Islands of the Clyde
The Islands of the Firth of Clyde are the fifth largest of the major Scottish island groups after the Inner and Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. They are situated in the Firth of Clyde between Ayrshire and Argyll and Bute. There are about forty islands and skerries. Only four are inhabited, and only nine are larger than 40 hectares (99 acres).[Note 1] The largest and most populous are Arran and Bute. They are served by dedicated ferry routes, as are Great Cumbrae and Holy Island. [4][5] Unlike the isles in the four larger Scottish archipelagos, none of the isles in this group are connected to one another or to the mainland by bridges.
The geology and geomorphology of the area is complex, and the islands and the surrounding sea lochs each have distinctive features. The influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the North Atlantic Drift create a mild, damp oceanic climate. There is a diversity of wildlife, including three species of rare endemic trees.
The larger islands have been continuously inhabited since
Geology and geography
The
Like the rest of Scotland, the Firth of Clyde was covered by ice sheets during the
The various soil types on the islands reflect their diverse geology. Bute has the most productive land, and it has a pattern of deposits that is typical of the southwest of Scotland. In the eroded valleys, there is a mixture of boulder clay and other glacial deposits. Elsewhere, especially to the south and west, there are raised beach- and marine deposits, which in some places, such as Stravanan, result in a machair landscape inland from the sandy bays.[16][17]
The Firth of Clyde, in which these islands lie, is north of the Irish Sea and has numerous branching inlets. Some of those inlets, including
Climate
The Firth of Clyde lies between 55 and 56 degrees north latitude. This is the same latitude as Labrador in Canada and north of the Aleutian Islands. However, the influence of the North Atlantic Drift—the northern extension of the Gulf Stream—moderates the winter weather. As a result, the area enjoys a mild, damp oceanic climate. Temperatures are generally cool, averaging about 6 °C (43 °F) in January and 14 °C (57 °F) in July at sea level.[20] Snow seldom lies at sea level, and frosts are generally less frequent than they are on the mainland. In common with most islands off the west coast of Scotland, the average annual rainfall is generally high: between 1,300 mm (51 in) on Bute, in the Cumbraes, and in the south of Arran, and 1,900 mm (75 in) in the north of Arran. The Arran mountains are even wetter: Their summits receive over 2,550 mm (100 in) of rain annually. May, June and July are the sunniest months: on average, there is a total of 200 hours of bright sunshine during that 3-month period each year. Southern Bute benefits from a particularly large number of sunny days.[20]
History
Prehistory
Later,
During the early
Early Scots rule
Beginning in the 2nd century AD, Irish influence was at work in the region, and by the 6th century,
Viking influence
Beginning in the 9th century and into the 13th century, the Islands of the Clyde constituted a border zone between the Norse Suðreyjar and Scotland, and many of them were under Norse hegemony.
Beginning in the last half of the 12th century, and then into the early 1200s, the islands may well have served as the power base of
This western extension of Scottish authority appears to have been one of the factors motivating the Norwegian invasion of the region in 1230, during which the invaders seized Rothesay Castle.[32]
In 1263, Norwegian troops commanded by
This battle marked an ultimately fatal weakening of Norwegian power in Scotland. Haakon retreated to Orkney, where he died in December 1263, consoled on his death bed by recitations of the old sagas. Following his death, under the 1266 Treaty of Perth, all rights that the Norwegian Crown "had of old therein" in relation to the islands were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland.[35][36][37]
Modern Scotland
Politically, from the conclusion of the Treaty of Perth in 1266 to the present day, all of the islands of the Clyde have been part of Scotland.
Ecclesiastically, beginning in the early medieval period all of these isles were part of the
in the 16th century, when Scotland broke with the Catholic Church.The mid-1700s marked the beginning of a century of significant change. New forms of transport, industry, and agriculture brought an end to ways of life that had endured for centuries. The Battle of Culloden in 1746 foreshadowed the end of the clan system. These changes improved living standards for some, but came at a cost for others.[39]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries,
From the 1850s to the late 20th century, cargo ships known as “
Politically, from 1890 to 1975, most of the islands comprised the traditional County of Bute, and its inhabitants were represented by the county council. Since the 1975 reorganization, however, the islands have been split more or less equally between two modern council authorities: Argyll and Bute, and North Ayrshire. Only Ailsa Craig and Lady Isle in South Ayrshire are not part of either of these two council areas.
