Copinsay

Last updated

Copinsay
Old Norse nameKolbeinsey
Meaning of name"Kobeinn's Island"
Horseofcopinsaytocopinsay.jpg
Southwards from the eastern edge of the Horse of Copinsay. Copinsay lighthouse is on the high ground in the distance.
Location
Orkney Islands UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Copinsay
Copinsay shown within Orkney
OS grid reference HY607015
Coordinates 58°54′N2°40′W / 58.9°N 2.67°W / 58.9; -2.67
Physical geography
Island group Orkney
Area73 hectares (0.28 sq mi)
Area rank170  [1]
Highest elevation64 metres (210 ft)
Administration
Council area Orkney Islands
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Demographics
Population0
Lymphad3.svg
References [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Copinsay Lighthouse OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Copinsay Lighthouse - geograph.org.uk - 253493.jpg
Copinsay Lighthouse in 2005
Coordinates 58°53′47″N2°40′19″W / 58.896432°N 2.672027°W / 58.896432; -2.672027
Constructed1915
Built by David Alan Stevenson   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Constructionstone tower
Automated1991
Height16 metres (52 ft)
Shapecylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markingswhite tower, black lantern, ochre trim
Power sourcesolar power  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
OperatorRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds [7] [8]
Heritagecategory B listed building  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Focal height39 metres (128 ft)
Range21 nautical miles (39 km; 24 mi)
Characteristic Fl(5) W 30s  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Copinsay (Old Norse : Kolbeinsey) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying off the east coast of the Orkney Mainland. The smaller companion island to Copinsay, Horse of Copinsay lies to the northeast. The Horse is uninhabited, and is managed as a bird reserve. Copinsay is also home to a lighthouse.

Contents

Myths about the island include the story of the Copinsay Brownie. [9]

For many generations, prior to the final inhabitants moving to the Mainland in 1958, Copinsay was full of life. This is evidenced by the large double story farmhouse, the Steading (or farm buildings) behind it for the farm tenants, a school with a schoolteacher, and up to three lighthouse keepers' families.

There is also an ancient burial site on the island.

In the earlier part of the 20th century, a weekly postal service provided contact with the Mainland, and there were fortnightly shopping trips to Deerness, allowing for weather. The farm boasted working horses, cattle and sheep - all of which had to be transported on the "coo" or "cow" boat. Bird's eggs provided a good supplement to the islanders' diet, and men were lowered over the cliffs on a special rope, or were rowed out to the Horse to bring back this addition.

Pigs were loosed in the Spring on the Horse for many years, and they fed on the bird's eggs.

Many interesting facts and accounts of life on Copinsay are still retold in the Deerness Community, with many members still remembering when the island was still home to loved ones.

Ecology

The island was bought by the ornithology charity RSPB in 1972 in memory of the naturalist James Fisher. [10] Although Copinsay today is uninhabited, some fields are still farmed at the behest of the RSPB, to try provide suitable conditions for Corncrake. As a result, a patchwork of yesteryear is returning to the island, even though the people have not. Together with the three adjacent three islets (Corn Holm, Ward Holm and Black Holm), it is designated a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds due to the unimproved grassland vegetation and sheer sandstone cliffs providing ideal breeding ledges for seabirds. [11] There is a large colony of grey seals on the island. They usually pup in November each year. Puffins can be seen during July on the adjacent holms.

Notable residents

Edwin Muir, a famous poet

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orkney</span> Archipelago, county and council area in northern Scotland

Orkney, also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. Part of the Northern Isles, Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, the Mainland, has an area of 523 square kilometres (202 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney's largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoy, Orkney</span> Island in the Orkney Islands group

Hoy is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring 143 square kilometres (55 sq mi) – the second largest in the archipelago, after Mainland. A natural causeway, the Ayre, links the island to the smaller South Walls; the two islands are treated as one entity by the UK census. Hoy is also the name of a hamlet in the northwest of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brough of Birsay</span> An uninhabited tidal island off the north-west coast of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland

