Portal:Scottish islands

The Scottish Islands Portal
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Scotland has around 900 offshore islands, most of which are to be found in four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, sub-divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. There are also clusters of islands in the Firth of Clyde, Firth of Forth, and Solway Firth, and numerous small islands within the many bodies of fresh water in Scotland including Loch Lomond and Loch Maree. The largest island is Lewis and Harris, which extends to 2,179 km² (841 sq mi), and there are a further 200 islands which are greater than 40 hectares (100 acres) in area. Of the remainder, several, such as Staffa and the Flannan Isles, are well known, despite their small size. Some 101 Scottish islands are currently permanently inhabited, of which 89 are offshore according to 2011 census data. Between 2001 and 2011, Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702 although by 2022 the total had fallen back to just under 103,000.

The geology and geomorphology of the islands is varied. Some, such as Skye and Mull, are mountainous, while others like Tiree and Sanday are relatively low-lying. Many have bedrock made from ancient Archaean Lewisian Gneiss which was formed 3 billion years ago; Shapinsay and other Orkney islands are formed from Old Red Sandstone, which is 400 million years old; and others, such as Rùm, from more recent Tertiary volcanoes. Many of the islands are swept by strong tides, and the Corryvreckan tide race between Scarba and Jura is one of the largest whirlpools in the world. Other strong tides are to be found in the Pentland Firth between mainland Scotland and Orkney, and another example is the "Grey Dog" between Scarba and Lunga. (More on Scottish islands...)

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Selected picture

Image 1Duart Castle, a 13th-century castle on Mull, the historical seat of Clan Maclean
Credit: Philippe Giabbanelli
Image 2The cliffs of Eshaness, North Mainland, Shetland
Credit: ThoWi
Image 3The Bruichladdich distillery, one of eight on Islay; single-malt whisky is a major product of the islands
Credit: Bdcl1881
Image 4White-tailed eagle fishing off Mull, one of several islands to which the birds have been successfully re-introduced
Credit: Jacob Spinks
Image 5Shetland mouse-ear, a rare plant species unique to Shetland and found only on two serpentine hills in the Keen of Hamar reserve on the island of Unst
Credit: Melvin Grey
Image 6Aerial view of the ruins of a hermitage on Canna
Credit: Peter Van den Bossche
Image 7A common or harbour seal breast-feeding a pup on Skye
Credit: Nevit Dilmen
Image 8Aerial view of Kisimul Castle, a small medieval castle on an islet off Barra
Credit: DJI_0077
Image 9Fingal's Cave on Staffa
Credit: Unknown (c. 1900)
Image 10The main ridge of the Cuillin, Skye
Credit: Adrian Pingstone
Image 11Neist Point Lighthouse on Skye was designed by David Alan Stevenson and dates from 1909
Credit: Lionel Ulmer
Image 12Rubha nan Gall lighthouse, Tobermory, Mull, built in 1857 by David and Thomas Stevenson, with a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry in the background
Credit: Colin
Image 13Alasdair Crotach MacLeod is the first McLeod not to be buried on Iona; his tomb on Harris dates from 1528, and is among the finest of this period in Scotland
Credit: Gvdwiele
Image 14Blackhouses were the traditional form of house across the Hebrides and the Highlands; this example is at Arnol, Lewis
Credit: LornaMCampbell
Image 15The tied island of St Ninian's Isle is joined to the Shetland Mainland by the largest tombolo in the UK
Credit: ThoWi
Image 16Sgùrr nan Gillean, in the Cuillin on Skye, from Sligachan
Credit: Diliff
Image 17Barra Airport is the only one in the world to use a beach as a regular runway
Credit: Steve Houldsworth
Image 18Common or harbour seal, seen off Lismore
Credit: Charles J Sharp
Image 19The Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, Orkney was built from two Nissen huts by Italian prisoners of war during World War 2; the interior frescoes are by Domenico Chiocchetti
Credit: Renata
Image 20Sandy beach at Eoropie, Lewis
Credit: AmosWolfe
Image 21The Neolithic farmstead of Knap of Howar on Papa Westray, Orkney, dates from 3700 BC and might be the oldest surviving stone dwelling in northern Europe
Credit: Me677
Image 22Satellite image of Skye, showing the surrounding islands including Rona, Raasay and Scalpay to the north east and Soay, Canna and Rùm to the south
Credit: NASA
Image 23Wildflowers in machair, a coastal dune grassland found in the Outer Hebrides and elsewhere
Credit: Jon Thomson
Image 24Eilean Donan Castle at the confluence of three sea lochs, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh
Credit: Diliff
Image 25The highest of the Fairy Pools, a series of waterfalls near Glen Brittle, Skye
Credit: Drianmcdonald
Image 26Fishing boats in Stromness Harbour, Orkney
Credit: Renata
Image 27Aerial view of the low-lying island of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides, known for its sandy beaches backed by machair
Credit: Doc Searls
Image 28Portree, the main settlement on Skye
Credit: Bert Kaufmann
Image 29Sandy beach at Mealista, Lewis
Credit: Peter Moore
Image 30The 1st-century Dun Carloway on Lewis is a well-preserved example of an Iron Age broch, a type of complex Atlantic roundhouse only found in Scotland
Credit: Morris R. Maciver
Image 31The ferry from Glenelg to Kylerhea on Skye has run for 400 years; the present boat, MV Glenachulish, is the only hand-operated turntable ferry still in operation
Credit: Wojsyl
Image 32The Corryvreckan Whirlpool in the narrow Gulf of Corryvreckan between Jura and Scarba
Credit: Walter Baxter
Image 33A boat leaving a slipway stacked with creels in Elgol Bay, Skye, with the Cuillin in the background
Credit: Paul Hermans
Image 34A scattered settlement on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, beneath Beinn Sciathan
Credit: Mipmapped
Image 35Baile Mòr, the village on Iona
Credit: Clydecoast
Image 36Kilarrow Parish Church, known as the Round Church, is a Georgian building in Bowmore on Islay
Credit: Ronsteenvoorden
Image 37Skye Bridge, opened in 1995; the toll was lifted in 2004
Credit: Gene Selkov

