List of islands of Scotland

This is a list of the islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is that it is "land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human devices such as bridges and causeways".^[1]

Scotland has over 790 offshore islands, most of which are to be found in four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, sub-divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides.^[2] There are also clusters of islands in the Firth of Clyde, Firth of Forth, and Solway Firth, and numerous small islands within the many bodies of freshwater in Scotland including Loch Lomond and Loch Maree.

Many of these islands are swept by strong tides, and the Corryvreckan tide race between Scarba and Jura is one of the largest whirlpools in the world. Other strong tides are to be found in the Pentland Firth between mainland Scotland and Orkney, and the "Grey Dog" between Scarba and Lunga.^[2] The geology and geomorphology of the islands is varied. Some such as Skye and Mull are mountainous whilst others like Tiree and Sanday are relatively low lying. Many have bedrock made from ancient Archaen Lewisian Gneiss which was originally laid down 3 billion years ago, Shapinsay and other Orkney islands are formed from Old Red Sandstone, which is 400 million years old, and others such as Rùm from more recent Tertiary volcanoes.^[3]

The largest island is Lewis and Harris which extends to 2,179 square kilometres, and there are a further 200 islands which are greater than 40 hectares in area. Of the remainder, several such as Staffa and the Flannan Isles have achieved considerable notability despite their small size.^[2]

Some 97 Scottish islands are populated, of which 92 are offshore islands. Many previously inhabited islands such as Mingulay, Noss and the St Kilda archipelago have been abandoned during the course of the past century and today only 14 islands are populated by over 1,000 people and 45 by over 100. Between 1991 and 2001, the population of the islands fell by 3 per cent overall, although there were 35 islands whose population increased. The total population of all the islands in 2001 was 99,739.^[4]

The culture of the islands has been affected by the successive influences of Celtic, Norse and English speaking peoples and this is reflected in names given to the islands. Most of the Hebrides have Scots Gaelic derivations, whilst those of the Northern Isles tend to be derived from the Viking names. A few have Brythonic, Scots and even perhaps pre-Celtic roots.^[2] A feature of modern island life is the low crime rate and they are considered to be amongst the safest places to live in the UK.^[5]

Rockall, is a small rocky islet in the North Atlantic which was declared part of Scotland by the Island of Rockall Act 1972.^[6][7] However, the legality of the claim is disputed by the Republic of Ireland, Denmark and Iceland and it is probably unenforceable in international law.^[8][9]

Contents 1 Larger islands 2 Freshwater islands 3 Smaller offshore islands 4 Small archipelagos 5 Highest islands 6 Former islands 7 Bridged islands 8 Tidal islands and tombolos 9 Castle Islands 10 Holy islands 11 List of Scottish islands named after people 12 Places called "island" or "isle" etc which are not islands 12.1 Other elements 12.2 Islands named after mainland areas 13 See also 14 References and footnotes 15 External links

Larger islands

This is a list of Scottish islands either with an area greater than 40 hectares (approximately 100 acres) and/or which are inhabited. The "Groups" which in many cases provide a more useful guide to location than local authority areas are after Haswell-Smith (2004). The main Groups are: Firth of Clyde, Islay, Firth of Lorn, Mull, Small Isles, Skye, Lewis and Harris, Uists and Barra, St Kilda, Orkney, Shetland and Firth of Forth. In a few cases where the island is either part of recognisable smaller group or archipelago, or is located away from the main groups, an archipelago, local authority or other descriptive name is used instead. "F" designates a freshwater island.

