Little Cumbrae
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Little Cumbrae ( sco, Wee Cumbrae, gd, Cumaradh Beag) or Little Cumbrae Island is an island in the
Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
, in
North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The island is known locally as Wee Cumbrae.


Etymology

The Gaelic name ''Cumaradh'' means "place of the Cymric people", referring to the
Brittonic Brittonic or Brythonic may refer to: *Common Brittonic, or Brythonic, the Celtic language anciently spoken in Great Britain *Brittonic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages descended from Common Brittonic *Britons (Celtic people) The Br ...
-speaking inhabitants of the
Kingdom of Strathclyde Strathclyde (lit. "Strath of the River Clyde", and Strað-Clota in Old English), was a Brittonic successor state of the Roman Empire and one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons, located in the region the Welsh tribes referred to as Yr ...
. Alternatively, the name Cumbrae may derive from ''Kil Maura'' meaning "cell or church of a female saint". Little Cumbrae was recorded as Kumbrey circa 1300, Cumbraye circa 1330 and Litill Comeray in 1515Johnston, p. 93 and was also formerly known as Little or Wee Cumray.
The Cumbraes The Cumbraes are a group of islands in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The islands belong to the traditional county of Bute and the modern unitary authority of North Ayrshire. The main islands in the group are: * Great Cumbrae * Little Cumbrae Thes ...
are referred to as the ''Kumreyiar'' in the Norse '' Saga of Haakon Haakonarson''.


Geography

Little Cumbrae lies barely a kilometre to the south of its larger neighbour,
Great Cumbrae Great Cumbrae ( sco, Muckle Cumbrae; gd, Cumaradh Mòr; also known as Great Cumbrae Island, Cumbrae or the Isle of Cumbrae) is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is s ...
, a few kilometres distant from the mainland town of
Largs Largs ( gd, An Leargaidh Ghallda) is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town mark ...
. The islands are collectively referred to as
The Cumbraes The Cumbraes are a group of islands in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The islands belong to the traditional county of Bute and the modern unitary authority of North Ayrshire. The main islands in the group are: * Great Cumbrae * Little Cumbrae Thes ...
. In stark contrast to its neighbour, green and fertile
Great Cumbrae Great Cumbrae ( sco, Muckle Cumbrae; gd, Cumaradh Mòr; also known as Great Cumbrae Island, Cumbrae or the Isle of Cumbrae) is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is s ...
, Little Cumbrae is a rough and rocky island. With its many cliffs and rocky
outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial ...
s, Little Cumbrae bears more of a resemblance to a
Hebridean The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner a ...
island than to some of its neighbours in the Clyde. A number of uninhabited islets skirt the island's east coast, Castle Isle, the Broad Islands and Trail Isle. Today the island's main settlement is at Little Cumbrae House on the eastern shore, facing the Scottish mainland.


Geology

Unlike its larger neighbour, Little Cumbrae is formed almost entirely from extrusive
igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock ...
s. These are a mix of
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
age
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
s,
mugearite Mugearite () is a type of oligoclase-bearing basalt, comprising olivine, apatite, and opaque oxides. The main feldspar in mugearite is oligoclase. Mugearite is a sodium-rich member of the alkaline magma series. In the TAS classification of volc ...
and
hawaiite Hawaiite is an olivine basalt with a composition between alkali basalt and mugearite. It was first used as a name for some lavas found on the island of Hawaii. It occurs during the later stages of volcanic activity on oceanic islands such as Haw ...
lava flows cut by a similarly aged WSW-ENE aligned dyke of alkali
olivine The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle, it is a common mineral in Earth's subsurface, but weathers quickl ...
diorite Diorite ( ) is an intrusive igneous rock formed by the slow cooling underground of magma (molten rock) that has a moderate content of silica and a relatively low content of alkali metals. It is intermediate in composition between low-silic ...
. A later northwest–southeast aligned swarm of dykes of
Palaeogene The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...
age intrude these rocks whilst several geological faults run generally NW-SE. There are limited outcrops of sedimentary rock in the east, these being of the Eileans Sandstone assigned to the Clyde Sandstone Formation of the Carboniferous age
Inverclyde Group The Inverclyde Group is a Carboniferous lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in southern Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, m ...
. A
raised beach A raised beach, coastal terrace,Pinter, N (2010): 'Coastal Terraces, Sealevel, and Active Tectonics' (educational exercise), from 2/04/2011/ref> or perched coastline is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently inclined surface of marine origin,P ...
is developed along the lower-lying east coast of the island on which have accumulated marine deposits and blown sand.
Glacial striation Glacial striations or striae are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion. These scratches and gouges were first recognized as the result of a moving glacier in the late 18th century when Swiss alpinists first associated them w ...
s betray the broadly north–south movement of a glacier over the island during the last ice age. Small pockets of
peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
have accumulated during the post-glacial period.


