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 Argyll and Bute in the west and Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire in the east. There are about forty islands and skerries. Only four are inhabited, and only nine are larger than 40 hectares. The largest and most populous are Arran and Bute. They are served by dedicated ferry routes, as are Great Cumbrae and Holy Island. 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.
Great Cumbrae is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland. The island is sometimes called Millport, after its main town.
Lamlash is a village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It lies three miles south of the island's main settlement and ferry port Brodick, in a sheltered bay on the island's east coast, facing the Holy Isle. Lamlash is the seat of Arran's local government offices, and is also the location of the island's police station, secondary school and hospital. In common with the rest of the island, the village's main industry is tourism and the public sector is also an important employer. Lamlash has an RNLI Lifeboat station with a B class Atlantic 75 lifeboat, covering the inshore waters around the coast of Arran, and in summer, there is a regular ferry service from Lamlash harbour to Holy Isle. The village has several buildings of historical interest, including Hamilton Terrace, which consists of two rows of single storey-and-attic cottages on the Lamlash seafront, arranged in pairs.
Eriskay, from the Old Norse for "Eric's Isle", is an island and community council area of the Outer Hebrides in northern Scotland with a population of 143, as of the 2011 census. It lies between South Uist and Barra and is connected to South Uist by a causeway which was opened in 2001. In the same year Ceann a' Ghàraidh in Eriskay became the ferry terminal for travelling between South Uist and Barra. The Caledonian MacBrayne vehicular ferry travels between Eriskay and Ardmore in Barra. The crossing takes around 40 minutes.
The County of Bute, also known as Buteshire, is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. Now replaced by Argyll and Bute for the Isle of Bute, with the Argyll and Bute Council. The Isle of Arran and The Cumbraes are now in North Ayrshire Council area. Since the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, on the 1 April 1996.
Rona, sometimes called South Rona to distinguish it from North Rona, is an inhabited island in the Inner Hebrides. It lies between the Sound of Raasay and the Inner Sound just north of the neighbouring island of Raasay and east of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye. It has a total area of 930 hectares (3.6 sq mi) and a population of 3.
Uist is a group of six islands that are part of the Outer Hebridean Archipelago, which is part of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Sanda Island is a small island in the Firth of Clyde, off of Argyll and Bute, Scotland, near the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula, near Southend and Dunaverty Castle.
Easdale is one of the Slate Islands, in the Firth of Lorn, Scotland. Once the centre of the Scottish slate industry, there has been some recent island regeneration by the owners. This is the smallest of the Inner Hebrides' inhabited islands and is "home to traditional white-washed cottages, a small pub and disused slate quarries". One of the latter, filled with water, is used for swimming.
The Eriskay Pony is a breed of pony from Scotland. It is generally grey in colour, and has a dense, waterproof coat that protects it in harsh weather. The breed developed in ancient times in the Hebrides of Scotland, and a small population remained pure and protected from crossbreeding by the remoteness of the islands. It is used for light draught work, as a mount for children, in many equestrian disciplines, and for driving.
Catacol is a small village on the Isle of Arran, in the council area of North Ayrshire, Scotland.
The Arran whitebeams are species of whitebeam endemic to the island of Arran, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Lunga is one of the Slate Islands in the Firth of Lorn in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Grey Dog" tidal race, which runs in the sea channel to the south, reaches 8 knots (15 km/h) in full flood. The name "Lunga" is derived from the Old Norse for "isle of the longships', but almost all other place names are Gaelic in origin.
Texa is a small island 700 metres directly south of Islay, in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. It reaches a height of 48 metres at its highest point, Ceann Garbh. It is part of the parish of Kildalton on Islay. The distilleries of Laphroaig and Lagavulin are nearby on the Islay coast, as well as Port Ellen. It is currently uninhabited, but is home to wild goats, as well as otters.
Eilean Mhuire is the most easterly of the Shiant Islands in the Outer Hebrides.
Nave Island lies to the north of Islay in the Inner Hebrides near the mouth of Loch Gruinart. It is uninhabited.
The Isle of Arran or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at 432 square kilometres (167 sq mi). Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire. In the 2011 census it had a resident population of 4,629. Though culturally and physically similar to the Hebrides, it is separated from them by the Kintyre peninsula. Often referred to as "Scotland in Miniature", the Island is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault and has been described as a "geologist's paradise".
The Sound of Islay is a narrow strait between the islands of Islay and Jura off the west coast of Scotland. It is about 30 kilometres in extent from north to south and lies between Rubh' a' Mhàil on Islay and Rubh' Aird na Sgitheich on Jura to the north and Macarthur's Head and Rubha na Tràille to the south. The islands in the Sound are Am Fraoch Eilean, Brosdale Island and Glas Eilean, all of which are off the south east coast of Jura. These islands, Jura south of Loch Tarbert and the eastern part of the Sound are one of 40 National Scenic Areas in Scotland.
The modern names of Scottish islands stem from two main influences. There are many names that derive from the Scottish Gaelic language in the Hebrides and Firth of Clyde. In the Northern Isles most place names have a Norse origin. There are also some island place names that originate from three other influences, including a limited number that are essentially English language names, a few that are of Brittonic origin and some of an unknown origin that may represent a pre-Celtic language. These islands have all been occupied by the speakers of at least three and in many cases four or more languages since the Iron Age, and many of the names of these islands have more than one possible meaning as a result.
Description of the Western Isles of Scotland is the oldest known account of the Hebrides and the Islands of the Clyde, two chains of islands off the west coast of Scotland. The author was Donald Monro, a clergyman who used the title of "Dean of the Isles" and who lived through the Scottish Reformation. Monro wrote the original manuscript in 1549, although it was not published in any form until 1582 and was not widely available to the public in its original form until 1774. A more complete version, based on a late 17th-century manuscript written by Sir Robert Sibbald, was first published as late as 1961. Monro wrote in Scots and some of the descriptions are difficult for modern readers to render into English. Although Monro was criticised for publishing folklore and for omitting detail about the affairs of the churches in his diocese, Monro's Description is a valuable historical account and has reappeared in part or in whole in numerous publications, remaining one of the most widely quoted publications about the western islands of Scotland.
