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Topographic map of Scotland
Boreray and the stacks from the heights of Conachair, Hirta

This list of outlying islands of Scotland incorporates those which are not part of the larger archipelagoes and island groups and are thus not listed elsewhere. None of these islands are currently inhabited and few of them ever were, although Hirta was occupied from the Neolithic until 1930 and Stroma was occupied until the 1970s and thereafter only by lighthouse keepers and their families until 1996.[1][2] Several other islands have lighthouses, none of which are still manned.

The definition of an island used in this list is that it is "land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human devices such as bridges and causeways".[3]

A complication is that there are various descriptions of the scope of the The Hebrides, the large group of islands that lie off Scotland's west coast. The Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland describes the Inner Hebrides as lying "east of The Minch", which would include any and all offshore islands. There are various islands that lie in the sea lochs such as Eilean Bàn and Eilean Donan that might not ordinarily be described as "Hebridean" but no formal definitions exist and for simplicity they are included in that list rather than here.[4][5]

For the purposes of this list the smaller surrounding islands are all less than 2 hectares (4.9 acres) in size. Several islands in the main list are smaller than this and are included there because they are remote from other islands and/or the mainland.

Contents

Main list

Mugdrum seen from Newburgh
Soay, St Kilda, the westernmost island of Scotland
Winter waves breaking over Rockall in 1943.
Sula Sgeir
The westernmost of the Flannan Isles: Eilean a' Ghobha and Roareim with Brona Cleit in the distance.
The Rabbit Islands
Stac an Armin with Boreray to the left and Stac Lee beyond at right
Stac Levenish cliff's face silhouette

There are several small groups involved. By far the most notable is the St Kilda archipelago which lies 64 kilometres (40 mi) west-northwest of North Uist and is now a World Heritage Site. It is one of the few to hold joint status for its natural and cultural qualities.[6][7] At 196 metres (640 ft) Stac an Armin is the highest sea stack in the British Isles[8][9][10] and in July 1840, the last Great Auk seen in the British Isles was captured there.[11]

East of St Kilda are the Flannan Isles, the location of an enduring mystery which occurred in December 1900, when all three lighthouse keepers vanished without trace.[12]

Further north and east are the two outliers of Sula Sgeir and North Rona, which have strong cultural links to the Outer Hebrides. North Rona is 71 kilometres (44 mi) north north east of Butt of Lewis and 18 kilometres (11 mi) east of Sula Sgeir. It is the remotest island in the British Isles to have ever been inhabited on a long-term basis. It is also closer than any other part of Scotland to the Faroe Islands. Sule Skerry and Sule Stack lie further east and are administratively part of Orkney.

The islands of the north coast are remote from the main centres of population, although for the most part lie close to the shores of the mainland. There is a small cluster of larger islands near Tongue Bay and the largest is Stroma in the Pentland Firth, which lies between Caithness and Orkney.

Innis Mhòr in the Dornoch Firth is the largest of a handful of small islets off the coast of Easter Ross. Further south are Craiglethy south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, and Mugdrum, the only substantial island in the Firth of Tay.

There is a cluster of islands in the Solway Firth that marks the south western border of Scotland, including the Islands of Fleet, in Wigtown Bay.

Finally, there is lonely Rockall, which is 367 kilometres (228 mi) to the west of North Uist. It is a small rocky islet in the North Atlantic which could be, in James Fisher's words, "the most isolated small rock in the oceans of the world"[13][14] and which was declared part of Scotland by the Island of Rockall Act 1972.[15][16] However, the legality of the claim is disputed by the Republic of Ireland, Denmark and Iceland and it is probably unenforceable in international law.[17][18][19]

