Haskeir (), also known as Great Haskeir () is a remote, exposed and uninhabited island in the
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland.
It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...
of
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 ...
. It lies west-northwest of
North Uist
North Uist (; ) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Etymology
In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist are described as one isla ...
. southwest lie the
skerries
A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation.
Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to:
Geography
Northern Ireland
*Skerries, County Armagh, a List of townlands in County Armagh#S, townland in Coun ...
of
Haskeir Eagach, made up of a colonnade of five rock stacks, and northwest is
St Kilda.
Geography, geology and botany
There is no anchorage or shelter and access via the steep rocky cliffs may be difficult, even in calm conditions. There are several natural rock arches and a high cliff on the northern end of the island called ''Castle Cliff''. Various small skerries lie immediately to the north and south. There is very little vegetation save for a few sea-pinks, campion, plantain and orache that can survive the salt spray.
[
Much of the bedrock is ]Lewisian gneiss
The Lewisian complex or Lewisian gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean terrane and the North Atlantic Craton. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleopr ...
History
''Skilðar'' or ''Skilðir'' (meaning shields) may have been the 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 ...
name for Haskeir.[Maclean, Charles (1977) ''Island on the Edge of the World: the Story of St. Kilda'' Canongate. . Page 33.][Fleming, Andrew (2005) ''St. Kilda and the Wider World: Tales of an Iconic Island''. Windgather Press. . Page 27. Maclean does not state which island caused the confusion, but Fleming equates 'Skilðir' with Haskeir.] ''Skildar'' certainly appears on a map by Nicholas de Nicolay from 1583. There are various theories that somehow the transposition of this name to nearby St Kilda may have created the name for this latter archipelago, whose origins are otherwise obscure.[de Nicolay, Nicholas (1583]
''Vraye & exacte description Hydrographique des costes maritimes d'Escosse & des Isles Orchades Hebrides avec partie d'Angleterre & d'Irlande servant a la navigation''.
Edinburgh. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
There is an active lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
on the island constructed in 1997 and operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board
The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for ocean, marine navigation aids around coastal areas.
History
The NLB was formed by ...
, as well as the remains of a bothy
A bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. It was also a term for basic accommodation, usually for gardeners or other workers on an estate. Bothies are found in remote mountainous areas of Sco ...
, possibly built by fishermen from the Monach Islands
The Monach Islands, also known as Heisker ( / , ), are an island group west of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The islands are not to be confused with Hyskeir in the Inner Hebrides, or Haskeir which is also off North Uist and ...
.
Gallery
Image:Heisgeir (34533845111).jpg, North east of Haskeir from Griminish, North Uist
Image:Heisgeir (34533819321).jpg, Heisgeir Eagach from Rubha Ghriminis, North Uist
Image:Haskeir.jpg, Haskeir (on the right) and Haskeir Eagach from Griminish Point, North Uist
Image:Carte of Scotlande.jpg, 1580 ''Carte of Scotlande'' showing Hyrth (i.e. Hirta
Hirta () is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The names (in Scottish Gaelic) and ''Hirta'' (historically in English) have also been applied to the entire archipelago. Now without a permanent resi ...
in St Kilda) at left and Skaldar (Haskeir) to the north west
See also
* List of islands in Scotland
* List of lighthouses in Scotland
This is a list of lighthouses in Scotland. The Northern Lighthouse Board, from which much of the information is derived, are responsible for most lighthouses in Scotland but have handed over responsibility in the major estuaries to the port aut ...
* List of Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses
This is a list of the currently operational lighthouses of the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB). The list is divided by geographical location, and then by whether the lighthouses are classed by the NLB as a 'major lighthouse' or a 'minor light'. F ...
References
External links
Northern Lighthouse Board
{{Authority control , additional=Q26126003
Uninhabited islands of the Outer Hebrides
Natural arches of Scotland