Old Norse name | Eyinhelga [1] |
---|---|
Meaning of name | Holy island |
![]() Eynhallow viewed from Rousay, from the north-east, with the Orkney Mainland beyond | |
Location | |
OS grid reference | HY359291 |
Coordinates | 59°08′N3°07′W / 59.14°N 3.11°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Orkney |
Area | 75 hectares (0.29 sq mi) |
Area rank | 168 [2] |
Highest elevation | 30 metres (98 ft) |
Administration | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | Scotland |
Council area | Orkney Islands |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 [3] |
![]() | |
References | [4] [5] [6] [7] |
Eynhallow is a small, presently uninhabited island in Eynhallow Sound, between Rousay and the Mainland of Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is 75 hectares (0.29 square miles) in area. There is an unnamed skerry about 100 metres (330 feet) to the north-east of the island, separated by Fint Sound. Sheep Skerry adjoins the southern end of the island.
There is no ferry to the island, although Orkney Heritage Society organises a trip each July. [8] Otherwise, visitors have to arrange their own transport to the island by private local boat hire. Access can be problematic, as there are strong tidal surges in the surrounding strait, funnelled between Mainland and Rousay. [9]
The Norse named the island Eyinhelga, [1] meaning "holy island". [6] Johan Blaeu's 17th century Atlas Novus records the name as Alhallow. [10] Skene's 19th century translation of John of Fordun's 14th century Chronica Gentis Scotorum records the name as Enhallow. [11]
The island's main attraction is Eynhallow Church, dating from the 12th century or earlier, and perhaps originally part of a monastery. [12] The site is maintained by Historic Scotland.
In 1841 the island had a population of 26. [12] It has been uninhabited since the landowner cleared crofters away in 1851. The clearing led to the discovery of the church ruins, forgotten until then. [13] The island is now a bird sanctuary.
Described as "perhaps the most mystical of the Orkney isles", [14] it has its own folklore concerning the initial finding of the island. Eynhallow was believed to be the summer residence of the shape-shifting mer-people the Finfolk before they were driven away by a farmer from Evie, the Guidman o' Thorodale. [15] [16]
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.
Rousay is a small, hilly island about 3 km (1.9 mi) north of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. It has been nicknamed "Egypt of the north", due to its archaeological diversity and importance.
Sanday is one of the inhabited islands of Orkney that lies off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of 50.43 km2 (19.5 sq mi), it is the third largest of the Orkney Islands. The main centres of population are Lady Village and Kettletoft. Sanday can be reached by Orkney Ferries or by plane from Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. On Sanday, an on-demand public minibus service allows connecting to the ferry.
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.
Shapinsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of 29.5 square kilometres (11.4 sq mi), it is the eighth largest island in the Orkney archipelago. It is low-lying and, with a bedrock formed from Old Red Sandstone overlain by boulder clay, fertile. Consequently, most of the area is given over to farming. Shapinsay has two nature reserves and is notable for its bird life. Balfour Castle, built in the Scottish Baronial style, is one of the island's most prominent features, a reminder of the Balfour family's domination of Shapinsay during the 18th and 19th centuries; the Balfours transformed life on the island by introducing new agricultural techniques. Other landmarks include a standing stone, an Iron Age broch, a souterrain and a salt-water shower.
Egilsay is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying east of Rousay. The island is largely farmland and is known for its corncrakes and St Magnus Church, dedicated or re-dedicated to Saint Magnus, who was killed on the island in 1117 by an axe blow to the head. For hundreds of years the story of St. Magnus, part of the Orkneyinga saga, was considered just a legend until a skull with a large crack in it, such as it had been stricken by an axe, was found in the walls of St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.
Wyre is one of the Orkney Islands, lying south-east of Rousay. It is 311 hectares (1.20 sq mi) and 32 metres (105 ft) at its highest point. It is one of the smallest inhabited islands in the archipelago.
Papa Westray, also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom. The fertile soil has long been a draw to the island.
Auskerry is a small island in eastern Orkney, Scotland. It lies in the North Sea south of Stronsay and has a lighthouse, completed in 1866.
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.
Switha is a small uninhabited island towards the south of Orkney, Scotland, approximately 41 hectares in area.
Evie is a parish and village on Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. The parish is located in the north-west of the Mainland, between Birsay and Rendall, forming the coastline opposite the isle of Rousay.
The Holm of Papa is a very small uninhabited island in the Orkney Islands. It is around 21 hectares in size. It can be visited from its neighbouring island Papa Westray, or Papay, an island less than a hundred metres west of the Holm.
South Walls is a tidal island or peninsula at the southern end of Hoy in Orkney, Scotland. It is connected to the main body of Hoy, and to the district of North Walls, by a thin neck of land known as the Ayre. Its largest settlement is Longhope, which lies on a long natural harbour of the same name. Both North and South Walls belong to the civil parish of Walls and Flotta.
This is a list of places in Scotland called Papa or similar, which are so named after the Papar, monks from the Early Historic Period or from their connection to other, later priests.
Cava is an uninhabited island in the Orkney archipelago in Scotland. It is 107 hectares (0.41 sq mi) in extent and rises to 38 metres (125 ft) above sea level. The literal meaning of the name is calf island, a terminology often used to designate a small island near to a larger one. Cava is unusual in that it includes a small peninsula joined to the main body of the island by a narrow isthmus, which is in turn called Calf of Cava.
Damsay is an islet in the Orkney archipelago in Scotland. It is approximately 18 hectares (0.07 sq mi) in extent and rises to only 11 metres (36 ft) above sea level. It is situated in the Bay of Firth north of the Orkney Mainland near Finstown. Nearby is the smaller islet of Holm of Grimbister.
Eynhallow Church is a ruined medieval church located on the uninhabited island of Eynhallow in Orkney, Scotland. The church dates back to the 12th-century and is thought to have originally been a monastery. Near the church are the building remains from a post-medieval village. Historic Environment Scotland first listed the site as a scheduled monument in 1921.
59°8′41″N3°7′11″W / 59.14472°N 3.11972°W