Portal:Scottish islands

The Scottish Islands Portal
Welcome! — Fàilte! — Walcome!

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   The Cuillin, Isle of Skye
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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
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   Tombolo connecting St Ninian's Isle to Mainland, Shetland
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   Portree Waterfront, Isle of Skye
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   Tobermory waterfront on Mull
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   Clisham in the distance, Harris
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   Seilebost on Harris
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   Tiree
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   View from Elgol on the Isle of Skye across to the Cuillin

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Relief map of Scotland, showing some of the numerous offshore islands

Old Man of Hoy, Orkney

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 km² (841 sq mi), and there are a further 200 islands which are greater than 40 hectares (100 acres) 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

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  Sgùrr nan Gillean, in the Cuillin on Skye, from Sligachan

  Credit: Diliff

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  Satellite 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

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  A scattered settlement on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, beneath Beinn Sciathan

  Credit: Mipmapped

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  Duart Castle, a 13th-century castle on Mull, the historical seat of Clan Maclean

  Credit: Philippe Giabbanelli

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  Common or harbour seal, seen off Lismore

  Credit: Charles J Sharp

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  The tied island of St Ninian's Isle is joined to the Shetland Mainland by the largest tombolo in the UK

  Credit: ThoWi

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  Sandy beach at Eoropie, Lewis

  Credit: AmosWolfe

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  Rubha nan Gall lighthouse, Tobermory, Mull, built in 1857 by David and Thomas Stevenson, with a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry in the background

  Credit: Colin

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  Barra Airport is the only one in the world to use a beach as a regular runway

  Credit: Steve Houldsworth

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  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 operation

  Credit: Wojsyl

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  Portree, the main settlement on Skye

  Credit: Bert Kaufmann

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  A boat leaving a slipway stacked with creels in Elgol Bay, Skye, with the Cuillin in the background

  Credit: Paul Hermans

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  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 Scotland

  Credit: Morris R. Maciver

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  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 Chiocchetti

  Credit: Renata

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  Baile Mòr, the village on Iona

  Credit: Clydecoast

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  A common or harbour seal breast-feeding a pup on Skye

  Credit: Nevit Dilmen

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  The Corryvreckan Whirlpool in the narrow Gulf of Corryvreckan between Jura and Scarba

  Credit: Walter Baxter

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  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 Scotland

  Credit: Gvdwiele

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  White-tailed eagle fishing off Mull, one of several islands to which the birds have been successfully re-introduced

  Credit: Jacob Spinks

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  Aerial view of the low-lying island of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides, known for its sandy beaches backed by machair

  Credit: Doc Searls

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  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 Europe

  Credit: Me677

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  The highest of the Fairy Pools, a series of waterfalls near Glen Brittle, Skye

  Credit: Drianmcdonald

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  Fingal's Cave on Staffa

  Credit: Unknown (c. 1900)

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  The Bruichladdich distillery, one of eight on Islay; single-malt whisky is a major product of the islands

  Credit: Bdcl1881

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  The main ridge of the Cuillin, Skye

  Credit: Adrian Pingstone

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  Kilarrow Parish Church, known as the Round Church, is a Georgian building in Bowmore on Islay

  Credit: Ronsteenvoorden

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  Sandy beach at Mealista, Lewis

  Credit: Peter Moore

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  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 Unst

  Credit: Melvin Grey

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  Skye Bridge, opened in 1995; the toll was lifted in 2004

  Credit: Gene Selkov

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  Wildflowers in machair, a coastal dune grassland found in the Outer Hebrides and elsewhere

  Credit: Jon Thomson

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  Blackhouses were the traditional form of house across the Hebrides and the Highlands; this example is at Arnol, Lewis

  Credit: LornaMCampbell

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  Fishing boats in Stromness Harbour, Orkney

  Credit: Renata

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  Eilean Donan Castle at the confluence of three sea lochs, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh

