Scottish Gaelic name | Fiodra |
---|---|
Old Norse name | Fiðrey |
Meaning of name | Norse for "feather island" [1] |
Location | |
OS grid reference | NT5186 |
Coordinates | 56°04′N2°47′W / 56.07°N 2.78°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Islands of the Forth |
Area | c. 10 ha (25 acres) |
Highest elevation | c. 20 m (66 ft) |
Administration | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | Scotland |
Council area | East Lothian |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
References | [2] [3] [4] |
Fidra (archaically Fidrey [5] or Fetheray [6] ) is a currently uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, 4 kilometres (2+1⁄2 miles) northwest of North Berwick, on the east coast of Scotland. The island is an RSPB Scotland nature reserve.
Like the other islands near North Berwick, Fidra is the result of volcanic activity around 335 million years ago. Fidra consists of three sections; a hill at one end with the lighthouse on it; a low-lying section in the middle, effectively an isthmus; and a rocky stack at the other end. [7]
The island's name is believed to be Old Norse in origin, referring to the large number of bird feathers found there. Like the nearby Bass Rock, it has a substantial seabird population, and is now an RSPB reserve. The village of Gullane lies to the south-west, and the nature reserve of Yellowcraig and village of Dirleton, to which parish Fidra belongs, [8] are to the south. Remotely operated cameras on the island send live pictures to the watching visitors at the Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick. [9]
Upon the island are ruins of an old chapel, or lazaretto for the sick, which was dedicated in 1165 to St Nicholas. [8] In the 12th-century, the island formed part of the barony of Dirleton, which was granted to the Anglo-Norman John de Vaux by King David I. The de Vaux family built a stronghold, known as Castle Tarbet, on the island, but in 1220, William de Vaux gifted Fidra to the monks of Dryburgh Abbey, in the Borders. His successor built Dirleton Castle, on the mainland, as a replacement dwelling. [10]
The number of breeding puffins on the island has increased recently due to the removal of an introduced plant, tree mallow (Lavatera arborea). It is likely that it was planted by lighthouse keepers for use as toilet paper, and for its medicinal qualities. The shrub was blocking the entrances to the breeding burrows, and in 1996 the number of occupied burrows had fallen to approximately 400. Following clearance by RSPB Scotland staff and volunteers over 1,000 burrows are occupied in 2016. [11]
Robert Louis Stevenson often visited the beaches at the area known today as Yellowcraig and it is said that he based his map of Treasure Island on the shape of Fidra. (This claim is also made about the island of Unst in Shetland.) He also mentioned Fidra in his novel Catriona . [7] Fidra Books is a publishing house, named after the island, and which uses Fidra's outline as part of its logo. [12] The progressive rock band Marillion also briefly mention Fidra in the song, Warm Wet Circles, which contains the line "She nervously undressed in the dancing beams of the Fidra Lighthouse", [13] the coast nearby apparently being a well-known courting spot. [13]
Location | Fidra, East Lothian, Dirleton, United Kingdom |
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Coordinates | 56°04′24″N2°47′06″W / 56.073224°N 2.785137°W |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1885 |
Designed by | David Alan Stevenson, Thomas Stevenson |
Construction | brick (tower) |
Automated | 1970 |
Height | 17 m (56 ft) |
Shape | cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern [14] [15] |
Markings | white (tower), black (lantern), ochre (trim) |
Power source | mains electricity |
Operator | Forth Ports |
Heritage | category C listed building |
Light | |
Focal height | 34 m (112 ft) |
Range | 15 nmi (28 km; 17 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl(4) W 30s |
The lighthouse, which was designed by David Alan Stevenson (as his first work) in 1885 and supervised by his uncle Thomas Stevenson was manned until 1970 and is now automated, as are all Scottish lighthouses. However, Fidra was the first unmanned lighthouse. [16] It is accessible via a private jetty on the east coast of the island. [3] The light flashes 4 times every 30 seconds during hours of darkness. [17]
The Firth of Forth is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.
