The Scottish Islands Portal
Welcome! — Fàilte! — Walcome!
-
Portree Waterfront, Isle of Skye -
Tombolo connecting St Ninian's Isle to Mainland, Shetland -
-
The Cuillin, Isle of Skye -
Looking from the Isle of Mull towards Ardnamurchan peninsula as the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry MV Clansman sails past the Rubha nan Gall lighthouse -
View from Elgol on the Isle of Skye across to the Cuillin -
-
-
Seilebost on Harris
_P-SCO_Banner.jpg){kind=small}
_P-SCO_Banner.jpg){kind=small}
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...)
Selected picture
-
-
Eilean Donan Castle at the confluence of three sea lochs, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch AlshCredit: Diliff
-
The Bruichladdich distillery, one of eight on Islay; single-malt whisky is a major product of the islandsCredit: Bdcl1881
-
-
-
-
-
The tied island of St Ninian's Isle is joined to the Shetland Mainland by the largest tombolo in the UKCredit: ThoWi
-
Barra Airport is the only one in the world to use a beach as a regular runwayCredit: Steve Houldsworth
-
Alasdair 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 ScotlandCredit: Gvdwiele
-
-
Blackhouses were the traditional form of house across the Hebrides and the Highlands; this example is at Arnol, LewisCredit: LornaMCampbell
-
Wildflowers in machair, a coastal dune grassland found in the Outer Hebrides and elsewhereCredit: Jon Thomson
-
Neist Point Lighthouse on Skye was designed by David Alan Stevenson and dates from 1909Credit: Lionel Ulmer
-
Duart Castle, a 13th-century castle on Mull, the historical seat of Clan MacleanCredit: Philippe Giabbanelli
-
White-tailed eagle fishing off Mull, one of several islands to which the birds have been successfully re-introducedCredit: Jacob Spinks
-
The 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 operationCredit: Wojsyl
-
Kilarrow Parish Church, known as the Round Church, is a Georgian building in Bowmore on IslayCredit: Ronsteenvoorden
-
Baile Mòr, the village on IonaCredit: Clydecoast
-
-
Skye Bridge, opened in 1995; the toll was lifted in 2004Credit: Gene Selkov
-
The 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 ChiocchettiCredit: Renata
-
-
-
-
-
The cliffs of Eshaness, North Mainland, ShetlandCredit: ThoWi
-
Shetland 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 UnstCredit: Melvin Grey
-
The 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 ScotlandCredit: Morris R. Maciver
-
-
-
-
Rubha nan Gall lighthouse, Tobermory, Mull, built in 1857 by David and Thomas Stevenson, with a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry in the backgroundCredit: Colin
-
-
The Neolithic farmstead of Knap of Howar on Papa Westray, Orkney, dates from 3700 BC and might be the oldest surviving stone dwelling in northern EuropeCredit: Me677
-
The Corryvreckan Whirlpool in the narrow Gulf of Corryvreckan between Jura and ScarbaCredit: Walter Baxter
-
Aerial view of the ruins of a hermitage on CannaCredit: Peter Van den Bossche
.jpg)
.jpg)
_2.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Selected island group
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...)
News
- 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.
Selected fauna
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...)
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...)
Selected island
.jpg)
Rùm (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [rˠuːm]), a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum (/rʌm/ rum), is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland, in the district of Lochaber. For much of the 20th century the name became Rhum, a spelling invented by the former owner, Sir George Bullough, because he did not relish the idea of having the title "Laird of Rum".
It is the largest of the Small Isles, and the 15th largest Scottish island, and is inhabited by 40 people, all of whom live in the hamlet of Kinloch on the east coast. The island has been inhabited since the 8th millennium BC and provides some of the earliest known evidence of human occupation in Scotland. The early Celtic and Norse settlers left only a few written accounts and artefacts. From the 12th to 13th centuries on, the island was held by various clans including the MacLeans of Coll. The population grew to over 400 by the late 18th century but was cleared of its indigenous population between 1826 and 1828. The island then became a sporting estate, the exotic Kinloch Castle being constructed by the Bulloughs in 1900. Rùm was purchased by the Nature Conservancy Council in 1957.
Rùm is mainly igneous in origin, and its mountains have been eroded by Pleistocene glaciation. It is now an important study site for research in ecology, especially of red deer, and is the site of a successful reintroduction programme for the white-tailed sea eagle. Its economy is entirely dependent on NatureScot, a public body that now manages the island, and there have been calls for a greater diversity of housing provision. A Caledonian MacBrayne ferry links the island with the mainland town of Mallaig. (Full article...)
Did you know?
- ... that the discoverer of Scotland's ancient Stanydale Temple (pictured) thought it was patterned after temples in Malta?
- ... that after William Dubh MacLeod was killed in 1480 at the Battle of Bloody Bay, he was the last MacLeod chief to be buried on the isle of Iona?
- ... that the naturally rocky knoll Dùn Foulag, on the isle of Coll within the Scottish Hebrides, was once mistakenly thought to have been the ruined remains of a fortress?
- ... that according to a 13th century saga, Þórketill Þórmóðsson, and two of his sons, were slain in a loch near the Isle of Skye, but another son survived by leaping onto a cask that floated by?
Selected portrait
-
Seals hauled out by Lyrie Geo on HoyCredit: Claire Pegrum
-
The Standing Stones of Stenness, near Stromness, Orkney, started by 3100 BC and possibly Britain's oldest henge siteCredit: Fantoman400
-
-
-
Scottish Gaelic speakers in the 2011 census; the Outer Hebrides, Tiree, Raasay, Skye and Lismore have the highest proportion of speakersCredit: SkateTier
-
-
-
-
Puffins and guillemots on Lunga in the Treshnish Isles, with Bac Mòr (known as Dutchman's Cap for its distinctive shape) in the backgroundCredit: Simaron
-
The 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 NessCredit: Kathrinpassig
-
The 8th-century Kildalton Cross, Islay, one of the best-preserved Celtic crosses in ScotlandCredit: Tom Richardson
-
Columba was a 6th-century Irish-born saint who spread Christianity in Scotland and founded Iona Abbey, where he is commemorated in this stained-glass windowCredit: Vegansoldier
-
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...)
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...)
Related portals
Selected panorama
-
Iona AbbeyCredit: Oliver-Bonjoch
-
-
Small freshwater islets on Loch AssyntCredit: Vincent
-
Eilean DonanCredit: Stefan Krause
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Topics
|  | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Categories
The main category is Islands of Scotland, with subcategories
Things you can do
- Add new articles to the project by placing {{WPSI|class=|importance=}} on the talk page
- Add a link to the portal in the "See also" section of relevant articles with {{Portal|Scottish islands}}
- Take requested photographs or create requested pages, including Prehistoric Hebrides, Trialabreac, Dog Isle...
- Expand a Scottish Islands stub into a full article, adding images, citations, references and infoboxes; did you know that if you expand one 5x, you can nominate it for Did You Know?
- Improve one of the highest priority articles, including Mull, Bute, North & South Uist, Columba, Highland Clearances, Sorley MacLean, St Magnus Cathedral...
- Follow these hints to improve a B-class article and nominate it for Good Article
- Suggest articles, pictures, interesting facts, events and news to be featured here on the portal
Wikiproject
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
