Portal:Scottish islands

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

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 1Aerial view of the ruins of a hermitage on Canna
Credit: Peter Van den Bossche
Image 2Sandy beach at Eoropie, Lewis
Credit: AmosWolfe
Image 3Shetland 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 4A scattered settlement on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, beneath Beinn Sciathan
Credit: Mipmapped
Image 5Eilean Donan Castle at the confluence of three sea lochs, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh
Credit: Diliff
Image 6The 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 7Satellite 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 8Common or harbour seal, seen off Lismore
Credit: Charles J Sharp
Image 9Blackhouses were the traditional form of house across the Hebrides and the Highlands; this example is at Arnol, Lewis
Credit: LornaMCampbell
Image 10The 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 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 12Baile Mòr, the village on Iona
Credit: Clydecoast
Image 13A boat leaving a slipway stacked with creels in Elgol Bay, Skye, with the Cuillin in the background
Credit: Paul Hermans
Image 14Alasdair 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 15Fishing boats in Stromness Harbour, Orkney
Credit: Renata
Image 16The tied island of St Ninian's Isle is joined to the Shetland Mainland by the largest tombolo in the UK
Credit: ThoWi
Image 17The highest of the Fairy Pools, a series of waterfalls near Glen Brittle, Skye
Credit: Drianmcdonald
Image 18Kilarrow Parish Church, known as the Round Church, is a Georgian building in Bowmore on Islay
Credit: Ronsteenvoorden
Image 19The 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 20Duart Castle, a 13th-century castle on Mull, the historical seat of Clan Maclean
Credit: Philippe Giabbanelli
Image 21The Corryvreckan Whirlpool in the narrow Gulf of Corryvreckan between Jura and Scarba
Credit: Walter Baxter
Image 22The main ridge of the Cuillin, Skye
Credit: Adrian Pingstone
Image 23Wildflowers in machair, a coastal dune grassland found in the Outer Hebrides and elsewhere
Credit: Jon Thomson
Image 24Sgùrr nan Gillean, in the Cuillin on Skye, from Sligachan
Credit: Diliff
Image 25Barra Airport is the only one in the world to use a beach as a regular runway
Credit: Steve Houldsworth
Image 26The Bruichladdich distillery, one of eight on Islay; single-malt whisky is a major product of the islands
Credit: Bdcl1881
Image 27Sandy beach at Mealista, Lewis
Credit: Peter Moore
Image 28The 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 29Neist Point Lighthouse on Skye was designed by David Alan Stevenson and dates from 1909
Credit: Lionel Ulmer
Image 30Fingal's Cave on Staffa
Credit: Unknown (c. 1900)
Image 31A common or harbour seal breast-feeding a pup on Skye
Credit: Nevit Dilmen
Image 32Aerial view of Kisimul Castle, a small medieval castle on an islet off Barra
Credit: DJI_0077
Image 33White-tailed eagle fishing off Mull, one of several islands to which the birds have been successfully re-introduced
Credit: Jacob Spinks
Image 34The cliffs of Eshaness, North Mainland, Shetland
Credit: ThoWi
Image 35Skye Bridge, opened in 1995; the toll was lifted in 2004
Credit: Gene Selkov
Image 36Rubha nan Gall lighthouse, Tobermory, Mull, built in 1857 by David and Thomas Stevenson, with a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry in the background
Credit: Colin
Image 37Portree, the main settlement on Skye
Credit: Bert Kaufmann

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

Adult

The northern gannet (Morus bassanus) is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. It is the largest seabird in the northern Atlantic. The sexes are similar in appearance. The adult northern gannet has a mainly white streamlined body with a long neck, and long and slender wings. It is 87–100 cm (34+1⁄2–39+1⁄2 in) long with a 170–180 cm (67–71 in) wingspan. The head and nape have a buff tinge that is more prominent in breeding season, and the wings are edged with dark brown-black feathers. The long, pointed bill is blue-grey, contrasting with black, bare skin around the mouth and eyes. Juveniles are mostly grey-brown, becoming increasingly white in the five years it takes them to reach maturity.

Nesting takes place in colonies on both sides of the North Atlantic, the largest of which are at Bass Rock (75,000 pairs as of 2014), St. Kilda (60,000 pairs as of 2013) and Ailsa Craig (33,000 pairs as of 2014) in Scotland, Grassholm in Wales, and Bonaventure Island (60,000 pairs in 2009) off the coast of Quebec. Its breeding range has extended northward and eastward, with colonies being established on Russia's Kola Peninsula in 1995 and Bear Island (the southernmost island of Svalbard), in 2011. Colonies are mostly located on offshore islands with cliffs, from which the birds can more easily launch into the air. The northern gannet undertakes seasonal migrations and catches fish (which are the mainstay of its diet) by making high-speed dives into the sea.

