Scottish Gaelic name | Siolaigh/Seilaigh |
---|---|
Old Norse name | Selrey |
Meaning of name | Seal Island or "Herring island", from Norse |
Location | |
OS grid reference | NF593628 |
Coordinates | 57°32′N7°41′W / 57.53°N 7.69°W |
Physical geography | |
Island group | Monach Islands |
Area | 7.4 ha |
Highest elevation | 10 m (33 ft) |
Administration | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Country | Scotland |
Council area | Comhairle nan Eilean Siar |
Demographics | |
Population | 0 |
References | [1] [2] [3] [4] |
Location | Shillay Isle Monach Islands Outer Hebrides Scotland United Kingdom |
---|---|
OS grid | NF5928262723 |
Coordinates | 57°31′33″N7°41′42″W / 57.525894°N 7.695055°W |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1864 |
Designed by | Thomas Stevenson, David Stevenson |
Construction | brick tower |
Automated | 2008 |
Height | 41 metres (135 ft) |
Shape | tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern attached to a 2-storey keeper’s house |
Markings | unpainted tower |
Operator | Northern Lighthouse Board [5] [6] |
Heritage | category B listed building |
Light | |
Deactivated | 1942-2008 |
Focal height | 47 metres (154 ft) |
Range | 18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl (2) W 15s. |
Shillay (Scottish Gaelic: Siolaigh or Seilaigh from the Norse selrey, meaning Seal island) is the westernmost of the Monach Islands (Heisgeir), off North Uist in the Outer Hebrides.
Like most of the other Monach Islands, Shillay has a thin, sandy soil, which has been much troubled by erosion, and which was badly eroded by a huge wave in the 16th century.
Despite Ceann Iar's name, meaning "western headland", Shillay is the westernmost island of the group.
There are several small islets around Shillay, including Eilean Siorraidh, Odarum (to the north) and Raisgeir.
The lighthouse at Shillay has an uneven history. The red brick lighthouse was built in 1864 by David & Thomas Stevenson, and was in use until it was closed during the war in 1942 and not lit again in 1948 after hostilities ceased. After the Braer disaster in 1993 in Shetland, a new light was recommended to mark the deep water route west of the Hebrides. A new automated aluminium light was installed in 1997. However it proved inadequate and in 2005 it was decided that it was cheaper to reuse the original lighthouse than to increase the height of the new light. In 2008 the old lighthouse was refurbished and put back into use. [7] [8] [ citation needed ]
A stone from the lighthouse has been removed into the church wall at Paible; a keeper had carved into it "Eternity Oh Eternity". [2] Just to the south of Shillay, there is an Eilean Siorraidh ("Island of Eternity"; formerly Eilean Siorruidh) - whether this carving is a reference to this or the solitude of the island is unrecorded.
The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, sometimes known as the Long Isle/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. Scottish Gaelic is the predominant spoken language, although in a few areas English speakers form a majority.
The Flannan Isles or alternatively, the Seven Hunters are a small island group in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, approximately 32 kilometres west of the Isle of Lewis. They may take their name from Saint Flannan, the 7th century Irish preacher and abbot.
The Minch, also called North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Highlands and the northern Inner Hebrides from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. It was known as Skotlandsfjörð in Old Norse.
The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas.
Eilean Chathastail is one of the Small Isles in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
The Butt of Lewis is the most northerly point of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The headland, which lies in the North Atlantic, is frequently battered by heavy swells and storms and is marked by the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse. The nearest populated area is the village of Eoropie, about 1 mile to the south.
Muckle Skerry is the largest of the Pentland Skerries that lie off the north coast of Scotland. It is home to the Pentland Skerries Lighthouse.
Eilean Bàn is a six-acre (2.4 ha) island between Kyle of Lochalsh and the Isle of Skye, in the historic county of Ross and Cromarty in the Highland local government area. The Skye Bridge uses the island as a stepping-stone as it crosses the mouth of Loch Alsh from the mainland to Skye.
Ornsay is a small tidal island to the east of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
Ceann Ear is the largest island in the Monach or Heisgeir group off North Uist in north west Scotland. It is 203 hectares in size and connected by sandbanks to Ceann Iar via Sibhinis at low tide. It is said that it was at one time possible to walk all the way to Baleshare, and on to North Uist, 5 miles away at low tide. In the 16th century, a large tidal wave was said to have washed this away.
Disambiguation: "Ceann Iar" is a common Scottish placename meaning Western Headland
Haskeir, also known as Great Haskeir is a remote, exposed and uninhabited island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It lies 13 kilometres west-northwest of North Uist. 1 km southwest lie the skerries of Haskeir Eagach, made up of a colonnade of five rock stacks, and 40 km (25 mi) northwest is St Kilda.
Eilean Musdile (Mansedale) is an islet, and lighthouse to the south west of Lismore in the Inner Hebrides.
Eilean Trodday is an island in The Minch just off the north coast of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye in Scotland.
Eilean Glas Lighthouse is situated on the east coast of the island of Scalpay in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It was one of the original four lights commissioned by the Commissioners of the Northern Lights, and the first in the Hebrides. These lighthouses were built by Thomas Smith.
The Monach Islands, also known as Heisker, are an island group west of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The islands are not to be confused with Hyskeir in the Inner Hebrides, or Haskeir which is also off North Uist and visible from the group.
The Cairns of Coll refers primarily to a region of rocky outcrops in shallow waters extending from the north end of the Island of Coll in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The extension is about 1.1 miles from shore, 1.6 if the Cairns of Coll Rocks 0.5 miles further are to be included. The outcrops of the Cairns are too small to be inhabited. The swift and unpredictable tidal currents between them make navigation hazardous to boats. They are rich in abundant and varied marine life, including the marine mammals.
The Ruvaal, Rhuvaal, or Rubh'a' Mhàil Lighthouse is a listed 19th century lighthouse, located at the north-eastern end of the island of Islay, in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. The active lighthouse marks the northern approaches to the Sound of Islay a narrow channel separating Islay from the adjacent island of Jura, and is one of the seven lighthouses operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board, which act as maritime aids to navigation on and around Islay.