  Credit: Diliff

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  The cliffs of Eshaness, North Mainland, Shetland

  Credit: ThoWi

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  Aerial view of the ruins of a hermitage on Canna

  Credit: Peter Van den Bossche

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  Aerial view of Kisimul Castle, a small medieval castle on an islet off Barra

  Credit: DJI_0077

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  Neist Point Lighthouse on Skye was designed by David Alan Stevenson and dates from 1909

  Credit: Lionel Ulmer

Selected island group

The Flannan Isles (Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan Flannach) or the Seven Hunters are a small island group in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, approximately 32 kilometres (17+1⁄2 nautical miles) west of the Isle of Lewis. They may take their name from Saint Flannan, the 7th century Irish preacher and abbot.

The islands have been devoid of permanent residents since the automation of Flannan Isles Lighthouse in 1971. (Full article...)

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.

Selected fauna

At Skomer, Wales

The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), also known as the common puffin, is a species of seabird in the auk family. It is the only puffin native to the Atlantic Ocean; two related species, the tufted puffin and the horned puffin being found in the northeastern Pacific. The Atlantic puffin breeds in Russia, Iceland, Ireland, Britain, Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and the Faroe Islands, and as far south as Maine in the west and France in the east. It is most commonly found in the Westman Islands, Iceland. Although it has a large population and a wide range, the species has declined rapidly, at least in parts of its range, resulting in it being rated as vulnerable by the IUCN. On land, it has the typical upright stance of an auk. At sea, it swims on the surface and feeds on zooplankton, small fish, and crabs, which it catches by diving underwater, using its wings for propulsion.

This puffin has a black crown and back, light grey cheek patches, and a white body and underparts. Its broad, boldly marked red-and-black beak and orange legs contrast with its plumage. It moults while at sea in the winter, and some of the brightly coloured facial characteristics are lost, with colour returning during the spring. The external appearances of the adult male and female are identical, though the male is usually slightly larger. The juvenile has similar plumage, but its cheek patches are dark grey. The juvenile does not have brightly coloured head ornamentation, its bill is narrower and is dark grey with a yellowish-brown tip, and its legs and feet are also dark. Puffins from northern populations are typically larger than in the south and these populations are generally considered a different subspecies.

Spending the autumn and winter in the open ocean of the cold northern seas, the Atlantic puffin returns to coastal areas at the start of the breeding season in late spring. It nests in clifftop colonies, digging a burrow in which a single white egg is laid. Chicks mostly feed on whole fish and grow rapidly. After about 6 weeks, they are fully fledged and make their way at night to the sea. They swim away from the shore and do not return to land for several years.

Colonies are mostly on islands with no terrestrial predators, but adult birds and newly fledged chicks are at risk of attacks from the air by gulls and skuas. Sometimes, a bird such as an Arctic skua or blackback gull can cause a puffin arriving with a beak full of fish to drop all the fish the puffin was holding in its mouth. The puffin's striking appearance, large, colourful bill, waddling gait, and behaviour have given rise to nicknames such as "clown of the sea" or "sea parrot". It is the official bird of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. (Full article...)

Selected history & culture article

The Little Minch, home to the blue men

The blue men of the Minch, also known as storm kelpies (Scottish Gaelic: na fir ghorma Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [nə fiɾʲ ˈɣɔɾɔmə]), are mythological creatures inhabiting the stretch of water between the northern Outer Hebrides and mainland Scotland, looking for sailors to drown and stricken boats to sink.

Apart from their blue colour, the mythical creatures look much like humans, and are about the same size. They have the power to create storms, but when the weather is fine they float sleeping on or just below the surface of the water. The blue men swim with their torsos raised out of the sea, twisting and diving as porpoises do. They are able to speak, and when a group approaches a ship its chief may shout two lines of poetry to the master of the vessel and challenge him to complete the verse. If the skipper fails in that task then the blue men will attempt to capsize his ship.

