Pladda ( gd, Pladaigh) is an uninhabited island off the south coast of the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

in the Firth of Clyde at , western Scotland. It is home to the automated Pladda Lighthouse. The island is privately owned, having been put up for sale by Arran Estate in 1990. As of 2022, the island is again for sale.

Geography

Pladda is a small, flat, teardrop-shaped island, long and rising to just above sea level. Unusually for such a small island, it has its own source of fresh water. Pladda shares its name with Pladda Island, a tiny islet situated in the Lynn of Lorne between Lismore and Ardmucknish Bay.

Lighthouse

Pladda Lighthouse and its ancillary buildings stand at the southern end of Pladda.

Church

There appears to have been a church or chapel on Pladda. John of Fordun and other chroniclers from 1400 to 1500 speak of the isle of St Blase of Pladda. Nothing now remains to mark its site, and its whereabouts are unknown.

In popular culture

Pladda and its lighthouse feature extensively in Peter Hill's book ''Stargazing: Memoirs of a Young Lighthouse Keeper''. They were also filming locations for "Queen Victoria Syndrome", the first episode of season 5 of '' The Crown''.

References

External links

Northern Lighthouse Board site on the history of Pladda Lighthouse
Islands of the Clyde Uninhabited islands of North Ayrshire Firth of Clyde {{NorthAyrshire-geo-stub