Old Norse name | Rauðøy Mikla [1] |
---|---|
Meaning of name | big red island |
![]() Muckle Ayre | |
Location | |
OS grid reference | HU317650 |
Coordinates | 60°22′N1°25.5′W / 60.367°N 1.4250°W Coordinates: 60°22′N1°25.5′W / 60.367°N 1.4250°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Shetland |
Area | 1,773 hectares (6.8 sq mi) |
Area rank | 37 [2] |
Highest elevation | Mid Ward 172 metres (564 ft) [3] |
Administration | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | Scotland |
Council area | Shetland Islands |
Demographics | |
Population | 130 [4] |
Population rank | 43 [2] |
Population density | 7.3people/km2 [4] [5] |
![]() | |
References | [3] [5] [6] [7] |
Muckle Roe Lighthouse Swarbacks Minn | |
![]() Muckle Roe Lighthouse | |
Coordinates | 60°20′57″N1°27′03″W / 60.349232°N 1.450732°W |
Constructed | 1897 (first) |
Foundation | concrete base |
Construction | metal skeletal tower (current) cast iron tower (first) |
Height | 7 metres (23 ft) (current) 8 metres (26 ft) (first) |
Shape | quadrangular tower covered by aluminium panels with light on the top (current) octagonal tower with balcony and lantern |
Markings | white tower |
Power source | solar power ![]() |
Operator | Northern Lighthouse Board [8] |
First lit | 2001 (current) |
Deactivated | 2001 (first) |
Focal height | 30 metres (98 ft) (current) |
Lens | 3rd order Fresnel lens (first) |
Range | 9 nmi (17 km; 10 mi) (white), 6 nmi (11 km; 6.9 mi) (red) ![]() |
Characteristic | Fl WR 3s. [9] |
Muckle Roe is an island in Shetland, Scotland, in St. Magnus Bay, to the west of Mainland. It has a population of around 130 people, who mainly croft and live in the south east of the island. [7] [10]
'Muckle' is Scots for 'big' or 'great'.
The island is referred to in the Orkneyinga saga . [11]
In 1905 a bridge was built between Muckle Roe and the Shetland Mainland over Roe Sound at a cost of £1,020 met from public subscription and a grant from the Congested Districts Board. The construction was of iron and concrete [7] [12] and its completion was followed by a reversal in the population decline seen in the 19th and earlier 20th centuries. The bridge was later widened and strengthened, and opened on 22 October 1947 by the Convener of Zetland, W. Thomson Esq. Construction of a replacement bridge commenced in May 1998, the work being completed in January 1999. It was opened officially by Councillor Drew Ratter on 3 April 1999. [13]
Muckle Roe was part of the civil parish of Delting until the abolition of civil parishes in Scotland by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929.
Muckle Roe is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) in diameter, with high cliffs in the south. Its highest point is Mid Ward 172 metres (564 ft).
The island's rock is red granite, [10] which gives the island its name – a combination of Scots and Old Norse meaning "big red island". [5] [7]
There are crofts in the east and south east. The rest of the island is lochan-studded moorland. [14]
1851 | 290 |
1871 | 216 |
1881 | 230 |
1961 | 103 |
1971 | 94 |
1981 | 101 |
1991 | 115 |
2001 | 104 |
2011 | 130 |
source: [4] [5] | |
Gilbert Williamson Wood (2 September 1828 – 24 September 1886), a merchant seaman, was born at Little Ayre and emigrated to Adelaide, Australia in 1853. He founded G. Wood, Son & Co. along with his eldest son Peter in 1876. The company produced goods under a number of brand names, including Anchor, Snowflake, Viking, and Medallion. He donated sums of money back to Muckle Roe, including funds towards the building of the first bridge to mainland Shetland, and the Muckle Roe Church of Scotland, which was completed in 1911. The remaining funds were used to purchase books and school bags for every child attending the local school. Some profits from the sale of Anchor butter went towards paraffin lamps for the chapel. [15]
Yell is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland. In the 2011 census it had a usually resident population of 966. It is the second largest island in Shetland after the Mainland with an area of 82 square miles (212 km2), and is the third most populous in the archipelago, after the Mainland and Whalsay.
Bressay is a populated island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland.
Whalsay is the sixth largest of the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland.
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.
West Burra is one of the Scalloway Islands, a subgroup of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It is connected by bridge to East Burra. With an area of 743 hectares, it is the eleventh-largest of the Shetland Islands.
East Burra is one of the Scalloway Islands, a subgroup of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It is connected by a bridge to West Burra.
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.
The Northern Isles are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are the Hebrides. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas. There are a total of 36 inhabited islands. The landscapes of the fertile agricultural islands of Orkney contrast with the more rugged Shetland islands to the north, where the economy is more dependent on fishing and on the oil wealth of the surrounding seas. Both island groups have a developing renewable energy industry. Both have a Pictish and Norse history. Both were part of the Kingdom of Norway until they were absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland in the 15th century. They remained part of it until the 1707 formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the 1801 formation of the United Kingdom. They both played a significant naval role during the world wars of the 20th century.
Balta is an uninhabited island in Shetland, Scotland.
Vementry is an uninhabited Scottish island in Shetland on the north side of the West Mainland, lying south of Muckle Roe.
Papa Little is an island in St Magnus Bay, Shetland, Scotland.
Burra is the collective name for two of the Shetland Islands, West and East Burra, which are connected by bridge to one another, and to the Shetland Mainland via Trondra.
South Walls, often referred to as Walls, is an inhabited island adjacent to Hoy in Orkney, Scotland. The name is a corruption of "Sooth Was", which means the "southern voes" – as with Kirkwall, it was assumed that it was a mispronunciation of "walls".
Bigga is an uninhabited island in the Yell Sound between the Mainland and Yell in Shetland, Scotland.
Yell Sound is the strait running between Yell and Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. It is the boundary between the Mainland and the North Isles and it contains many small islands. Sullom Voe, on the shores of which is a substantial oil terminal, is an arm of Yell Sound.
Langa is the collective name for two uninhabited islands off Hildasay, in Shetland, Scotland. The islands are connected by a tombolo and are separated at high tide. It is not to be confused with the numerous islands called "Linga" in Shetland.
St Magnus Bay is a large coastal feature in the north-west of Mainland Shetland, Scotland. Roughly circular in shape with a diameter of about 19 kilometres (12 mi), it is open to the North Atlantic Ocean to the west. The indented coastline to the north, south and east between Esha Ness in the north and the Ness of Melby in the south contains numerous bays, firths and voes and there are several islands around the perimeter. The waters of the bay are up to 165 metres (541 ft) deep and may have been the site of a substantial meteor impact.