Sortable table

Island	Group	Area (ha)[10]	Population[4]	Height (m)[11]
Ailsa Craig	Firth of Clyde	&0000000000000099.00000099	0	338
Arran	Firth of Clyde	&0000000000043201.00000043,201	5045	874
Auskerry	Orkney	&0000000000000085.00000085	5	18
Baleshare	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000910.000000910	49	12
Balta	Shetland	&0000000000000080.00000080	0	44
Barra	Uists and Barra	&0000000000005875.0000005,875	1078	383
Barra Head	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000204.000000204	0	193
Benbecula	Uists and Barra	&0000000000008203.0000008,203	1219	124
Berneray, North Uist	Uists and Barra	&0000000000001010.0000001,010	136	93
Bigga	Shetland	&0000000000000078.00000078	0	34
Boreray	St Kilda	&0000000000000077.00000077	0	384
Boreray	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000204.000000204	0	56
Bressay	Shetland	&0000000000002805.0000002,805	384	226
Brother Isle	Shetland	&0000000000000040.00000040	0	25
Bruray	Out Skerries	&0000000000000055.00000055	26	53
Burray	Orkney	&0000000000000903.000000903	357	80
Bute	Firth of Clyde	&0000000000012217.00000012,217	7149	278
Calf of Eday	Orkney	&0000000000000243.000000243	0	54
Calve Island	Mull	&0000000000000072.00000072	0	20
Canna	Small Isles	&0000000000001130.0000001,130	6	210
Cara	Islay	&0000000000000066.00000066	0	56
Càrna	Mull	&0000000000000213.000000213	0	169
Cava	Orkney	&0000000000000107.000000107	0	38
Ceallasaigh Mòr	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000044.00000044 *	0	10
Ceann Ear	Monach Islands	&0000000000000203.000000203	0	17
Ceann Iar	Monach Islands	&0000000000000154.000000154	0	19
Coll	Mull	&0000000000007685.0000007,685	164	104
Colonsay	Islay	&0000000000004074.0000004,074	108	143
Copinsay	Orkney	&0000000000000073.00000073	0	64
Danna	Islay	&0000000000000315.000000315 *	5	54
Davaar	Firth of Clyde	&0000000000000052.00000052 *	2	115
Easdale	Slate Islands	&0000000000000020.00000020 <20 *	58	38
East Burra	Shetland	&0000000000000515.000000515	66	81
Eday	Orkney	&0000000000002745.0000002,745	121	101
Egilsay	Orkney	&0000000000000650.000000650	37	35
Eigg	Small Isles	&0000000000003049.0000003,049	67	393
Eileach an Naoimh	Garvellachs	&0000000000000056.00000056	0	80
Eilean Bàn, Lochalsh	Highland	&0000000000000010.00000010 <10 *	2	5
Eilean Chaluim Chille	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000085.00000085	0	43
Eilean Donan	Highland	&0000000000000001.0000001 <1 *	1	3
Eilean Dubh Mòr	Slate Islands	&0000000000000065.00000065	0	53
Eilean Liubhaird	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000125.000000125	0	76
Eilean Kearstay	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000077.00000077	0	37
Eilean Macaskin	Islay	&0000000000000050.00000050	0	65
Eilean Mòr	Crowlin Islands	&0000000000000170.000000170	0	114
Eilean nan Ròn	Highland	&0000000000000138.000000138	0	76
Eilean Righ	Islay	&0000000000000086.00000086	0	55
Eilean Ruairidh Mòr (F)	Loch Maree	&0000000000000041.00000041 *	0	51
Eilean Shona	Small Isles	&0000000000000525.000000525	9	265
Eilean Sùbhainn (F)	Loch Maree	&0000000000000118.000000118 *	0	36
Eileanan Iasgaich	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000050.00000050	0	23
Ensay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000186.000000186	0	49
Eorsa	Mull	&0000000000000122.000000122	0	98
Eriska	Loch Linnhe	&0000000000000310.000000310 *	0	47