Suggestions to explain the mythical blue men include that they may be a personification of the sea, or originate with the Picts, whose painted bodies may have given the impression of men raising themselves out of the water if they were seen crossing the sea in boats that might have resembled kayaks. The genesis of the blue men may alternatively lie with the North African slaves the Vikings took with them to Scotland, where they spent the winter months close to the Shiant Isles in the Minch. (Full article...)

Selected island

Dubh Artach skerry and lighthouse in 2014

Dubh Artach (/duː ˈɑːrtɑːx/; Scottish Gaelic: Dubh Hirteach [t̪u ˈhirˠʃtʃəx]) is a remote skerry of basalt rock off the west coast of Scotland lying 18 miles (29 km) west of Colonsay and 15 miles (24 km) south-west of the Ross of Mull.

A lighthouse designed by Thomas Stevenson with a tower height of 145 feet (44 m) was erected between 1867 and 1872 with a shore station constructed on the isle of Erraid. The rock is subject to extraordinary sea conditions with waves of 92 feet (28 m) or more being encountered by the keepers. Despite these adverse conditions several men served the light for lengthy periods until it was automated in 1971. Dubh Artach is the official name of the lighthouse, although the skerry itself is also known as Dubh Hirteach. Various interpretations have been provided for the original meaning of the Gaelic name, of which "The Black Rock" is the most likely. (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

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  Reconstruction of a timber crannog, an ancient man-made island, on Loch Tay; several hundred crannog sites have been recorded in Scotland

  Credit: Dave Morris

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  Seabird colonies on a crag on the Brough of Birsay, Orkney

  Credit: Tbc

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  Scottish Gaelic speakers in the 2011 census; the Outer Hebrides, Tiree, Raasay, Skye and Lismore have the highest proportion of speakers

  Credit: SkateTier

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  The Standing Stones of Stenness, near Stromness, Orkney, started by 3100 BC and possibly Britain's oldest henge site

  Credit: Fantoman400

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  Jurassic sandstone rock arch on the Strathaird peninsula of Skye

  Credit: John Allan

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  Fossilised dinosaur print on Staffin beach, Skye

  Credit: maproom

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  A Hebridean spotted orchid in machair on Lewis

  Credit: Etherp

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  Eilean Ruairidh Mòr, one of many forested islands in Loch Maree

  Credit: Jerry Sharp

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  Puffins 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

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  The 8th-century Kildalton Cross, Islay, one of the best-preserved Celtic crosses in Scotland

  Credit: Tom Richardson

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  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 Ness

  Credit: Kathrinpassig

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  Seals hauled out by Lyrie Geo on Hoy

  Credit: Claire Pegrum

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  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 window

  Credit: Vegansoldier

Selected geography article

The northern Cuillin (Sgùrr nan Gillean, Am Basteir and Bruach na Frìthe) from Sligachan.

The Cuillin (Scottish Gaelic: An Cuiltheann) is a range of mostly jagged rocky mountains on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The main Cuillin ridge is also called the Black Cuillin to distinguish it from the Red Cuillin (na Beanntan Dearga), which lie to the east of Glen Sligachan.

The peaks of the Black Cuillin are mainly composed of gabbro, a very rough igneous rock which provides a superb grip for mountaineers; and basalt, which can be very slippery when wet. The rocks forming the ridge of the Black Cuillin (and outliers such Blà Bheinn) are dark, particularly in the shade, but when in sunlight the Black Cuillin can appear grey to brown. The main ridge forms a narrow crest, with steep cliffs and scree slopes. The ridge is about 14 kilometres (8+1⁄2 miles) long (from Gars-bheinn in the south to Sgùrr nan Gillean in the northeast), and curves in an irregular semi-circle around Loch Coruisk, which lies at the heart of the range. The highest point of the Cuillin, and of the Isle of Skye, is Sgùrr Alasdair in the Black Cuillin at 992 m (3,255 ft).