Island Group Area (ha)[20] Height (m)[21] Light[22] Last inhabited[23]
Ardwall Isle Islands of Fleet 22 34 No 18th century?[24]
Barlocco Isle Islands of Fleet 10 10 No Inhabitation unlikely
Big Scare Solway Firth[25] <1 10 No Inhabitation very unlikely
Boreray St Kilda 77 384 No Iron Age?[26]
Bròna Cleit Flannan Isles 1 c. 20 No Inhabitation very unlikely
Dùn St Kilda 32[27] 178 No Unknown[28]
Eilean a' Ghobha Flannan Isles 8 57 No Inhabitation very unlikely
Eilean Choraidh Loch Eriboll 20 26 No 1930s
Eilean Hoan Loch Eriboll 22 25 No Early 1800s[29]
Eilean Mòr Flannan Isles 17.5[30][31] 88 Yes 1971[32]
Eilean nan Ròn Tongue Bay 138 76 No 1930s or 40s[33]
Eilean Taighe Flannan Isles 11 59 No Unknown[34]
Hestan Island Solway Firth c.11 54 Yes Unknown[35]
Hirta St Kilda 670 430 No 1930
Inchcape Angus coast 0.61[36] 0[37] Yes 1988[38]
Innis Mhòr Easter Ross 26 <5 No Shifting sands
Little Ross Solway Firth 7 35 Yes Inhabitation unlikely
Mugdrum Firth of Tay 32[39] 4 No Inhabitation unlikely
Murray's Isles Islands of Fleet 1[40] c. 5 No Inhabitation unlikely[41]
Neave Island Tongue Bay 23 70 No Unknown[42]
North Rona North west 109 108 No 1885
Rabbit Islands Tongue Bay 32 45 No Unknown[43]
Roaireim Flannan Isles 5 52 No Inhabitation very unlikely
Rockall North Atlantic 0.00624[44] 21.4[45] No Storm washed
Rough Island Solway Firth 8[46] 24[46] No Inhabitation unlikely
Sgeir Toman Flannan Isles 4 43 No Inhabitation very unlikely
Soay St Kilda 99 378 No Inhabitation unlikely[47]
Soraigh Flannan Isles 6 41 No Inhabitation very unlikely
Stac an Armin St Kilda 9 196 No Never inhabited[48]
Stac Lee St Kilda 1 172 No Never inhabited
Stac Levenish St Kilda <1 62 No Never inhabited
Stroma Caithness 375 53 Yes 1996
Sula Sgeir North west 15[49] 70 Yes Storm washed[50]
Sule Skerry Orkney 16[51] 12[52] Yes 1982[50]
Sule Stack Orkney 2.9[51] 36[52] No Storm washed

Smaller islets and skerries

Castle Mestag, Stroma
Bow Fiddle Rock
The skerry of Craiglethy - one of the few east coast islands.
Stac Biorach (at left) and Stac Soay

A few smaller islets and skerries that are only exposed at lower stages of the tide surround the main islands. This is a continuing list of these smaller Scottish islands. Many of them are obscure and none have ever been permanently inhabited in modern times. Nonetheless, some have a degree of notability. Castle Mestag off Stroma is the ruins of a once fortified stack accessible only via a drawbridge.[53][54] Craiglethy is part of the Fowlsheugh nature reserve. The Three Kings, off the coast of Easter Ross near Balintore, is also known as Creag Harail or Harold's Rock and called The King's Sons in the New Statistical Account of Scotland. The story associated with its naming is that three sons of Danish prince, sailing to avenge their sister's wrongs, were wrecked here. Their graves were marked by the sculptured stones of Nigg, Shandwick and Hilton. Another legend has their burial at Nigg Rocks below the North Sutor.[55]