Selected island group

The Hebrides

The Hebrides are the largest archipelago in Scotland and the British Isles, off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrides.

These islands have a long history of occupation (dating back to the Mesolithic period), and the culture of the inhabitants has been successively influenced by the cultures of Celtic-speaking, Norse-speaking, and English-speaking peoples. This diversity is reflected in the various names given to the islands, which are derived from the different languages that have been spoken there at various points in their history.

The Hebrides are where much of Scottish Gaelic literature and Gaelic music has historically originated. Today, the economy of the islands is dependent on crofting, fishing, tourism, the oil industry, and renewable energy. The Hebrides have less biodiversity than mainland Scotland, but a significant number of seals and seabirds.

The islands have a combined area of 7,285 km² (2,813 sq mi), and, as of 2011^[update], a combined population of around 45,000. (Full article...)

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News

Portal:Scottish islands/News

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Selected fauna

A ram

The Boreray Blackface, also Hebridean Blackface or Boreray, is a rare Scottish breed of sheep originating on the St Kilda archipelago off the west coast of Scotland and surviving as a feral animal on one of the islands, Boreray. It was once reared for meat and wool, but is now used mainly for conservation grazing. It falls within the Northern European short-tailed group of breeds.

It is an endangered breed, and in 2025 was classified by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as "priority", the second level of concern of the trust. It is one of eight rare British breeds registered in the Combined Flock Book, a herd-book established in 1974; the others are the Castlemilk Moorit, the Manx Loaghtan, the Norfolk Horn, the North Ronaldsay, the Portland, the Soay and the Whitefaced Woodland. (Full article...)

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Selected history & culture article

Description of the Western Isles of Scotland is the oldest known account of the Hebrides and the Islands of the Clyde, two chains of islands off the west coast of Scotland. The author was Donald Monro, a clergyman who used the title of "Dean of the Isles" and who lived through the Scottish Reformation. Monro wrote the original manuscript in 1549, although it was not published in any form until 1582 and was not widely available to the public in its original form until 1774. A more complete version, based on a late 17th-century manuscript written by Sir Robert Sibbald, was first published as late as 1961. Monro wrote in Scots and some of the descriptions are difficult for modern readers to render into English. Although Monro was criticised for publishing folklore and for omitting detail about the affairs of the churches in his diocese, Monro's Description is a valuable historical account and has reappeared in part or in whole in numerous publications, remaining one of the most widely quoted publications about the western islands of Scotland.

Monro also wrote a brief description of the five main branches of Clan Donald that existed in his day under the title "The Genealogies Of The Chief Clans Of The Iles", and this work was included when Description was first published as a stand-alone volume in 1805. The Sibbald manuscript also contains details about the "Council of the Isles" that operated from Eilean na Comhairle in Loch Finlaggan on the island of Islay. This is the most detailed extant account of the supreme judiciary body that had existed under the Lordship of the Isles until its demise in the late fifteenth century. (Full article...)

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Selected island

One of Eday's beaches, with sea caves adjacent to the southern end of Calf Sound

Eday (/ˈiːdiː/, Scots: Aidee) 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 24 kilometres (13 nautical miles) from the Orkney Mainland. With an area of 27 km² (10 sq mi), it is the ninth-largest island of the archipelago. The bedrock of the island is Old Red Sandstone, which is exposed along the sea-cliffs.