The Red Cuillin are mainly composed of granite, which is paler than the gabbro (with a reddish tinge from some angles in some lights) and has weathered into more rounded hills with vegetation cover to summit level and long scree slopes on their flanks. These hills are lower and, being less rocky, have fewer scrambles or climbs. The highest point of the red hills is Glamaig at 775 m (2,543 ft), one of only two Corbetts on Skye (the other being Garbh-bheinn, part of the small group of gabbro outliers surrounding Blà Bheinn).

The scenic beauty of the Cuillin has led to it being designated a national scenic area, one of forty such areas in Scotland. A Scottish Natural Heritage review of the special qualities of the Cuillin stated:

The mountains rise up dramatically from the sea creating formidable, enclosed sea lochs, with the absence of foothills enhancing their vast scale. Many iconic views of Scotland are centred here, whether Sgurr nan Gillean soaring above Sligachan, Loch Scavaig and the Cuillin ridge from Elgol, or Bla Bheinn above Torrin.

— Scottish Natural Heritage

(Full article...)

Selected biography

Allison Balfour lived in Scotland, an area of Stenness on mainland Orkney.

The 1594 trial of alleged witch Allison Balfour or Margaret Balfour is one of the most frequently cited Scottish witchcraft cases. Balfour lived in the Orkney Islands of Scotland in the area of Stenness. At that time in Scotland, the Scottish Witchcraft Act 1563 had made a conviction for witchcraft punishable by death.

Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney, known as Black Patie, had control of Orkney in 1594 at the time of Balfour's trial. Patie was convinced that his younger brothers, especially John Stewart, Earl of Carrick, were plotting to kill him. Patie discovered poison in the possession of one of John's servants, Thomas Paplay, who after being tortured for eleven days confessed and implicated Balfour among his co-conspirators.

Although Paplay retracted his confession just before his execution, Balfour and her family were transported to Kirkwall, where they were tortured until a confession was extracted. Balfour was tried, found guilty of witchcraft, and sentenced to death. Just as Paplay had done, Balfour retracted her confession immediately before her execution on 16 December 1594, publicly proclaiming her innocence and detailing the tortures carried out on her and members of her family. She was executed at Gallow Ha' in Kirkwall on 16 December 1594. (Full article...)

Related portals

Selected panorama

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  Arran's northern hills, including Goat Fell, the island's highest point

  Credit: Colin

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  The remains of the Old Pier at Salen, Mull

  Credit: Colin

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  Eilean Donan

  Credit: Stefan Krause

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  The Storr ridge on Skye, with the Old Man of Storr (right)

  Credit: Klaus with K

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  Quiraing, Trotternish, on Skye

  Credit: Stefan Krause

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  Loch Fada, Trotternish, on Skye, looking towards The Storr

  Credit: Klaus with K

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  View from Canna, overlooking Sanday towards Rùm

  Credit: Emoscopes

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  Small freshwater islets on Loch Assynt

  Credit: Vincent

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  The colourful Main Street of Tobermory on Mull

  Credit: Colin

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  View towards the Cuillin on Skye

  Credit: Stefan Krause

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  Dunvegan Castle, a 14th-century castle on Skye, the seat of Clan MacLeod

  Credit: Mihael Grmek

• 
  Iona Abbey

  Credit: Oliver-Bonjoch

Topics

Categories

The main category is Islands of Scotland, with subcategories

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Islands of Scotland

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Uninhabited islands of Scotland

Lists of islands of Scotland

Archipelagoes of Scotland

Endemic biota of the Scottish islands

Former islands of Scotland

Islands of the Forth

Freshwater islands of Scotland

Islands of the Inner Hebrides

Lighthouses of Scottish islands

Lochs of Scottish islands

Military action involving Scottish islands

Mountains and hills of the Scottish islands

People associated with Scottish islands

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Scottish Island set index articles

Skerries of Scotland

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Villages on Scottish islands

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Castle Stalker, Loch Laich

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