Eriskay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000703.000000703	133	185
Erraid	Mull	&0000000000000187.000000187	8	75
Eynhallow	Orkney	&0000000000000075.00000075	0	30
Fair Isle	Shetland	&0000000000000768.000000768	69	217
Fara	Orkney	&0000000000000295.000000295	0	43
Faray	Orkney	&0000000000000180.000000180	0	32
Fetlar	Shetland	&0000000000004078.0000004,078	86	158
Fiaray	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000041.00000041	0	30
Flodaigh	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000145.000000145 *	11	20
Flodaigh Mòr	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000058.00000058	0	28
Flodday, Sound of Barra	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000040.00000040	0	41
Flotta	Orkney	&0000000000000876.000000876	81	58
Foula	Shetland	&0000000000001265.0000001,265	31	418
Fuaigh Mòr (Vuia Mòr)	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000084.00000084	0	67
Fuday	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000232.000000232	0	89
Fuiay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000084.00000084	0	107
Gairsay	Orkney	&0000000000000240.000000240	3	102
Garbh Eileach	Garvellachs	&0000000000000142.000000142	0	110
Garbh Eilean	Shiant Islands	&0000000000000143.000000143	0	160
Garbh Eilean, Loch Maree (F)	Loch Maree	&0000000000000065.00000065 *	0	25
Gigha	Islay	&0000000000001395.0000001,395	110	100
Gighay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000096.00000096	0	95
Glims Holm	Orkney	&0000000000000055.00000055	0	32
Gometra	Mull	&0000000000000425.000000425	5	155
Graemsay	Orkney	&0000000000000409.000000409	21	62
Great Bernera	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000002122.0000002,122	233	87
Great Cumbrae	Firth of Clyde	&0000000000001168.0000001,168	1434	127
Grimsay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000833.000000833	201	22
Grimsay (South)	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000117.000000117 *	19	20
Gruinard Island	Highland	&0000000000000196.000000196	0	106
Gunna	Mull	&0000000000000069.00000069	0	35
Handa	Highland	&0000000000000309.000000309	0	123
Hascosay	Shetland	&0000000000000275.000000275	0	30
Hellisay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000142.000000142	0	79
Hermetray	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000072.00000072	0	35
Hildasay	Shetland	&0000000000000108.000000108	0	32
Hirta	St Kilda	&0000000000000670.000000670	0	430
Holy Isle	Firth of Clyde	&0000000000000253.000000253	13	314
Horse Island	Summer Isles	&0000000000000053.00000053	0	60
Housay	Out Skerries	&0000000000000163.000000163	50	53
Hoy	Orkney	&0000000000013458.00000013,458	272[12]	479
Hunda	Orkney	&0000000000000100.000000100	0	41
Iona	Mull	&0000000000000877.000000877	125	100
Inchcolm	Firth of Forth	&0000000000000009.0000009 *	2	34
Inchfad (F)	Loch Lomond	&0000000000000040.00000040 c.40 *	2	24
Inch Kenneth	Mull	&0000000000000055.00000055	0	49
Inchlonaig (F)	Loch Lomond	&0000000000000077.00000077 *	0	62
Inchmarnock	Firth of Clyde	&0000000000000266.000000266	0	60
Inchmurrin (F)	Loch Lomond	&0000000000000133.000000133 *	13	89
Inchtavannach (F)	Loch Lomond	&0000000000000052.00000052 *	3	84
Innis Chonan (F)	Loch Awe	&0000000000000008.0000008 *	1	62
Isay	Skye	&0000000000000060.00000060	0	28
Islay	Islay	&0000000000061956.00000061,956	3457	491
Isle Martin	Summer Isles	&0000000000000157.000000157	0	120
Isle of Ewe	Highland	&0000000000000309.000000309	12	72