Islands
Below is a table listing the nine islands of the Firth of Clyde that have an area greater than 40 hectares (approximately 100 acres), showing their population and listing the smaller uninhabited islets adjacent to them (including tidal islets separated only when the tide is higher, and skerries exposed only when the tide is lower).
As of 2001, six of the islands were inhabited, but that included one with only two residents (
Island | Gaelic Name[53] | Location | Area (ha)[54] | Population[52] | Last inhabited | Highest point[55] | Height (m)[Note 2] | Surrounding islets[56] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ailsa Craig | Creag Ealasaid | South Ayrshire | 99 | 0 | 1980s[57] | The Cairn | 338 | None |
Arran | Arainn | Arran | 43201 | 4629 | – | Goat Fell | 874 | Eilean na h-Àirde Bàine, Hamilton Isle, Pladda |
Bute | Bòid | Bute | 12217 | 6498 | – | Windy Hill | 278 | Eilean Dearg, Eilean Dubh, Sgat Beag and Sgat Mòr
|
Davaar
|
Eilean Dà Bhàrr | Kintyre | 52[51] | 0 | – | 115 | None | |
Great Cumbrae | Cumaradh Mòr | Bute | 1168 | 1376 | – | The Glaidstane | 127 | The Clach, The Eileans, The Leug, The Spoig |
Holy Island | Eilean Mo Laise | Arran | 253 | 31 | – | Mullach Mòr | 314 | None |
Inchmarnock | Innis Mheàrnaig | Bute | 253 | 0 | 1980s[58] | 60 | None | |
Little Cumbrae | Cumaradh Beag | Bute | 313 | 0 | 1990s[59] | Lighthouse Hill | 123 | The Broad Islands, Castle Island, Trail Isle |
Sanda | Àbhainn | Kintyre | 127 | 0 | – | 123 | Sheep Island
|
Outlying islands
The islets that lie remote from the larger islands are described separately below.[61]
There are two islets in Gare Loch: Green Island and Perch Rock. Gare Loch is small, but it hosts the
There are also several islets in the Kilbrannan Sound, which lies between Arran and the Kintyre peninsula. They are: An Struthlag, Cour Island, Eilean Carrach (Carradale), Eilean Carrach (Skipness), Eilean Grianain, Eilean Sunadale, Gull Isle, Island Ross and Thorn Isle.
(The Norse sagas tell a story about the Kintyre peninsula. In the late 11th century, a
There are also several islets and skerries in Loch Fyne, which extends 65 kilometres (40 mi) inland from the Sound of Bute, and is the longest of Scotland's sea lochs.[68] They are: Duncuan Island, Eilean Ardgaddan, Eilean a' Bhuic, Eilean Aoghainn, Eilean a' Chomhraig, Eilean an Dúnain, Eilean Buidhe (Ardmarnock), Eilean Buidhe (Portavadie), Eilean Fraoch, Eilean Math-ghamhna, Eilean Mór, Glas Eilean, Heather Island, Inverneil Island, Kilbride Island, and Liath Eilean.
There are several islets surrounding Horse Isle in North Ayrshire: Broad Rock, East Islet, Halftide Rock, High Rock and North Islet.