  • Ardwall Isle: Old Man of Fleet.
  • Barlocco: The Three Brethren.
  • Big Scare: Little Scares (3).
  • Boreray: An t-Sail, Sgarbhstac.
  • Dùn: Hamalan, Giasgeir, Sgeir Cul an Rubha, Sgeir Mhòr.
  • Eilean Choraidh: A' chlèit.
  • Eilean Hoan: A' Ghoil-sgeir, An Cruachan, An Dubh-sgeir, Eilean Clùimhrig, Pocan Smoo.
  • Eilean Mòr: Deirc na Sgeir, Làmh à Sgeir Beag, Làmh an Sgeir Mòire.
  • Eilean nan Ròn: An Innis, Eilean Iosal, Meall Thailm.
  • Eilean Taighe: Gealtaire Beag, Gealtaire Mòr, Hamasgeir.
  • Hirta: An Torc, Bradastac, Mina Stac, Sgeir Domhnuill, Sgeir Mhòr, Sgeir nan Sgarbh.
  • Little Ross: Sugarloaf.
  • Murray's Isles: Horse Mark.
  • Neave Island: Stac an Fhamhair.
  • North Rona: Gealldraig Mhòr, Lòba Sgeir.
  • Rabbit Islands: Dubh Sgeir-Mhòr, Eilean á Chaoil, Eilean Creagach, Sgeir an Òir, Talmine Island.
  • Roaireim: None.[56]
  • Rockall: Hasselwood Rock, Helen's Reef.
  • Rough Island: Craig Roan, Spring Stones.
  • Sgeir Toman: Sgeir Righinn.
  • Soay: Am Plastair, Sgeir Mac Righ Lochlainn, Stac Biorach, Stac Dona, Stac Soay.
  • Stac Levenish: Na Bodhan.
  • Stroma: Castle Mestag.
  • Sula Sgeir: Bogha Córr, Grallsgeir.
  • Solway Firth: Inch
  • North coast (from west to east): Stac an Dunain, Duslic, Stack Clò Kearvaig, An Garbh-eilean, Na Glas Leacan, Eilean Dubh, Clach Bheag na Faraid, Clach Mhòr na Faraid, Àigeach, Eilean Polsain, Boursa Island, Glas-eilean Mòr, Garbh-eilean, Wester Clett, Middle Clett, Easter Clett, Little Clett, Clett.
  • East coast:
    • North Moray Firth (from north to south): The Knee, Stacks of Duncansby, Stack o' Brough, South Stack, The Stacks, Three Kings.[57]
    • South Moray Firth (from west to east): Covesea Skerries, Halliman Skerries, Boar's Head Rock, West Muck, East Muck, Craigenroan, Bow Fiddle Rock, Collie Rocks, Craigandargity.
    • Kinnaird Head to the Bullers of Buchan: The Ron, The Skerry, Miekle Mackie, Miekle Donnon, Little Donnon, Craig Snow, Meikle Dumeath, Little Dumeath.
    • Bullers of Buchan to Girdle Ness: Dunbuy, The Donnons, Skellyis of Harrol.
    • Girdle Ness to Buddon Ness: Craiglethy.

Other than Mugdrum in the Firth of Tay and the Islands of the Forth there are no genuine islands on the east coast of Scotland south of Buddon Ness.