The Brough of Birsay is an uninhabited tidal island off the north-west coast of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland, in the parish of Birsay. It is located around 13 miles north of Stromness and features the remains of Pictish and Norse settlements as well as a modern lighthouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mainland, Orkney</span> Main island of the Orkney Islands, Scotland

The Mainland, also known as Hrossey and Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eday</span> Island in the Orkney Islands, Scotland

Eday 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Ronaldsay</span> Island in Scotland

North Ronaldsay is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. With an area of 690 hectares (2.7 sq mi), it is the fourteenth-largest. It is mentioned in the Orkneyinga saga; in modern times it is known for its historic lighthouse, migratory bird life and unusual breed of sheep.

Lamb Holm is a small uninhabited island in Orkney, Scotland. The Italian Chapel, constructed during the Second World War, is the island's main attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calf of Eday</span> Island in Orkney, Scotland

The Calf of Eday is an uninhabited island in Orkney, Scotland, lying north east of Eday. It is known for its wildlife and its prehistoric ruins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graemsay</span> Island in western Orkney, Scotland, UK

Graemsay is an island in the western approaches to Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The island has two lighthouses. Graemsay lies within the parish of Stromness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Switha</span>

Switha is a small uninhabited island towards the south of Orkney, Scotland, approximately 41 hectares in area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swona</span> Uninhabited island in the Pentland Firth off the north coast of Scotland

Swona is an uninhabited privately owned island in the Pentland Firth off the north coast of Scotland. It has a herd of feral cattle resulting from the abandonment of stock in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ailsa Craig</span> Island west of Ayrshire, Scotland

Ailsa Craig is an island of 99 ha in the outer Firth of Clyde, 16 km west of mainland Scotland, upon which microgranite has long been quarried to make curling stones. The now-uninhabited island comprises the remains of a magmatic pluton formed during the same period of igneous activity as magmatic rocks on the nearby Isle of Arran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunnet Head</span> Most northerly point of Great Britain

Dunnet Head is a headland in Highland, on the north coast of Scotland. Dunnet Head includes the most northerly point of both mainland Scotland and the island of Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sule Skerry</span> Remote skerry in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland

Sule Skerry is a remote skerry in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumburgh Head</span> Headland in Scotland

Sumburgh Head is a headland located at the southern tip of the main island of the Shetland Archipelago, in northern Scotland. The head consists of a 100 m high rocky spur and topped by the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse. In the Old Norse language, Sumburgh Head was called Dunrøstar høfdi, it means "The Head onto the loud tide-race", referring to the noise of Sumburgh Roost. Robert Stevenson was the engineer in charge of building the Sumburgh Head lighthouse. Work started on the building in 1819, and the light was first lit in 1821.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glimps Holm</span>

Glimps Holm or Glims Holm is a small uninhabited islet in Orkney, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helliar Holm</span> Uninhabited tidal island off the coast of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland

Helliar Holm is an uninhabited island off the coast of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It is home to a 42-foot-tall (13 m) lighthouse, which was built in 1893 and automated in 1967. It is a tidal island that used to be connected to Shapinsay. It is still possible to walk across from the mainland during very low tides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horse of Copinsay</span>

The Horse of Copinsay, also known as the Horse, is a rectangular uninhabited sea stack to the north east of Copinsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland.

References

  1. ↑ Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
  2. ↑ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
  3. ↑ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN   978-1-84195-454-7.
  4. ↑ Get-a-map (Map). Ordnance Survey.
  5. ↑ Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN   0-901824-25-9
  6. ↑ Pedersen, Roy (January 1992) Orkneyjar ok Katanes (map, Inverness, Nevis Print)
  7. ↑ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Scotland: Orkney". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Copinsay Archived 2016-03-24 at the Wayback Machine Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 25 May 2016
  9. ↑ "Copinsay Brownie" . Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  10. ↑ "Copinsay reserve". RSPB.
  11. ↑ "Copinsay SPA description". JNCC.

58°53′52″N2°40′34″W / 58.89778°N 2.67611°W / 58.89778; -2.67611

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.