Lady Isle lies off the South Ayrshire coast near Troon. At one time it housed "ane old chapell with an excellent spring of water".[69] However, in June 1821, someone set fire to the "turf and pasture". Once the pasture had burned away, gales blew much of the island's soil into the sea. This permanently destroyed the island's ability to support grazing.[70]
There are no islands in Loch Goil or Loch Long, which are fjord-like arms in the northern part of the firth.[56]
Non-island areas with “island” in their name
Here is a list of places along that shores of the Firth of Clyde that are not islands, but have names that misleadingly suggest they are islands (eilean being Gaelic for "island"): Eilean na Beithe, Portavadie; Eilean Beag,
Natural history
Around the Firth of Clyde, there are populations of
Over 200 bird species have been recorded as sighted in the area, including the black guillemot, the eider, the peregrine falcon, and the golden eagle.[73] In 1981, there were 28 ptarmigans sighted on Arran, but in 2009 it was reported that extensive surveys had been unable to find any recorded ptarmigans sightings.[75] Similarly, the red-billed chough no longer breeds on the island.[76]
Arran has three species of the rare
Etymology
The
Island | Derivation | Language | Meaning | Modern Gaelic name[53] | Alternative Derivations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arran | Possibly Aran | Brythonic | high place[84] | Arainn | Possibly pre-Celtic |
Bute | Bót (see above) | Norse or Gaelic | Possibly "fire isle" | Eilean Bhòid or Bód | Possibly from Brythonic budh for "corn" and previously known as Rothesay meaning "Roderick's island"[87]
|
Davaar
|
Eilean Dà Bhàrr | Gaelic | Barr's island | Eilean Dà Bhàrr | |
Great Cumbrae | Cymri | English/Brythonic | place of the Brythonic people | Cumaradh Mòr | Gaelic literally means "place of the Cymric people".[53] Previously known in English as Great or Greater Cumray.[59] |
Holy Island | – | English | Refers to Molaise of Leighlin | Eilean Mo Laise | Previously known as "Lamlash", the English name was adopted in 1830 when the Arran village took this name. In Gaelic, the island is also known as "An t-Eilean Àrd" (the high island). |
Sanda | Sandtange or Havin | Old Norse or Danish | sandspit or anchorage[88] | Àbhainn | Also known as "Sanda Island"[88] |
See also
- Scottish island names
- Rathlin Island
- Sleeping Warrior
- Arran Single Malt
- Mount Stuart House
- Cathedral of the Isles
- Earl of Arran (Scotland)
- Marquess of Bute
- Mull of Kintyre test
Notes
- ^ The definition of an island used is that it is land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human devices such as bridges and causeways. Various other definitions are used in the Scottish context. For example, the General Register Office for Scotland define an island as "a mass of land surrounded by water, separate from the Scottish mainland" but although they include islands linked by bridges etc., this is not clear from this definition.[2] Haswell-Smith (2004) uses "an Island is a piece of land or group of pieces of land which is entirely surrounded by water at Lowest Astronomical Tide and to which there is no permanent means of dry access". This consciously excludes bridged islands, which most other sources include.[3]
- ^ Note that the Ordnance Survey maps mark the height above sea level of a high point on most islands, but in a small number of cases, this may not be the highest point.[56]
- ^ This tale is related in the Norse sagas, but the context is confused. They assert that the arrangement was made with King Malcolm, but in fact it was Edgar who was King of Scots at the time.[67]
- Vasconic substratum hypothesis, Theo Vennemann notes the recurrence of the element aran, (Unified Basque haran) meaning"valley", in names like Val d'Aran, Arundel, or Arendal.[86]
Footnotes
- ^ "Waverley" Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Clyde Waterfront Heritage. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ General Register Office for Scotland (2003) "Appendix".
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) "Preface" p. xi
- ^ a b "Destinations". Caledonian MacBrayne. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
- ^ a b "Getting Here". The Holy Isle Project. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ Gillen (2003) p. 28
- ^ McKirdy et al. (2007) pp. 297- 301
- ^ Montgomery, Keith (2003). "Siccar Point and Teaching the History of Geology" (PDF). University of Wisconsin. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
- ^ "Hutton's Unconformity - Lochranza, Isle of Arran, UK - Places of Geologic Significance on Waymarking.com". Waymarking.com. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
- ^ Gillen (2003) pp. 89–90
- ^ Roch, John (27 October 2004) "Puffins Return to Scottish Island Famous for Curling Stones". National Geographic News. Retrieved 29 August 2010
- ^ Gillen (2003) pp. 174–86
- ^ McKirdy et al. (2007) pp. 297- 301.
- ^ McKirdy et al. (2007) p. 28.
- ^ Ritchie, W. "Beaches of Cowal, Bute & Arran" (1975) Scottish Natural Heritage. (Originally published by the Countryside Commission for Scotland). pp. 6–9
- ^ "Bute's Geology & Geomorphology" Bute-gateway.org. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
- ^ "Bute Map 6: Garroch Head to Stravannan Bay" Archived 28 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (pdf) scapetrust.org. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
- ^ Gillen (2003) p. 177
- ^ "Lighthouse Library" Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
- ^ a b "Regional mapped climate averages" Archived 4 August 2012 at archive.today Met Office. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- ^ Noble (2006) p. 30
- ^ a b Noble (2006) pp. 104–05
- ^ a b Murray (1973) pp. 113–131
- ^ Morris, John H. "Sailing through Scottish Antiquities" Archived 11 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine scottish.antiquities.ukonline.co.uk. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
- ^ "Arran, Monamore, Meallach's Grave" Scotland's Places.Retrieved 4 February 2011.