The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass, is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately 2 km (1 mi) offshore, and 5 km (3 mi) north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcanic plug, 107 m (351 ft) at its highest point, and is home to a large colony of gannets. The rock is uninhabited, but historically has been settled by an early Christian hermit, and later was the site of an important castle, which after the Commonwealth period was used as a prison. The island belongs to Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple, whose family acquired it in 1706, and before to the Lauder family for almost six centuries. The Bass Rock Lighthouse was constructed on the rock in 1902, and the remains of an ancient chapel survive.
North Berwick is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately 20 miles (32 km) east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holiday resort in the nineteenth century because of its two sandy bays, the East Bay and the West Bay, and continues to attract holidaymakers. Golf courses at the ends of each bay are open to visitors.
Copinsay 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.
The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is about 1.5 kilometres long and 0.5 kilometres wide. The island is owned and managed by NatureScot as a national nature reserve. There are now no permanent residents, but the island was the site of St Adrian's Priory during the Middle Ages.
Craigleith is a small island in the Firth of Forth off North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland. Its name comes from the Scottish Gaelic Creag Lìte meaning "rock of Leith". It is 45 metres at its highest point.
Lamb, sometimes called Lamb Island or The Lamb, is a small uninhabited island measuring approximately 100 by 50 metres, between the islands of Fidra and Craigleith in the Firth of Forth, off the east coast of Scotland. The Lamb is flanked by two "sheep dogs", North and South Dog Islands, which are basically small skerries. Like the other Islands of the Forth off North Berwick, the Lamb is a result of volcanic activity millions of years ago.
Sumburgh Head is a headland located at the southern tip of the Shetland Mainland 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.
Dirleton is a village and civil parish in East Lothian, Scotland approximately 20 miles (32 km) east of Edinburgh on the A198. It contains 7,500 acres (30 km2). Dirleton lies between North Berwick (east), Gullane (west), Fenton Barns (south) and the Yellowcraigs nature reserve, Archerfield Estate and the Firth of Forth (north). Gullane parish was joined to Dirleton parish in 1612 by an Act of Parliament because "Golyn is ane decaying toun, and Dirleton is ane thriven place."
Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around 2 miles (3.2 km) west of North Berwick, and around 19 miles (31 km) east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by the end of the 17th century.
Kingston is a small hamlet near North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland.
The Scottish Seabird Centre is a marine conservation and education charity, that is supported by an award-winning visitor attraction in North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. Opened by HRH Duke of Rothesay in 2000 and funded by the Millennium Commission. The showpiece of the centre is the interactive live cameras out to the wildlife on the Firth of Forth islands, including Bass Rock, Isle of May, Fidra and Craigleith. The Bass Rock is the world's largest colony of Northern gannets with an estimated 150,000 birds present.
Yellowcraig, also known as Broad Sands Beach, is a coastal area of forest, beach and grassland in East Lothian, south-east Scotland. Yellowcraig is partly within the Firth of Forth Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is bordered to the north by the Firth of Forth, to the south by the village of Dirleton and Dirleton Castle, to the east by the North Berwick West Links golf course, and to the west by the Archerfield Estate and Links golf courses.
Archerfield and Archerfield Links are a country house and pair of golf courses in the parish of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. An older golf course, also called Archerfield Links, occupied the area before falling into disuse after World War II.
The Islands of the Forth are a group of small islands located in the Firth of Forth and in the estuary of the River Forth on the east coast of Scotland. Most of the group lie in the open waters of the firth, between the Lothians and Fife, with the majority to the east of the city of Edinburgh. Two islands lie further west in the river estuary.
The flora and fauna of the Outer Hebrides in northwest Scotland comprises a unique and diverse ecosystem. A long archipelago, set on the eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean, it attracts a wide variety of seabirds, and thanks to the Gulf Stream a climate more mild than might be expected at this latitude. Because it is on the Gulf Stream, it also occasionally gets exotic visitors.
Dirleton Kirk is a church in the village of Dirleton, in East Lothian, Scotland.
Castle Tarbet is located on the island of Fidra, East Lothian, within the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
John I de Vaux, also known as Johannem de Vaus, Baron of Dirleton, was a prominent 12th-century Scottish noble.