sabhal Mòr is an independent Academic Partner in the federal University of the Highlands and Islands. Its sole medium of instruction on degree courses is Scottish Gaelic.

Since its foundation in 1973 Sabhal Mòr Ostaig has played a crucial role in the linguistic and cultural renaissance of Gaelic in Scotland. The college enjoys an international reputation for the study of the history and literature of the Gàidhealtachd, past and present; for research into political, educational, and community aspects of minority language maintenance and revitalisation; and for its engagement with Gaelic creative arts, as well as with broadcast and online media.

Sabhal Mòr's research base has been further strengthened to take in sociolinguistics, through the Soillse initiative; corpus planning and historical lexicography, through the Stòrdata Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig/Gaelic Terminology Database and the Faclair na Gàidhlig/Dictionary of Scottish Gaelic projects; and toponomy, through the Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba/Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland advisory partnership, all based at the college. Research capacity is underpinned by the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Library with its internationally important collections of material related to Gaelic and to the Highlands, and further complemented by the proximity of two major Highland archives: those of MacDonald of Sleat in the Museum of the Isles by Armadale Castle, and the MacLeod papers in Dunvegan Castle. Through academic collaboration and student exchanges, the college maintains close links with partner institutions in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Nova Scotia.

With established residencies for writers, artists, musicians, and dramatists; its prominent degree courses in media and traditional music; its hosting of the national folklore digitisation project Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches; and Fàs, its £8-million centre for creative industries, Sabhal Mòr fulfils an important cultural remit both in the Highlands and in Scotland more generally. (Full article...)

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Selected biography

Sorley MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Somhairle MacGill-Eain; 26 October 1911 – 24 November 1996) was a Scottish Gaelic poet, described by the Scottish Poetry Library as "one of the major Scottish poets of the modern era" because of his "mastery of his chosen medium and his engagement with the European poetic tradition and European politics". Nobel Prize Laureate Seamus Heaney credited MacLean with saving Scottish Gaelic poetry.

He was raised in a strict Presbyterian family on the island of Raasay, immersed in Gaelic culture and literature from birth, but abandoned religion for socialism. In the late 1930s, he befriended many Scottish Renaissance figures, such as Hugh MacDiarmid and Douglas Young. He was wounded three times while serving in the Royal Corps of Signals during the North African Campaign. MacLean published little after the war, due to his perfectionism. In 1956, he became head teacher at Plockton High School, where he advocated for the use of the Gaelic language in formal education.

In his poetry, MacLean juxtaposed traditional Gaelic elements with mainstream European elements, frequently comparing the Highland Clearances with contemporary events, especially the Spanish Civil War. His work was a unique fusion of traditional and modern elements that has been credited with restoring Gaelic tradition to its proper place and reinvigorating and modernizing the Gaelic language. Although his most influential works, Dàin do Eimhir and An Cuilthionn, were published in 1943, MacLean did not become well known until the 1970s, when his works were published in English translation. His later poem Hallaig, published 1954, achieved "cult status" outside Gaelic-speaking circles for its supernatural representation of a village depopulated in the Highland Clearances and came to represent all Scottish Gaelic poetry in the English-speaking imagination. (Full article...)

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Selected panorama

Image 1Iona Abbey
Credit: Oliver-Bonjoch
Image 2Dunvegan Castle, a 14th-century castle on Skye, the seat of Clan MacLeod
Credit: Mihael Grmek
Image 3View from Canna, overlooking Sanday towards Rùm
Credit: Emoscopes
Image 4Loch Fada, Trotternish, on Skye, looking towards The Storr
Credit: Klaus with K
Image 5Quiraing, Trotternish, on Skye
Credit: Stefan Krause
Image 6Arran's northern hills, including Goat Fell, the island's highest point
Credit: Colin
Image 7The colourful Main Street of Tobermory on Mull
Credit: Colin
Image 8View towards the Cuillin on Skye
Credit: Stefan Krause
Image 9Eilean Donan
Credit: Stefan Krause
Image 10The Storr ridge on Skye, with the Old Man of Storr (right)
Credit: Klaus with K
Image 11Small freshwater islets on Loch Assynt
Credit: Vincent
Image 12The remains of the Old Pier at Salen, Mull
Credit: Colin

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