Faray (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Færey'') is a small

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, lying between

Eday Eday (, ) is one of the islands of Orkney, which are located to the north of the Scottish mainland. One of the North Isles, Eday is about from the Orkney Mainland. With an area of , it is the ninth-largest island of the archipelago. The bedroc ...

and Westray. Previously inhabited, the low-lying island is now a successful grey seal breeding colony.

Geography

Faray and Holm of Faray are formed of a ridge of Old Red Sandstone which extends southwards from Weather Ness at the southern tip of the island of Westray and almost connects Westray to

. The two islands are separated by the Lavey Sound.

History

Faray was known as Pharay (or North Pharay to distinguish it from South Pharay, now called Fara). Both names are derived from the Old Norse 'faerey', "sheep island". The only man-made relic of note is a chambered cairn beside Lavey Sound. Faray had a population of eighty-two in 1861, falling to fifty-eight by 1891. By the late 1930s there were eight families living on the island. They had crofts and supplemented their income by lobster fishing.

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

led to many departures. By 1947 the last islander had left Faray and, apart from occasional summer occupation, the island was deserted. A road still runs up the central spine of the island serving the scattered empty houses. In December 1908 the ''Hope'', a fishing vessel from

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

, ran aground on the Holm of Faray during a storm. The 'Five Men of Faray' braved the storm to row across the Lavey Sound and rescue the crew stranded on the rocks. They were rewarded with a trip to the Scottish mainland to meet Edward VII at Balmoral, where they each received a medal, together with "a good pipe and some tobacco".

Conservation

The island is now populated by sheep, seabirds, and grey seals. Faray and neighbouring Holm of Faray are designated a

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

for a well-established

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus'', it is found on both shores of the Nort ...

(''Halichoerus grypus'') breeding colony. The islands support the second-largest breeding colony in the UK, contributing around 9% of the annual UK pup production.

Footnotes

External links

{{coord, 59, 12, 51, N, 2, 49, 23, W, region:GB_type:isle, display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Orkney Uninhabited islands of Orkney