The Swinge is the
strait
A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...
between
Alderney
Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide.
The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...
and
Burhou
Burhou (pronounced ''ber-ROO'') is a small island about northwest of Alderney that is part of the Channel Islands. It has no permanent residents, and is a bird sanctuary, so landing there is banned from March 15 to August 1. The island's wildl ...
in the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
. It often sees a furious
tidal race (the
Alderney Race
The Alderney Race is a strait that runs between Alderney and Cap de la Hague, a cape at the northwestern tip of the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. A strong current runs through the race north of the Passage de la Déroute, a treacherous passage s ...
), and
Braye Harbour which faces it, has a mile-long breakwater to cope with this.
The
etymology
Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
of the Swinge is probably
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 ...
, related to Old Icelandic ''swinnr'' (swift, rapid)
[''Alderney Place Names'', Royston Raymond, 1999 Alderney ]
Corbet Rock lies in the Swinge. Corbet Rock is said to have been named after the ancient Corbet family of the Channel Islands.
The Little Swinge is between Burhou and Les Nannels. The Race is the strait on the other side of Alderney.
References
Geography of Alderney
{{Guernsey-geo-stub