Isle of May	Firth of Forth	&0000000000000045.00000045	0	50
Isle Ristol	Summer Isles	&0000000000000225.000000225 *	0	71
Jura	Islay	&0000000000036692.00000036,692	188	785
Kerrera	Mull	&0000000000001214.0000001,214	42	189
Killegray	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000176.000000176	0	45
Kirkibost	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000205.000000205	0	7
Lamba	Shetland	&0000000000000043.00000043	0	35
Lamb Holm	Orkney	&0000000000000040.00000040	0	20
Lewis and Harris	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000217898.000000217,898	19918	799
Linga near Muckle Roe	Shetland	&0000000000000070.00000070	0	69
Linga near Yell	Shetland	&0000000000000045.00000045	0	26
Linga Holm	Orkney	&0000000000000057.00000057	0	10
Lismore	Mull	&0000000000002351.0000002,351	146	127
Little Bernera	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000138.000000138	0	41
Little Colonsay	Mull	&0000000000000088.00000088	0	61
Little Cumbrae	Firth of Clyde	&0000000000000313.000000313	0	123
Longa Island	Highland	&0000000000000126.000000126	0	70
Longay	Skye	&0000000000000050.00000050	0	67
Luing	Slate Islands	&0000000000001430.0000001,430	212	94
Lunga	Slate Islands	&0000000000000254.000000254	7	98
Lunga	Treshnish Isles	&0000000000000081.00000081	0	103
Mainland, Orkney	Orkney	&0000000000052325.00000052,325	15315	271
Mainland, Shetland	Shetland	&0000000000096879.00000096,879	17550	450
Mealista	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000124.000000124	0	77
Mingulay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000640.000000640	0	273
Moncrieffe Island (F)	River Tay	&0000000000000046.00000046 *	3	5
Mousa	Shetland	&0000000000000180.000000180	0	55
Muck	Small Isles	&0000000000000559.000000559	30	137
Muckle Roe	Shetland	&0000000000001773.0000001,773	104	267
Muldoanich	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000078.00000078	0	153
Mull	Mull	&0000000000087535.00000087,535	2667	966
North Rona	Atlantic Outlier	&0000000000000109.000000109	0	108
North Ronaldsay	Orkney	&0000000000000690.000000690	70	20
North Uist	Uists and Barra	&0000000000030305.00000030,305	1271	347
Noss	Shetland	&0000000000000343.000000343	0	181
Oldany Island	Highland	&0000000000000200.000000200 *	0	104
Oronsay	Islay	&0000000000000543.000000543	5	93
Oronsay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000085.00000085	0	25
Oronsay	Mull	&0000000000000230.000000230 *	0	58
Oxna	Shetland	&0000000000000068.00000068	0	38
Pabay	Skye	&0000000000000122.000000122	0	28
Pabay Mòr	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000101.000000101	0	68
Pabbay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000250.000000250	0	171
Pabbay	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000820.000000820	0	196
Papa	Shetland	&0000000000000059.00000059	0	32
Papa Little	Shetland	&0000000000000226.000000226	0	82
Papa Stour	Shetland	&0000000000000828.000000828	23	87
Papa Stronsay	Orkney	&0000000000000074.00000074	10	13
Papa Westray	Orkney	&0000000000000918.000000918	65	48
Priest Island	Summer Isles	&0000000000000122.000000122	0	78
Raasay	Skye	&0000000000006405.0000006,405	192	443
Ronay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000563.000000563	0	115
Rousay	Orkney	&0000000000004860.0000004,860	212	250
Rùm	Small Isles	&0000000000010463.00000010,463	22	812
Samphrey	Shetland	&0000000000000066.00000066	0	29
