Scottish Gaelic name | Sgarba |
---|---|
Pronunciation | [ˈs̪kaɾapə] |
Old Norse name | Skarpoe |
Meaning of name | Old Norse for "sharp, stony, hilly terrain" |
Cruach Scarba | |
Location | |
OS grid reference | NM690044 |
Coordinates | 56°10′37″N5°43′12″W / 56.177°N 5.72°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Islay |
Area | 1,474 ha (5+3⁄4 sq mi) |
Area rank | 39 [1] |
Highest elevation | Cruach Scarba 449 m (1,473 ft) |
Administration | |
Council area | Argyll and Bute |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Demographics | |
Population | Not permanently inhabited since the 1960s |
Largest settlement | Kilmory Lodge |
References | [2] [3] [4] |
Scarba (Scottish Gaelic : Sgarba) is an island, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, just north of the much larger island of Jura. The island has not been permanently inhabited since the 1960s. [3]
Until his death in 2013 it was owned by Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys; its owner now is Shane Cadzow who farms Luing cattle on the nearby island of Luing [5] and grazes some of the cattle on Scarba. [6] Kilmory Lodge is used seasonally as a shooting lodge, the island having a flourishing herd of red deer.
The island's name is from the Norse and may mean "sharp, stony, hilly terrain" [3] or "cormorant island". [7]
Cruach Scarba | |
---|---|
(Scottish Gaelic: 'Cruach Sgarba') | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 449 m (1,473 ft) |
Prominence | 449 m (1,473 ft) |
Listing | Marilyn |
Naming | |
English translation | Hill of Scarba |
Language of name | Gaelic |
Pronunciation | |
Geography | |
Location | Inner Hebrides, Scotland |
OS grid | NM690044 |
Topo map | OS Landranger 55 |
Scarba is not served by any public ferries, but access from Craobh Haven or Crinan Harbour is possible by arrangement with local boatmen. The rough summit ridge can be accessed from the harbour at the north end, from where a vehicle track leads up past Kilmory Lodge to a height of about 200 metres. After that, there are no paths or well defined routes, and the terrain becomes rough and boggy. The island rises steeply to a peak (Cruach Scarba) of 449 metres (1,473 ft). A cylindrical triangulation point marks the highest of several summits, which are surrounded by several small lochs.
The western two-thirds of Scarba is formed from the Neoproterozoic aged coarse-grained quartzites of the Jura Quartzite Formation ascribed to the Islay Subgroup of the Dalradian Argyll Group. Separated from these rocks by a north–south aligned geological fault, the bedrock of the eastern third is the Neoproterozoic Scarba Conglomerate Formation, and the subordinate Jura Slate Member belonging to the Easdale Subgroup of the Argyll Group. North-south aligned dykes of amphibolite are found throughout the Jura Quartzite whilst lamprophyre dykes of Siluro-Devonian age and basalt and micro-gabbro dykes forming part of the Palaeogene age ‘Mull Dyke Swarm’ cut through both the Quartzite in the west and the conglomerate in the east.
Raised marine deposits of sand and gravel occur on the northeast coast, a legacy of late Quaternary changes in relative sea-level. Peat deposits are common within the island's interior. [8] [9]
Between Scarba and Jura lies the Gulf of Corryvreckan, known for its whirlpool. Writing in 1549, Dean Monro wrote of "Skarbay" that between it and "Duray":
Ther runnes ane streame, above the power of all sailing and rowing, with infinite dangers, callit Corybrekan. This stream is aught myle lang, quhilk may not be hantit bot be certain tyds. This Skarbay is four myles lange from the west to the eist, and an myle breadth, ane high rough yle, inhabit and manurit, with some woods in it. [10]
Scarba and a few nearby islets (Lunga and the Garvellachs) are collectively the Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs 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 by restricting certain forms of development. [11]
Scalpay is an inhabited island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland which has a population of 4.
The Slate Islands are an island group in the Inner Hebrides, lying immediately off the west coast of Scotland, north of Jura and southwest of Oban. The main islands are Seil, Easdale, Luing, Shuna, Torsa and Belnahua. Scarba and Kerrera, which lie nearby are not usually included.