- ^ "Great Cumbrae Island, Craigengour" Scotland's Places.Retrieved 4 February 2011.
- ^ a b Cowie, Trevor "The Bronze Age" in Omand (2006) pp. 27–30
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 22
- ^ "The Queen of the Inch Necklace and Facial reconstruction" Archived 19 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Bute Museum. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- ^ Murray (1973) pp. 147–155
- ^ Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 241–248.
- ^ Forte; Oram; Pedersen (2005) pp. 248–253.
- ^ Coventry (2008) p. 545
- ^ Keay (1994) p. 597
- ^ Hunter (2000) pp. 106–111
- ^ Barrett (2008) p. 411
- ^ "Agreement between Magnus IV and Alexander III, 1266" isleofman.com. Manx Society vols IV, VII & IX. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ Bridgland, Nick "The Medieval Church in Argyll" in Omand (2006) pp. 86–87
- ^ Duncan, P. J. "The Industries of Argyll: Tradition and Improvement" in Omand (2006) pp. 151, 156
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 12
- ^ Mackillop, Dugald "The History of the Highland Clearances: Buteshire – Arran" electricscotland.com. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ "Lagantuine – Isle of Arran, Ayrshire UK" waymarking.com. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ "Lamlash" Ayrshireroots.com. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
- ^ "Caledonian Steam Packet Company". Scran – part of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ^ "PS Columba". Paddle Steamer Resources by Tramscape. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ^ Keay (1994) p. 236
- ^ "The Puffer" Archived 22 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Inveraray Maritime Heritage Museum. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ^ "History of Caledonian MacBrayne". West Highland Steamer Club. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ^ "Summer Timetables". Caledonian MacBrayne. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
- ^ "Western Ferries". Retrieved 6 February 2001.
- ^ a b General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Scotland's Census 2001 – Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands. Retrieved 26 February 2012. .
- ^ a b National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ a b c Mac an Tàilleir (2003) various pages.
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) unless otherwise indicated.
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) and Ordnance Survey maps.
- ^ a b c Ordnance Survey maps.
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 3
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 21
- ^ a b Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 18
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 6–7
- ^ All are as identified by Ordnance Survey maps.
- ^ "Gare Loch". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- ^ "West Loch Tarbert" Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
- ^ "Magnus's Saga", chapter 10 in Hollander (1964) pp. 676–677
- ^ Murray (1977) p. 100 has the date as 1093
- ^ "Tarbert History" Archived 20 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Tarbert.info. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
- ^ Woolf, Alex "The Age of the Sea-Kings: 900–1300" in Omand (2006) p. 101
- ^ "Gateway to Scotland" University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- ^ "History of Lady Isle" ladyisle.com. Quoting Geographical Collections relating to Scotland. Vol.1, pages 412/3. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
- ^ "Memories of Old Troon". www.ladyisle.com. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- ^ Barmore Island Gazetteer for Scotland Retrieved 1 December 2007.
- ^ Ordnance Survey maps unless otherwise stated.
- ^ a b "Natural History". Arran Natural History Society. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "About Kildalloig Estate and Davaar Island" Archived 17 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine. kintyrecottages.com. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ^ "Iconic Birds at Risk" (1 Feb 2009) Glasgow. Sunday Herald.
- ^ "A6.102a Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax (breeding)" (pdf) JNCC. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
- ^ Johnston, Ian (15 June 2007) "Trees on Arran 'are a whole new species' " Edinburgh. The Scotsman. Retrieved 18 June 2007.
- ^ a b "Arran Northern Mountains SSSI: Site Management Statement". Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ Bignal, Eric (1980). "The endemic whitebeams of North Arran". The Glasgow Naturalist. 20 (1): 60–64.
- ^ "New species of tree discovered " (14 June 2007) BBC. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ISSN 0143-1234p. 9
- ^ Watson (1994) pp. 44, 71
- ^ Watson (1994) pp. 95–86
- ^ a b Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 11
- ^ Watson (1994) p. 97
- ^ Baldi & Page (December 2006) Review of "Europa Vasconica – Europa Semitica", Lingua, 116 Issue 12 pp. 2183–2220
- ^ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 23
- ^ a b Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 5
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