The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides.
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 Ayrshire and Argyll and Bute. There are about forty islands and skerries, of which only four are inhabited and only nine larger than 40 hectares. The largest and most populous are Arran and Bute, and Great Cumbrae and Holy Island are also served by dedicated ferry routes. Unlike the four larger Scottish archipelagos, none of the isles in this group are connected to one another or to the mainland by bridges.
The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, sometimes known as Innse Gall or 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 Isle of Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Leòdhais or simply Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles.
Harris is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to as the Isle of Harris, which is the former postal county and the current post town for Royal Mail postcodes starting HS3 or HS5; see HS postcode area.
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.
Stornoway is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.
The Shiant Islands or Shiant Isles are a privately owned island group in the Minch, east of Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. They are five miles southeast of the Isle of Lewis.
The Flannan Isles or alternatively, the Seven Hunters are a small island group in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, approximately 32 kilometres (20 mi) west of the Isle of Lewis. They may take their name from Saint Flannan, the seventh-century Irish preacher and abbot.
The Summer Isles are an archipelago lying in the mouth of Loch Broom, in the Highland region of Scotland.
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is the local government council for Na h-Eileanan Siar council area of Scotland, comprising the Outer Hebrides. It is based in Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis.
Finlaggan is a historic site on Eilean Mòr in Loch Finlaggan. Loch, island, and Finlaggan Castle lie around two kilometres to the northwest of Ballygrant on Islay.
The Isle of Skye, commonly known as Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in the country. Although it has been suggested that the Gaelic Sgitheanach describes a winged shape there is no definitive agreement as to the name's origins.
The etymology of Skye attempts to understand the derivation of the name of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Skye's history includes the influence of Gaelic, Norse and English speaking peoples, and the relationships between their names for the island are not straightforward.
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.