History

The Cumbraes were one of the remote locations that early Irish monks settled. There are six or more known caves on the island. A submarine passage was said to run from Monks' Cave (now known as Kings Cave) at Storrils cliff to Kingarth on the
Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent isl ...
. Walter Stewart is said to have built a castle or hunting lodge on Little Cumbrae. His son, Robert II spent time there hunting the deer, however the site of the "Auld Castle" is unknown. It was occupied during hunting expeditions by Robert II in 1375 and 1384, and was demolished by
Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
's soldiers in 1653.
Little Cumbrae Castle Little Cumbrae Castle sits on Allimturrail (the islet of the noble's tower)Litt ...
, a small square keep, was built in the 16th century on Castle Island off Little Cumbrae. It was similarly occupied. In the early 20th century, under the ownership of Evelyn Stuart Parker, a new 'mansion house' was created from the original single storey farmhouse, the gardens were laid out to a plan by Gertrude Jekyll, the renowned garden designer, and substantial repairs were undertaken to the castle and the original lighthouse. The original work commenced in 1913, with subsequent alterations made between 1926 and 1929 when the square tower and top floor were added. Little Cumbrae is the birthplace of
James Archbald James Archbald (1793–1870) was a Scottish-American railroad executive and politician. After immigrating to the United States with his family in 1805, he later was elected as Pennsylvania state representative and as the first mayor of Carb ...
, the first mayor of Carbondale, Pennsylvania.


Cumbrae Lighthouses

James Ewing built the first Little Cumbrae
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...
on the top of Lighthouse Hill in 1757. This was the second lighthouse in Scotland. An open coal fire was lit at the top of a circular stone tower. Remains of this old structure can still be seen and are designated a
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
. The traditional Cumbrae Lighthouse was designed and built in 1793 by Thomas Smith under commission from the Commissioners of the Northern Lights. The lighthouse lies on a broad
raised beach A raised beach, coastal terrace,Pinter, N (2010): 'Coastal Terraces, Sealevel, and Active Tectonics' (educational exercise), from 2/04/2011/ref> or perched coastline is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently inclined surface of marine origin,P ...
on the western shore of the island looking out into the Firth, 0.5 km from the first light. It had a foghorn, slipway, jetty, and boathouse. The original oil lamps were replaced by
Argand lamp The Argand lamp is a type of oil lamp invented in 1780 by Aimé Argand. Its output is 6 to 10 candelas, brighter than that of earlier lamps. Its more complete combustion of the candle wick and oil than in other lamps required much less frequent ...
s in 1826. In 1865, the foghorn was installed; the first in Britain. The tower was restored in 1956 and a
solar-power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic ...
ed light was installed in 1974. The 1793 tower has been unused since 1997, with the light on a hexagonal/cylindrical tower adjacent to the old generator house.


Ownership

Little Cumbrae was privately purchased in 2003 and there were plans for its development as a memorial park, nature reserve and corporate escape. The island was sold again in July 2009 for £2 million. The buyers of the island, a Scottish millionaire couple of Indian origin, Sarwan and Sunita Poddar, opened a
yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
and
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
centre there with the help of yoga guru Swami Baba Ramdev. There have also been rumours of the new owners planning to rename it "Peace Island", but those have been denied.


See also

*
List of islands of Scotland This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is "land that is surrounded by ...


Footnotes


References

* * Johnston, J. B. (1903). ''Place-names of Scotland''. Edinburgh: David Douglas. *


External links


Pictures of lighthouseYouTube video of Little or Wee Cumbrae island and the castle
{{Coord, 55.72131, N, 4.95503, W, display=title, region:GB_source:isle Uninhabited islands of North Ayrshire Islands of the Clyde Private islands of the United Kingdom The Cumbraes