Sanda Island	Firth of Clyde	&0000000000000151.000000151	1	123
Sanday	Orkney	&0000000000005043.0000005,043	478	65
Sanday	Small Isles	&0000000000000184.000000184	6	59
Sandray	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000385.000000385	0	207
Scalpay	Skye	&0000000000002483.0000002,483	10	392
Scalpay	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000653.000000653	322	104
Scarba	Islay	&0000000000001474.0000001,474	0	449
Scarp	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000001045.0000001,045	0	308
Scotasay	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000049.00000049	0	57
Seaforth Island	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000273.000000273	0	217
Seil	Slate Islands	&0000000000001329.0000001,329	560	146
Shapinsay	Orkney	&0000000000002948.0000002,948	300	64
Shillay	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000047.00000047	0	79
Shuna	Slate Islands	&0000000000000451.000000451	1	90
Shuna	Loch Linnhe	&0000000000000155.000000155	0	71
Skye	Skye	&0000000000165625.000000165,625	9232	993
Soay	Skye	&0000000000001036.0000001,036	7	141
Soay	St Kilda	&0000000000000099.00000099	0	378
Soay Mòr	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000045.00000045	0	37
South Havra	Shetland	&0000000000000059.00000059	0	42
South Rona	Skye	&0000000000000930.000000930	2	125
South Ronaldsay	Orkney	&0000000000004980.0000004,980	854	118
South Uist	Uists and Barra	&0000000000032026.00000032,026	1818	620
South Walls	Orkney	&0000000000000850.000000850 *	120 (est)[12]	57
St Serf's Inch (F)	Loch Leven	&0000000000000041.00000041 *	0	110
Stockinish Island	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000049.00000049	0	44
Stroma	Highland	&0000000000000375.000000375	0	53
Stronsay	Orkney	&0000000000003275.0000003,275	343	44
Stuley	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000045.00000045	0	40
Switha	Orkney	&0000000000000041.00000041	0	29
Swona	Orkney	&0000000000000092.00000092	0	41
Tahay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000053.00000053	0	65
Tanera Beag	Summer Isles	&0000000000000066.00000066	0	83
Tanera Mòr	Summer Isles	&0000000000000310.000000310	5	124
Taransay	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000001475.0000001,475	0	267
Texa	Islay	&0000000000000048.00000048	0	48
Tiree	Mull	&0000000000007834.0000007,834	770	141
Torsa	Slate Islands	&0000000000000113.000000113	0	62
Trondra	Shetland	&0000000000000275.000000275	133	60
Ulva	Mull	&0000000000001990.0000001,990	16	313
Unst	Shetland	&0000000000012068.00000012,068	720	284
Uyea, Northmavine	Shetland	&0000000000000045.00000045	0	70
Uyea, Unst	Shetland	&0000000000000205.000000205	0	50
Vaila	Shetland	&0000000000000327.000000327	2	95
Vacsay	Lewis and Harris	&0000000000000041.00000041	0	34
Vallay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000260.000000260	0	38
Vatersay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000960.000000960	94	185
Vementry	Shetland	&0000000000000370.000000370	0	90
West Burra	Shetland	&0000000000000743.000000743	753	217
West Linga	Shetland	&0000000000000125.000000125	0	52
Westray	Orkney	&0000000000004713.0000004,713	563	169
Whalsay	Shetland	&0000000000001970.0000001,970	1034	119
Wiay	Skye	&0000000000000148.000000148	0	60
Wiay	Uists and Barra	&0000000000000375.000000375	0	102
Wyre	Orkney	&0000000000000311.000000311	18	32
Yell	Shetland	&0000000000021211.00000021,211	957	205

