|
Vatersay
The island of Vatersay (; gd, Bhatarsaigh) is the southernmost and westernmost inhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, and the settlement of Caolas on the north coast of the island is the westernmost permanently inhabited place in Scotland. The main village, also called Vatersay, is in the south of the island. Geography Vatersay is irregularly shaped and has a tombolo: it is composed of two rocky islands (north and south) linked by a sandy isthmus. The isthmus is covered in sand dunes and on either side are large white-sand beaches: Bàgh Siar (West Bay), and Bàgh Bhatarsaigh (Vatersay Bay) to the east. There are a number of beaches backed by sand dunes. The island is about from north to south, and the northern section of the island is about from west to east. Vatersay is linked to the larger island of Barra to the north by a causeway about long, which was completed in 1991. This is of great benefit, as the shipping of goods and passenger traffic no longer h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barra
Barra (; gd, Barraigh or ; sco, Barra) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by a short causeway. The island is named after Saint Finbarr of Cork. In 2011, the population was 1,174. Gaelic is widely spoken, and at the 2011 Census, there were 761 Gaelic speakers (62% of the population). Geology In common with the rest of the Western Isles, Barra is formed from the oldest rocks in Britain, the Lewisian gneiss, which dates from the Archaean eon. Some of the gneiss in the east of the island is noted as being pyroxene-bearing. Layered textures or foliation in this metamorphic rock is typically around 30° to the east or northeast. Palaeoproterozoic age metadiorites and metatonalites forming a part of the East Barra Meta-igneous Complex occur around Castlebay as they do on the neighbouring islands of Vatersay and Flodday. A few metabasic dykes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mingulay
Mingulay ( gd, Miughalaigh) is the second largest of the Bishop's Isles in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Located south of Barra, it is known for its important seabird populations, including puffins, black-legged kittiwakes, and razorbills, which nest in the sea-cliffs, amongst the highest in the British Isles. There are Iron Age remains, and the culture of the island was influenced by early Christianity and the Vikings. Between the 15th and 19th centuries Mingulay was part of the lands of Clan MacNeil of Barra, but subsequently suffered at the hands of absentee landlords. After two thousand years or more of continuous habitation, the island was abandoned by its Gaelic-speaking residents in 1912 and has remained uninhabited since. It is no longer used for grazing sheep. The island is also associated with the "Mingulay Boat Song", although that was composed in 1938. The National Trust for Scotland has owned Mingulay since 2000. Geology and soils In the Pleistocene era Mingula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The islands are geographically coextensive with , one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. They form part of the archipelago of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides. Scottish Gaelic is the predominant spoken language, although in a few areas English speakers form a majority. Most of the islands have a bedrock formed from ancient metamorphic rocks, and the climate is mild and oceanic. The 15 inhabited islands have a total population of and there are more than 50 substantial uninhabited islands. The distance from Barra Head to the Butt of Lewis is roughly . There are various important pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caolas
Caolas ( gd, An Caolas ), is a small settlement on the island of Vatersay, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Caolas is within the parish of Barra. It is the westernmost settlement in Scotland. Previously, the village on Hirta claimed this title; Hirta was also the most western settlement in the United Kingdom, which is now Belleek, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. is a word (in both Scottish Gaelic and Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...) meaning "straits" and frequently rendered as "kyles" in English. References External links Canmore - Vatersay, Caolas site recordCanmore - Vatersay, Dun A' Chaolais site recordCanmore - Vn25 North Vatersay site record Villages in the Outer Hebrides {{WesternIsles-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barra Isles
The Barra Isles, also known as the Bishop's Isles, are a small archipelago in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They lie south of the island of Barra, for which they are named. The group consists of nine islands and numerous rocky islets, skerries, and sea stacks. In 1427, the Lords of the Isles awarded Lairdship of Barra (and its associated islands) to Clan MacNeil of Barra. However, following acts of piracy by the MacNeils, king James VI transferred ownership of the southern archipelago to the Bishop of the Isles, hence the islands became known as the ''Bishop's Isles''.Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. p. 230 Murray writes that they belonged "to the Bishop of the Isles ''de jure'' although to MacNeil ''de facto''". Many of the islands are extremely small; only the largest, Vatersay – which is now linked by causeway to Barra – remains inhabited. Berneray (also known as Barra Head), Pabbay, Sandray and Mingulay have been inhabited in the past. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biruaslum