See also

References and footnotes

General references
  • "Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands" (28 November 2003) General Register Office for Scotland. Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
  • Fisher, James (1956) Rockall. London. Geoffrey Bles.
  • Fleming, Andrew (2005) St. Kilda and the Wider World: Tales of an Iconic Island. Windgather Press. ISBN 1905119003
  • Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate. ISBN 1-84195-454-3
  • Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.
  • Maclean, Charles (1977) Island on the Edge of the World: the Story of St. Kilda. Edinburgh. Canongate. ISBN 0903937417
  • Nicholson, Christopher. (1995) Rock Lighthouses of Britain: The End of an Era? Caithness. Whittles. ISBN 1870325419
  • Quine, David (2000) St Kilda. Grantown-on-Spey. Colin Baxter Island Guides. ISBN 1841070084
  • Rackwitz, Martin (2007) Travels to Terra Incognita: The Scottish Highlands and Hebrides in Early Modern Travellers' Accounts C. 1600 to 1800. Waxmann Verlag. ISBN 9783830916994
  • Watson, William John (1976) "Place Names of Ross and Cromarty" Ross & Cromarty Heritage Society. ISBN 978-1409766575
Specific references and notes
  1. ^ Fleming (2005) "Men of Stone" pp. 37-59.
  2. ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 336.
  3. ^ Various other definitions are used in the Scottish context. For example, the General Register Office for Scotland define an island as "a mass of land surrounded by water, separate from the Scottish mainland" but although they include islands linked by bridges etc., this is not clear from this definition. Haswell-Smith (2004) uses "an Island is a piece of land or group of pieces of land which is entirely surrounded by water at Lowest Astronomical Tide and to which there is no permanent means of dry access". This is widely agreed to be unhelpful as it consciously excludes bridged islands.
  4. ^ Keay & Keay (1994) p. 507.
  5. ^ Encylopedia Britannica (1978) says: Hebrides - group of islands of the west coast of Scotland extending in an arc between 55.35 and 58.30 N and 5.26 and 8.40 W.” This includes Gigha, St.Kilda and everything up to Cape Wrath – although not North Rona.
  6. ^ "Dual World Heritage Status For Unique Scottish Islands" (14 July 2005) National Trust for Scotland. Retrieved 6 January 2007.
  7. ^ When inhabited, these islands had strong cultural ties to the Hebrides, but they are quite distinct from the Outer Hebrides geologically and Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 313-331 lists St Kilda in "Section 9: The Atlantic Outliers".
  8. ^ "Corrections and clarifications". The Guardian. 16 April 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/apr/16/leadersandreply.mainsection2. Retrieved 5 February 2009.  
  9. ^ Dawson, Alan (1992). Relative Hills of Britain. Cicerone Press. p. 109. ISBN 9781852840686. http://books.google.com/books?id=aZZCW040bSAC.  
  10. ^ The National Trust for Scotland has 191 m. "St Kilda - National Trust for Scotland World Heritage Site". National Trust for Scotland. http://www.kilda.org.uk/frame5.htm. Retrieved 5 February 2009.  
  11. ^ Rackwitz p. 347.
  12. ^ See for example, Nicholson (1995) pp. 168-79.
  13. ^ Fisher (1956) pp. 12–13.
  14. ^ There are numerous islands that are more remote from a mainland, but not from other islands. Rockall lies "the furthest distance from any other outcrop or land of any description". See Oates, John (8th April 2005) "More North Atlantic charity madness" The Register. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  15. ^ "On This Day: 21 September". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/21/newsid_4582000/4582327.stm. Retrieved 1 August 2007.  
  16. ^ "House of Lords Hansard". 24 June 1997. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/ldhansrd/vo970624/text/70624-02.htm. Retrieved 1 August 2007.  
  17. ^ Oral Questions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Dáil Éireann. 1 November 1973. http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0268/D.0268.197311010090.html. Retrieved 17 January 2007.  
  18. ^ MacDonald, Fraser (2006). "The last outpost of Empire: Rockall and the Cold War". Journal of Historical Geography 32: 627–647. doi:10.1016/j.jhg.2005.10.009. http://www.sages.unimelb.edu.au/staff/macdonald.html. Retrieved 1 August 2008.  
  19. ^ Aird an Runair, North Uist approximately Mean High Water Springs ETRS89 57°36’10.42010”N 7°32’56.63226”W, grid reference NF 68686,70560. Distance to Rockall approximately 366.966km (228.022mi) (198.146nmi).
  20. ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) for islands >40 ha (100 acres) and Ordnance Survey maps for islands <40 ha unless otherwise stated.
  21. ^ Ordnance Survey maps. Note that the maps mark the height above sea level of a high point on most islands, but in a small number of cases, this may not be the highest point.
  22. ^ Indicates the presence of a lighthouse.
  23. ^ Indicates the last known date of permanent, year round settlement. Information is from Haswell-Smith (2004) unless otherwise stated.
  24. ^ The Ordnance Survey indicate the remains of an 8th century chapel, which is also the site of an 18th century "tavern" and there is an uninhabited cottage facing the sea. See "Island prehistory" onesmallisland.org.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  25. ^ A remote rock located at grid reference NX256333.