The Garvellachs or Isles of the Sea form a small archipelago in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The islands include Garbh Eileach, Dùn Chonnuill and Eileach an Naoimh. Part of the Argyll and Bute council area, they lie in Firth of Lorne west of Lunga and northwest of Scarba and have been uninhabited since the 19th century.
Seil is one of the Slate Islands, located on the east side of the Firth of Lorn, 7 miles southwest of Oban, in Scotland. Seil has been linked to the mainland by bridge since the late 18th century.
Luing is one of the Slate Islands, Firth of Lorn, in the west of Argyll in Scotland, about 16 miles (26 km) south of Oban. The island has an area of 1,430 hectares and is bounded by several small skerries and islets. It has a population of around 200 people, mostly living in Cullipool, Toberonochy, and Blackmillbay.
Belnahua is one of the Slate Islands, in the Firth of Lorn in Scotland, known for its deserted slate quarries. The bedrock that underpins its human history is part of the Scarba Conglomerate Formation and its value has been on record since the 16th century. Likely uninhabited before commercial quarrying commenced, under the control of the Stevenson family during the 19th century the population expanded to over 150 before the island was abandoned again in 1914.
Torsa is one of the Slate Islands in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Lying east of Luing and south of Seil, this tidal island was inhabited until the 1960s. There is now only one house there, which is used for holiday lets. The underlying bedrock is slate but unlike Torsa's immediate island neighbours this has never been worked commercially. The island's name is of Norse origin but the most prominent historical structure on the island is the ruined Caisteal nan Con on the northeast shore, once held by Clan Campbell. The abundant sea life in the waters surrounding the island are protected by the Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura Marine Protected Area.
Garbh Eileach is an uninhabited island in the Inner Hebrides of the west coast of Scotland that lies in the Firth of Lorn between Mull and Argyll. With an area of 142 ha it is the largest of the Garvellachs and reaches a maximum elevation of 110 m (361 ft) above sea level.
The Gulf of Corryvreckan, also called the Strait of Corryvreckan, is a narrow strait between the islands of Jura and Scarba, in Argyll and Bute, off the west coast of mainland Scotland.
Craobh HavenScottish Gaelic pronunciation:[kɾɯːv] is a small purpose-built village and sailing port on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is situated on the Craignish peninsula, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of the A816 road, approximately 22 miles (35 km) south of Oban. Craobh Haven is between Arduaine and Kilmartin, and around 17 miles (27 km) north of Lochgilphead.
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.
Dùn Chonnuill is a small island in the Garvellachs in the Firth of Lorn, Scotland.
Nave Island lies to the north of Islay in the Inner Hebrides near the mouth of Loch Gruinart. It is uninhabited.
In the modern Gaelic languages, Lochlann signifies Scandinavia or, more specifically, Norway. As such it is cognate with the Welsh name for Scandinavia, Llychlyn. In both old Gaelic and old Welsh, such names literally mean 'land of lakes' or 'land of swamps'.
The Argyll Group is a thick sequence of metamorphosed Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks that outcrop across the Central Highlands of Scotland, east of the Great Glen, as well as appearing in the north of Ireland. It is a subdivision of the Dalradian Supergroup and is itself divided into four units; from oldest to youngest these are the Islay, Easdale, Crinan and Tayvallich subgroups.
Colonsay is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Argyll and Bute and has an area of 4,074 hectares. Aligned on a south-west to north-east axis, it measures 8 miles in length and reaches 3 mi (5 km) at its widest point.
Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, adjacent to and northeast of Islay. With an area of 36,692 hectares (142 sq mi), and 196 inhabitants recorded in the 2011 census, Jura is more sparsely populated than Islay, and is one of the least densely populated islands of Scotland: in a list of the islands of Scotland ranked by size, Jura comes eighth, whereas by population it comes 31st. The island is mountainous, bare and largely infertile, covered by extensive areas of blanket bog.
Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs is the name of one of the 40 national scenic areas of Scotland. The designated area covers the islands of Scarba, Lunga, and the Garvellachs, all of which lie in the Firth of Lorn, along with much of the surrounding seascape. The national scenic areas are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection by restricting certain forms of development, and are considered to represent the type of scenic beauty "popularly associated with Scotland and for which it is renowned". The Scarba, Lunga and the Garvellachs NSA covers 6,542 ha in total, consisting of 2,139 ha of land with a further 4,402 ha being marine.
Media related to Scarba at Wikimedia Commons