Vacsay ( from

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 ...

"bakkiey" meaning "peat bank island") is one of 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 ...

. It is off the west coast of

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

in West Loch Roag. It is in size, and at its highest point.

History

Like many of the surrounding islands, Vacsay is uninhabited due to the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulted from Scottish Agricultural R ...

, which occurred here in 1827. It was bought in 1993 by Sirdar Baron Iqbal Singh, a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

business man, who currently lives in

Lesmahagow Lesmahagow ( ; or ''Lesmahagae'', ) is a small town in the historic county of Lanarkshire on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. Lesmahagow was also a civil parish. It lies west of the M74 motorway, M74, and sout ...

. He has bought the title, "Lord of Butley Manor" and also wishes to rename Vacsay, "

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

' island" or Eilean Burns, although Burns never visited the Outer Hebrides.

Geography and geology

The island 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 ...

. Vacsay has an extremely complicated coastline, and is connected at low tide to several surrounding islets such as Trathasam, and Liacam. It is between the islands of Vuia Mòr and

Pabay Mòr Pabay is a Scottish island just off the coast of Skye. The name Pabay is derived from an old Norse word meaning "priest's isle" and there are the remains of a 13th-century chapel. Geography Pabay is an island in the Inner Sound of Skye, lying ...

and is off

Great Bernera Great Bernera (; ), often known just as Bernera (), is an island and community council, community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With an area of just over , it is the thirty-fourth largest List of islands of Scotland, Scottish island. Great ...

Footnotes

Islands of Loch Ròg Cleared places in the Outer Hebrides Uninhabited islands of the Outer Hebrides {{WesternIsles-geo-stub