The northern gannet was previously hunted for food in certain parts of its range, and although that practice still continues in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and the Faroe Islands, the bird faces few other natural or man-made threats. Since its population is growing, the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers it a least-concern species. Because it is both a conspicuous and a common bird, it is referred to in several ancient myths and legends. (Full article...)

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Selected history & culture article

The Orkneyinga saga (Old Norse: [ˈorknˌœyjeŋɡɑ ˈsɑɣɑ]; also called the History of the Earls of Orkney and Jarls' Saga) is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and their relationship with other local polities, particularly Norway and Scotland. The saga has "no parallel in the social and literary record of Scotland" and is "the only medieval chronicle to have Orkney as the central place of action". The main focus of the work is the line of jarls who ruled the Earldom of Orkney, which constituted the Norðreyjar or Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland and there are frequent references to both archipelagoes throughout.

The narrative commences with a brief mythical ancestry tale and then proceeds to outline the Norse take-over of the Norðreyjar by Harald Fairhair – the take-over is not in doubt although the role of the king is no longer accepted by historians as a likelihood. The saga then outlines, with varying degrees of detail, the lives and times of the many jarls who ruled the islands between the 9th and 13th centuries. The extent to which the earlier sections in particular can be considered genuine history rather than fiction has been much debated by scholars.

There are several recurring themes in the Orkneyinga saga, including strife between brothers, relationships between the jarls and the Norwegian crown, and raiding in the Suðreyjar – the Hebrides and elsewhere. In part, the saga's purpose was to provide a history of the islands and enable its readers to "understand themselves through a knowledge of their origins" but even where its historical accuracy is lacking it provides modern scholars with insights into the motives of the writers and the politics of 13th century Orkney. (Full article...)

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Selected island

Skerryvore (from the Gaelic An Sgeir Mhòr meaning "The Great Skerry") is a remote island that lies off the west coast of Scotland, 11 nautical miles (20 kilometres) southwest of Tiree. Skerryvore Lighthouse is located on these rocks, built with some difficulty between 1838 and 1844 by Alan Stevenson.

At a height of 156 feet (48 metres) it is the tallest lighthouse in Scotland. The shore station was at Hynish on Tiree (which now houses the Skerryvore Lighthouse Museum); operations were later transferred to Erraid, west of Mull. The remoteness of the location led to the keepers receiving additional payments in kind. The light shone without a break from 1844 until a fire in 1954 shut down operations for five years. The lighthouse was automated in 1994. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... that after two thousand years or more of continuous habitation the Scottish island of Mingulay (old school house pictured) was abandoned by its residents in 1912?
... that in the Orkneyinga saga, after Olvir Rosta failed to gain a portion of the Earldom of Orkney, his grandmother was burned to death?
... that Skerryvore, off the west coast of Scotland, considered by some to be the world's most graceful lighthouse, was built by an uncle of Robert Louis Stevenson?
... that in 1739, the chiefs of Clan Macdonald of Sleat and Clan Macleod were involved in a scheme to kidnap their own clansfolk, transport them to the American Colonies, and sell them into slavery?

More did you know facts

Selected portrait

Image 1Seals hauled out by Lyrie Geo on Hoy
Credit: Claire Pegrum
Image 2Jurassic sandstone rock arch on the Strathaird peninsula of Skye
Credit: John Allan
Image 3Scottish Gaelic speakers in the 2011 census; the Outer Hebrides, Tiree, Raasay, Skye and Lismore have the highest proportion of speakers
Credit: SkateTier
Image 4A Hebridean spotted orchid in machair on Lewis
Credit: Etherp
Image 5Columba 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 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 7Puffins 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 8Eilean Ruairidh Mòr, one of many forested islands in Loch Maree
Credit: Jerry Sharp
Image 9The 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 10The 8th-century Kildalton Cross, Islay, one of the best-preserved Celtic crosses in Scotland
Credit: Tom Richardson
Image 11Fossilised dinosaur print on Staffin beach, Skye
Credit: maproom
Image 12Seabird colonies on a crag on the Brough of Birsay, Orkney
Credit: Tbc
Image 13The Standing Stones of Stenness, near Stromness, Orkney, started by 3100 BC and possibly Britain's oldest henge site
Credit: Fantoman400

Selected geography article

Keep and west wall of the castle

Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the site of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1357). In the latter part of the 14th century, the castle was granted to William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, by his uncle. It remained in the Douglases' hands for the next 300 years. Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned there in 1567–68, and forced to abdicate as queen, before escaping with the help of her gaoler's family. In 1588, the queen's gaoler inherited the title of Earl of Morton, and moved away from the castle. In 1675, Sir William Bruce, an architect, bought the castle and used it as a focal point for his garden; it was never again used as a residence.

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

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