Scottish Gaelic name | Griomasaigh |
---|---|
Old Norse name | Grímsey |
Meaning of name | ON: Grim's Island |
Location | |
OS grid reference | NF855572 |
Coordinates | 57°29′N7°14′W / 57.49°N 7.24°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Uist and Barra |
Area | 833 ha (3+1⁄4 sq mi) |
Area rank | 58 [1] |
Highest elevation | 22 m (72 ft) |
Administration | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | Scotland |
Council area | Outer Hebrides |
Demographics | |
Population | 169 [2] |
Population rank | 36 [1] |
Population density | 20/km2 (52/sq mi) [2] [3] |
Largest settlement | Bàgh Mòr and Ceallan |
References | [3] [4] [5] |
Grimsay (Scottish Gaelic : Griomasaigh) is a tidal island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Grimsay is the largest of the low-lying stepping-stones which convey the Oitir Mhòr (North Ford) causeway, a 5-mile (8-kilometre) arc of single track road linking North Uist and Benbecula via the western tip of Grimsay. [6] Until it opened in 1960, [7] a ferry linked Carinish (on North Uist) with Gramsdale (on Benbecula), but could only operate at high tide. [8] There was also a ford which could only be crossed close to low water, usually only with a guide. [8] For significant parts of each day the North Ford was too wet to ford and not wet enough to cross by ferry. [8] East of Grimsay lie several smaller islands including Ronay which was inhabited until 1931. [3]
The island's population was 169 as recorded by the 2011 census [2] a drop of over 15% since 2001 when there were 201 usual residents. [9] During the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702. [10] The main settlements are Baymore (Bàgh Mòr) and Kallin (Ceallan) at the eastern end of the island. Grimsay has a harbour at Kallin, which is the base to a sizeable shellfish industry, [6] the island's main industry, mostly for lobster, prawns and scallops. Also in Kallin is The Boatshed, a marine repair facility which promotes traditional skills, and employs a full-time boatbuilder and trainee. [11] Three generations of Stewart family built as many as 1,000 boats from three sheds on Grimsay. [11] Grimsay is encircled by a single-track road that links most of the island's small croft and fishing settlements together.
There is a fine example of an Iron-Age wheelhouse on the northeast coast of the island at Bàgh nam Feadag. [12] It is one of the best examples of a wheelhouse on North Uist but does not appear on Ordnance Survey maps. [13]
The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The islands are geographically coextensive with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. They form part of the archipelago of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides.
Benbecula is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar or the Western Isles Council. The island is about 12 kilometres from west to east and a similar distance from north to south. It lies between the islands of North Uist and South Uist and is connected to both by road causeways. Benbecula's main settlement and administrative centre is Balivanich.
Uist is a group of six islands that are part of the Outer Hebridean Archipelago, which is part of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Berneray is an island and community in the Sound of Harris, Scotland. It is one of fifteen inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides. It is famed for its rich and colourful history which has attracted much tourism. It lies within the South Lewis, Harris and North Uist National Scenic Area, one of 40 such areas in Scotland which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.
Ronay is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, which lies a short distance off the east coast of Grimsay.
Grimsay, south east of Benbecula is a tidal island of the Outer Hebrides. It is connected to Benbecula by a causeway which carries the B891. In the 2001 census, Grimsay had a population of 19, and 20 in 2011.
Wiay is an uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides.
Flodaigh is a tidal island lying to the north of Benbecula and south of Grimsay in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It is connected to Benbecula by a causeway.
Disambiguation: "Ceann Iar" is a common Scottish placename meaning Western Headland
Hermetray is an uninhabited island off North Uist, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Na h-Eileanan Iasgaich comprise a small uninhabited archipelago in Loch Boisdale, in the south east of the island of South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The individual islands are separated from one another at high tide, but connected to one another at low tide,. They are around 50 ha in extent and over 20m at their highest point. Their boundaries are ill-defined.
Flodaigh Mòr is an uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Ceallasaigh Mòr is a low-lying island in Loch Maddy off North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. This an area of shallow lagoons filled and drained by the tides each day. Ceallasaigh Beag lies to the south and these two islets are connected by a narrow strip of sand at low tide. Ceallasaigh Mòr may also join mainland North Uist near Bràigh Cheallasaigh at some stages of the tide.
Lewis and Harris, or Lewis with Harris, is a single Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides, divided by mountains. It is the largest island in Scotland and the third largest in the British Isles, after Great Britain and the island of Ireland, with an area of 841 square miles (2,178 km2), which is approximately 1% of the area of Great Britain. The northern two-thirds is called [the Isle of] Lewis and the southern third [the Isle of] Harris; each is referred to as if it were a separate island and there are many cultural and linguistic differences between the two.
Fraoch-eilean is a small island with an uncertain population north of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It is about 55 hectares in extent and the highest point is 11 metres (36 ft). Its name derives from the Gaelic for "heather island".
Ceallasaigh Beag is a low-lying island in Loch Maddy off North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. This an area of shallow lagoons filled and drained by the tides each day. Ceallasaigh Mòr lies to the south and these two islets are connected by a narrow strip of sand during some low tides.
Eilean na Cille, south east of Benbecula is an island of the Outer Hebrides connected to Grimsay (South) by a causeway which carries the B891. The road was built to service the pier at Peter's Port, which was constructed in 1896 at cost of £2,000 – although the anchorage is awkward and should not be used without local knowledge.
Flodday is an uninhabited island in Loch Maddy, North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.