An aerial view of Horse Isle
Horse Isle (Scottish Gaelic : Eilean nan Each) is an uninhabited island located in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland near the seaside town of Ardrossan. It is a nature reserve, run by the RSPB.
Horse Isle (Scottish Gaelic : Eilean nan Each) is an uninhabited island located in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland near the seaside town of Ardrossan. It is a nature reserve, run by the RSPB.
Numerous, local stories exist regarding the origin of the island’s name. Most of these folk etymologies concern horses — being grazed on the island, disembarked there (putatively to avoid import tax) or swimming to safety upon the island following a shipwreck. Another story unconvincingly claims the island’s outline resembles a horse.
In fact the island was originally known as Horssey’s Island and the name dates from the twelfth century when Richard de Morville, Lord of Cunninghame, gifted the estate of Warrix (now Bourtreehill) in the Parish of Dreghorn to his son-in-law Philip de Horssey and included the small island, some thirteen miles to the north west, within the terms of the endowment. [1]
The small, rocky island lies at NS211427 , around 1 km (1⁄2 mi) west of the North Ayrshire town of Ardrossan. Although no higher than 4 m (13 ft), it provides some shelter to Ardrossan harbour. The Arran ferry passes close to the island.
Two smaller islands, North Islet and East Islet, skirt the east coast of Horse Isle and a number of other rocks litter the sound between the island and the mainland. The 1788 survey of the Montgomery or Eglinton Estates by John Ainslie was completed in 1791 and records the name 'Robinson's Rock' off the East Islet and "Witherow's Rock" off the West side of the main island. [2]
A 16-metre-tall (52 ft) stone beacon stands at the south end of Horse Isle marking the island for shipping. Erected in 1811, it was commissioned by Hugh, 12th Earl of Eglinton on the suggestion of John Ross. [3] It is indicated only by the word "landmark" on the Ordnance Survey map.
The hazard the island continued to present to shipping is reflected in fact that in excess of 17 ships have been wrecked on or near the island including:
Today, Horse Isle is a nature reserve, run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). [9] It is designated as an Area of Special Protection (AoSP). [10] for breeding seabirds and waterfowl and winter grounds. AoSPs are created under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 with the aim of preventing disturbance or destruction of birds. They replaced bird sanctuary orders (Protection of Birds Act 1967).
Horse Island is important for species including herring and lesser black backed gulls, and eider. [7]
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.
Ayrshire is a historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety of the historic county as well as the island of Arran, formerly part of the historic county of Buteshire. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Renfrewshire and Lanarkshire to the north-east, Dumfriesshire to the south-east, and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to the south. Like many other counties of Scotland, it currently has no administrative function, instead being sub-divided into the council areas of East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire. It has a population of approximately 366,800.
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and south respectively. The local authority is North Ayrshire Council, formed in 1996 with the same boundaries as the district of Cunninghame which existed from 1975 to 1996.
The Firth of Clyde is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre Peninsula. The Firth lies between West Dunbartonshire in the north, Argyll and Bute in the west and Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire in the east. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. The Kyles of Bute separates the Isle of Bute from the Cowal Peninsula. The Sound of Bute separates the islands of Bute and Arran.
Brodick is the main village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It is halfway along the east coast of the island, in Brodick Bay below Goat Fell, the tallest mountain on Arran. The name is derived from the Norse "breda-vick" meaning "Broad Bay".
The County of Bute, also known as Buteshire, is a historic county and registration county of 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.
Ardrossan is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore of the Firth of Clyde.
HMS Dasher (D37) was a British Royal Navy aircraft carrier, of the Avenger class, converted merchant vessels, and one of the shortest-lived escort carriers. She served in the Second World War and sank on 27 March 1943.
The Cumbraes are a group of islands in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The islands belong to the traditional county of Bute and the modern unitary authority of North Ayrshire.
Lady Isle is a small, uninhabited island, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was once home to a chapel dedicated to Saint Mary. The island features a lighthouse and a freshwater spring.
The River Garnock, the smallest of Ayrshire's six principal rivers, has its source on the southerly side of the Hill of Stake in the heart of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. About a mile and a half south of this starting point the untested stream tumbles over the Spout of Garnock, the highest waterfall in Ayrshire, once thought to be the river's origin. The river then continues, for a total length of 20 miles (32 km) or so, through the towns of Kilbirnie, Glengarnock, Dalry and Kilwinning to its confluence with the River Irvine at Irvine Harbour.
The Arran whitebeams are species of whitebeam endemic to the island of Arran, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Horse Island is the name of several places, including:
Little Cumbrae Castle sits on Castle Island or Allin Tuirail from the Scottish Gaelic: eilean tùr nan uaislean meaning "islet of the nobles' tower", a small tidal island situated off the east coast of Little Cumbrae, in the Firth of Clyde. It is designated as a scheduled monument.
The Scares or the Scare Rocks are rocky islets in Luce Bay off the coast of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. By far the largest is Big Scare. There is a small outlying rock to its west and three companion islets called the Little Scares are about 1 km to the north east. Big Scare is 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south west of Port William and a similar distance east of the Mull of Galloway.
Irvine Bay is on the eastern shore of the Firth of Clyde, on the coast of North Ayrshire in the West of Scotland. The area is famous for its long sweeping sandy beaches and views across to the Island of Arran. In fact, Irvine Bay itself is a 14-mile stretch of sandy coastline with a range of leisure facilities, including good access to golf and sailing facilities.
Ardrossan is one of the nine electoral wards of North Ayrshire Council. Created in 2022, the ward elects three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 10,359 people.
Ardrossan and Arran was one of the 10 wards used to elect members of North Ayrshire Council. Created in 2007 following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements, the ward elected three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system. Originally a four-member ward, Ardrossan and Arran was reduced in size following a boundary review ahead of the 2017 election. As a result of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the ward was abolished in 2022.