There are various well-preserved Neolithic tombs, as well as evidence of Bronze Age settlement and the remains of a Norse-era castle. During the period of Scottish rule the substantial property of Carrick House was developed at Calfsound, which became a burgh for a short period. During the British era many agricultural improvements were introduced, although there has been a substantial decline in the population since the mid-nineteenth century. In the twenty-first century the Eday Partnership has had success in promoting the island's economy. Local placenames reflect the diverse linguistic heritage and the landscapes of the island and its surrounding seas attract abundant wildlife. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... that Domhnall mac Raghnaill (descendant pictured) was the founder of the MacDonald clan?
... that nearly 10,000 quartz artifacts were found at a Neolithic site known as the Scord of Brouster?
... that the Boreray is the most critically endangered breed of sheep in the United Kingdom, according to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust?
... that the Raven banner, a standard used by various Viking leaders including Sigurd the Stout and Harald Hardrada, was a totem believed to have the power to grant victory to its holder?

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Selected portrait

Image 1Jurassic sandstone rock arch on the Strathaird peninsula of Skye
Credit: John Allan
Image 2A Hebridean spotted orchid in machair on Lewis
Credit: Etherp
Image 3Columba was a 6th-century Irish-born saint who spread Christianity in Scotland and founded Iona Abbey, where he is commemorated in this stained-glass window
Credit: Vegansoldier
Image 4Fossilised dinosaur print on Staffin beach, Skye
Credit: maproom
Image 5Reconstruction of a timber crannog, an ancient man-made island, on Loch Tay; several hundred crannog sites have been recorded in Scotland
Credit: Dave Morris
Image 6The Standing Stones of Stenness, near Stromness, Orkney, started by 3100 BC and possibly Britain's oldest henge site
Credit: Fantoman400
Image 7The 8th-century Kildalton Cross, Islay, one of the best-preserved Celtic crosses in Scotland
Credit: Tom Richardson
Image 8The North Carr Beacon at low tide; the unlit beacon was built between 1813 and 1821 by Robert Stevenson to warn shipping of the North Carr Reef near Fife Ness
Credit: Kathrinpassig
Image 9Scottish Gaelic speakers in the 2011 census; the Outer Hebrides, Tiree, Raasay, Skye and Lismore have the highest proportion of speakers
Credit: SkateTier
Image 10Puffins and guillemots on Lunga in the Treshnish Isles, with Bac Mòr (known as Dutchman's Cap for its distinctive shape) in the background
Credit: Simaron
Image 11Seals hauled out by Lyrie Geo on Hoy
Credit: Claire Pegrum
Image 12Eilean Ruairidh Mòr, one of many forested islands in Loch Maree
Credit: Jerry Sharp
Image 13Seabird colonies on a crag on the Brough of Birsay, Orkney
Credit: Tbc

Selected geography article

Entrance to Fingal's Cave, 1900

Fingal's Cave is a sea cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, known for its natural acoustics. The National Trust for Scotland owns the cave as part of a national nature reserve. It became known as Fingal's Cave after the eponymous hero of an epic poem by 18th-century Scots poet-historian James Macpherson. (Full article...)

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Selected biography

John Gregorson Campbell (1836 – 22 November 1891) was a Scottish folklorist and Free Church minister at the Tiree and Coll parishes in Argyll, Scotland. An avid collector of traditional stories, he became Secretary to the Ossianic Society of Glasgow University in the mid-1850s. Ill health had prevented him taking up employment as a Minister when he was initially approved to preach by the Presbytery of Glasgow in 1858 and later after he was appointed to Tiree by the Duke of Argyll in 1861, parishioners objected to his manner of preaching.

Several of the anecdotes he amassed were published in magazines and, just before his death, work began on collating the first of four compendiums of the tales; three were published a few years after his death. He was fluent in several languages, including Scottish Gaelic, and transcribed the legends precisely as dictated by the narrators. (Full article...)

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Selected panorama

Image 1View towards the Cuillin on Skye
Credit: Stefan Krause
Image 2View from Canna, overlooking Sanday towards Rùm
Credit: Emoscopes
Image 3Iona Abbey
Credit: Oliver-Bonjoch
Image 4The Storr ridge on Skye, with the Old Man of Storr (right)
Credit: Klaus with K
Image 5Arran's northern hills, including Goat Fell, the island's highest point
Credit: Colin
Image 6Small freshwater islets on Loch Assynt
Credit: Vincent
Image 7Loch Fada, Trotternish, on Skye, looking towards The Storr
Credit: Klaus with K
Image 8The colourful Main Street of Tobermory on Mull
Credit: Colin
Image 9The remains of the Old Pier at Salen, Mull
Credit: Colin
Image 10Dunvegan Castle, a 14th-century castle on Skye, the seat of Clan MacLeod
Credit: Mihael Grmek
Image 11Quiraing, Trotternish, on Skye
Credit: Stefan Krause
Image 12Eilean Donan
Credit: Stefan Krause

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