Dùn is an island in St Kilda, Scotland. It is nearly long. Its name simply means "fort" in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

(for more information, see " dun"), but the fort itself has been lost – old maps show it on Gob an Dùin (), which is at the seaward end. Though Dùn is almost joined to Hirta at Ruiaval, the two islands are separated by Caolas an Dùin (the straits of Dùn). This prevents

Soay sheep The Soay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') descended from a population of feral sheep on the island of Soay, St Kilda, Soay in the St Kilda, Scotland, St Kilda Archipelago, about from the Western Isles of Scotland. It is one ...

from Hirta straying onto the island, and thus it is more vegetated. The small island is home to the largest colony of

fulmar The fulmars are tube-nosed seabirds in the family Procellariidae. The family includes two extant species, and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene. Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on s ...

s in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. Before 1828, St Kilda was their only

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

breeding ground, but they have since spread and established colonies elsewhere, such as at Fowlsheugh.Fisher, James & Waterston, George (Nov. 1941) ''The Breeding Distribution, History and Population of The Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) in the British Isles''. Edinburgh. The Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 10, No. 2 pp. 204-272.
Retrieved 24 March 2007 Cleit above Village Bay

Dùn, which protects Village Bay on Hirta from the prevailing south-westerly winds, was at one time joined to Hirta by a natural arch. MacLean (1972) suggests that the arch was broken when struck by a

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

fleeing the defeat of the Armada, but other sources, such as Mitchell (1992), provide the more credible (if less romantic) explanation that the arch was simply swept away by one of the many fierce storms which batter the islands every winter.

References

* Haswell-Smith, Hamish ''The Scottish Islands'' * Fisher, James & Waterston, George (Nov. 1941) ''The Breeding Distribution, History and Population of The Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) in the British Isles''. Edinburgh. The Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 10, No. 2 pp. 204–272. * MacLean, Charles ''Island on the Edge of the World: the Story of St. Kilda'', Canongate, 1977 St Kilda, Scotland Marilyns of Scotland Seabird colonies Natural arches of Scotland {{WesternIsles-geo-stub

See also

References