Biruaslum or Bioruaslam is a stack in the Barra Isles of Scotland, to the west of Vatersay. Approximately from the nearest road, it reaches in height and there is a ruined prehistoric fort on the southern side. Francis G. Thompson characterizes it as "high and virtually inaccessible"; James Fisher mentions a "fulmar flying up and down its tiny cliff." Cliff-fort The vertical cliffs on the east side of the islet that separate it from Vatersay protect the site from the sea and a well-constructed wall that is wide and high in places encloses a substantial semi-circular area. The wall is long and best preserved at the southeastern end. Attached to the uphill side of the wall are the remains of a small oval structure about in area. The style of the fort is similar to Iron Age structures known from Ireland but the only datable finds so far discovered are of Neolithic pottery. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Castlebay
Castlebay ( gd, Bàgh a' Chaisteil) is the main village and a community council area on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The village is located on the south coast of the island, and overlooks a bay in the Atlantic Ocean dominated by Kisimul Castle, as well as nearby islands such as Vatersay. Castlebay is also within the parish of Barra. The village is located on the A888, which serves as a circular road around Barra. In 1971 it had a population of 307. Community Castlebay is home to the majority of shops on the island. The main street forms a square with the ferry terminal and the ring road, and features several grocery shops, a bank, post office, and tourist information centre. There is a larger supermarket now to the west of the village, having opened in October 2009. There are also several hotels in the village, plus the Island's medical centre, a filling station and the police station. Church Our Lady, Star of the Sea, a Roman Catholic church, was op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandray
Sandray ( gd, Sanndraigh) is one of the Barra Isles in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It never had a large population, and has been uninhabited since 1934. It is now known for its large seabird colony. Geography Sandray is half a mile due south of Vatersay, and east of Flodaigh, north east of Lingeigh and Pabaigh. Maol Domhnaigh/ Muldoanich is to the north east of it. There are three main peninsulas on the south end of Sandray, they are called Meanish, Leehinish and Rubha Pabbach. 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 Barra Isles Uninhabited islands of the Outer Hebrides {{WesternIsles-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tombolo
A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. A tombolo, from the Italian ', meaning 'pillow' or 'cushion', and sometimes translated incorrectly as '' ayre'' (an ayre is a shingle beach of any kind), is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. Several islands tied together by bars which rise above the water level are called a tombolo cluster. Two or more tombolos may form an enclosure (called a lagoon) that can eventually fill with sediment. Formation The shoreline moves toward the island (or detached breakwater) due to accretion of sand in the lee of the island, where wave energy and longshore drift are reduced and therefore deposition of sand occurs. Wave diffraction and refraction True tombolos are formed by wave refraction and diffraction. As waves near an island, they are slowed by the shallow water surrounding it. These wav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Heron
The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water or stalking its prey through the shallows. Standing up to tall, adults weigh from . They have a white head and neck with a broad black stripe that extends from the eye to the black crest. The body and wings are grey above and the underparts are greyish-white, with some black on the flanks. The long, sharply pointed beak is pinkish-yellow and the legs are brown. The birds breed colonially in spring in "heronries", usually building their nests high in trees. A clutch of usually three to five bluish-green ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly applied to Iron Age Europe and the Ancient Near East, but also, by analogy, to other parts of the Old World. The duration of the Iron Age varies depending on the region under consideration. It is defined by archaeological convention. The "Iron Age" begins locally when the production of iron or steel has advanced to the point where iron tools and weapons replace their bronze equivalents in common use. In the Ancient Near East, this transition took place in the wake of the Bronze Age collapse, in the 12th century BC. The technology soon spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin region and to South Asia ( Iron Age in India) between the 12th and 11th century BC. Its further spread to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe is somewhat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Puffin
The Atlantic puffin ('), 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 is found in the northeastern Pacific. The Atlantic puffin breeds in Russia, Iceland, Ireland, 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 small fish and crabs, which it catches by diving underwater, using its wings for propulsion. This puffin has a black crown and back, pale grey cheek patches, and a white body and underparts. Its broad, bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_head.jpg "Click for more on -> Atlantic Puffin")