  26. ^ Fleming (2005) page 58 identifies a wheelhouse on the island. Various tales told by the St Kildans hint at occupation in the historic period, although no concrete evidence of this has been found. There is nowhere to store a boat and any permanent residents would have been marooned there and dependent on outside assistance to leave. As a result of a smallpox outbreak on Hirta in 1724, three men and eight boys were marooned on Boreray until the following May. See Maclean (1977) pp. 48–9.
  27. ^ "St Kilda" (pdf) United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  28. ^ The island's name feans "fort" but there is only a single ruined wall of a structure said to have been built in the far-distant past by the mythical Fir Bolg. See Maclean (1977) page 29.
  29. ^ "Place Names in Durness" countysutherland.co.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  30. ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 330.
  31. ^ According to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee the total land area of the Flannan Isles is 58.87 hectares (145.5 acres). See "SPA description:Flannan Isles". JNCC. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  32. ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 331.
  33. ^ There was a population of 63 in 1891 and 30 in 1931. Uninhbated by 1951. See Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 201.
  34. ^ The name is Gaelic for "island of the house" and there is a tiny ruined structure. See Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 330.
  35. ^ There is a holiday cottage, an unmanned lighthouse and the remains of a 14th century "Manor House". See "A History of Auchencairn and District". www.Auchencairn.org.uk. http://www.auchencairn.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=107. Retrieved 29 April 2007.  
  36. ^ Nicholson (1995) p. 86.
  37. ^ The reef is covered by seawater at high tide and only 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) lies above water at low tides. See Nicholson (1995) p. 86.
  38. ^ The lighthouse was manned from 1810 until 1988. See Nicholson (1995) p. 200.
  39. ^ "Historical perspective for Mugdrum Island". Gazetteer for Scotland. http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurehistory1607.html. Retrieved 5 October 2008.  
  40. ^ As the name implies there are two small islets separated at higher stages of the tide. The smaller islet is circa 0.25 ha.
  41. ^ RCAHMS indicate the existence of a "structure" or "wall". See "Murray's Isles" Retrieved 2 September 2009
  42. ^ The Ordnance Survey indicate the presence of a ruined chapel.
  43. ^ The two islands are connected to one another and the mainland at low tides and were probably inhabited at some point in the past.
  44. ^ "The whole area of the rock’s basis (by the water-level) is just 624 m2". See "Rockall" Full version" www.rockall.name. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  45. ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 314.
  46. ^ a b "Rough Island" Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  47. ^ Like nearby Boreray there is nowhere to store a boat and any permanent residents would have been marooned there and dependent on outside assistance to leave. There is a primitive hut known as Taigh Dugan (Dugan's house). This is little more than an excavated hole under a huge stone with two rude walls on the sides. The story of its creation relates to two sheep-stealing brothers from Lewis who came to St Kilda only to cause further trouble. Dugan was exiled to Soay, where he died; the other, called Fearchar Mòr, was sent to Stac an Armin, where he found life so intolerable he cast himself into the sea. See Maclean (1977) pp. 49-50 for a version of this tale.
  48. ^ It would be impossible to maintain life for long on this precipitous crag although there are 78 storage cleitean and a small bothy used by the native St Kildan fowlers in the summer. See Quine (2000) pages 142 and 146.
  49. ^ A figure of 1.244km2 for Rona and Sula Sgeir is provided by Wood, L. J. (2007). MPA Global "Rona and Sula Sgeir" mpaglobal.org. Retrieved 8 September 2009. Haswell Smith (2004) p. 326 gives 109 ha for North Rona. Sula Sgeir is therefore c.15.4 ha.
  50. ^ a b See "Lighthouses" Geograph. Retrieved 4 September 2009. There is a lighthouse, currently unmanned.
  51. ^ a b "SPA description" JNCC. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  52. ^ a b "Sailing Directions (Enroute), Pub. 141, Scotland" (pdf) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. p. 109. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  53. ^ "Stroma, Castle Mestag" RCAHMS. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  54. ^ Possibly also known as also known as "The Robber's Castle" and said to have been a hideout of the 12th century pirate Sweyn Asleifsson. See "Mestag Castle, Island of Stroma, Caithness" caithness.org. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  55. ^ Watson (1976) p. 54.
  56. ^ None of the very small islets are named by the Ordnance Survey.
  57. ^ The Three Kings are skerries located at grid reference NH856725 and named on the 1992 revision of the Admiralty Chart "Dunrobin Point to Buckie".
Islands of Scotland
Northern Isles
Hebrides
Other







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