Freshwater islands

Main article: List of fresh water islands in Scotland

There are numerous other freshwater islands, of which the more notable include Lochindorb Castle Island, Loch Leven Castle Island, St Serf's Inch, and Inchmahome, each of which have played an important part in Scottish history.

Inchmurrin in Loch Lomond is the largest freshwater island in the British Isles.^[13][14] It is in Loch Lomond, which contains over sixty other islands.^[14]

Smaller offshore islands

This is a continuing list of uninhabited Scottish islands smaller than 40 hectares in size.

Small archipelagos

There are various small archipelagos which may be better known than the larger islands they contain. These include:

Highest islands

• See also List of Munros and List of Marilyns on Scottish islands

Scotland's islands include thirteen Munros (mountains with a height over 3000 feet or 914.4 metres), twelve of them found on Skye, and a total of 227 Marilyns (hills with a relative height of at least 150 metres, regardless of absolute height).^[15] The following list is of all islands with a highest elevation greater than 300 metres (984 feet).

Sortable table

Rank	Island	Mountain	Height (ft)	Height (m)
1	Skye	Sgurr Alasdair	3,258	993
2	Mull	Ben More	3,169	966
3	Arran	Goat Fell	2,867	874
4	Rùm	Askival	2,664	812
5	Lewis and Harris	Clisham	2,621	799
6	Jura	Beinn an Òir	2,575	785
7	South Uist	Beinn Mhòr	2,034	620
8	Islay	Beinn Bheigier	1,610	491
9	Hoy	Ward Hill	1,571	479
10	Shetland Mainland	Ronas Hill	1,476	450
11	Scarba	Cruach Scarba	1,473	449
12	Raasay	Dùn Caan	1,453	443
13	Hirta	Conachair	1,410	430
14	Foula	The Sneug	1,371	418
15	Eigg	An Sgurr	1,289	393
16	Scalpay, Inner Hebrides	Mullach na Càrn	1,286	392
17	Boreray, St Kilda	Mullach an Eilein	1,259	384
18	Barra	Heaval	1,256	383
19	Soay, St Kilda	Cnoc Glas	1,240	378
20	North Uist	Eavel	1,138	347
21	Ailsa Craig	The Cairn	1,108	338
22	Holy Isle	Mullach Mòr	1,030	314
23	Ulva	Beinn Creagach	1,026	313
24	Scarp	Sròn Romul	1,010	308

Former islands

The following is a list of places which were formerly islands, but by some definitions are no longer so, due to silting up, natural processes and harbour building.

• Inchbroach, also known as Rossie Island, now part of Montrose harbour
• Keith Inch (not to be confused with Inchkeith), is now part of Peterhead Harbour, and is the easternmost point of mainland Scotland.
• North Inch, one of the "Inches" in Perth, formerly an island in the River Tay.
• Rosyth Castle also stands on a former island.

Bridged islands

Many of Scotland's islands are connected to the mainland and/or other islands by bridge or causeway. Although some people consider these to be no longer islands, they are generally treated as such.

Outer Hebrides

Many of the islands of the southern Outer Hebrides have been joined to other islands by causeways and bridges. These include:

• Baleshare
• Benbecula
• Berneray
• Eriskay
• Grimsay
• North Uist
• South Uist
• Vatersay (joined to Barra, but not to the above islands)

To the north, Scalpay and Great Bernera are connected to Lewis and Harris.

Inner Hebrides

• The Isle of Skye is connected to the mainland by the Skye Bridge which now incorporates Eilean Bàn.
• Eilean Shona is connected to mainland Moidart by a bridge.
• Eilean Donan (to mainland)
• Eriska (to mainland)
• Seil (to mainland) via Telford's 1792 "Bridge across The Atlantic".

Orkney Islands

Similarly, four Orkney islands are joined to the Orkney Mainland by a series of causeways known as the Churchill Barriers. They are:

• South Ronaldsay
• Burray
• Lamb Holm
• Glims Holm

Hunda is in turn connected to Burray via a causeway.

South Walls and Hoy are connected by a causeway called the Ayre. The islands are treated as one entity (Hoy) by the UK census.

An undersea tunnel between the archipelago and Caithness, at a length of about 9-10 miles (15-16 km) and a tunnel connecting Orkney Mainland to Shapinsay have been discussed,^[16][17] although little has come of it.

Shetland Islands

Several Shetland islands are joined to the Shetland Mainland:

• West Burra and East Burra (via Trondra)
• Muckle Roe
• Trondra

There is also a bridge from Housay to Bruray.

Others

Various other islands are also connected by bridges or causeways, to the mainland or other islands, including:

• Inchgarvie (part of Forth Bridge), thus joined to both Fife and Lothian on the Mainland.
• Garbh Eilean at the entrance to Loch Glencoul is now joined to the mainland by both the Kylesku Bridge to the south and its associated roadworks to the north.

Tidal islands and tombolos

There are a large number of small tidal islets in Scotland. The more notable ones include:

• Baleshare
• Calve Island
• Castle Island
• Corn Holm
• Cramond Island
• Danna
• Davaar Island
• Eilean Shona
• Eriska
• Erraid
• Helliar Holm
• Kili Holm
• Isle Ristol
• Sanday
• Torsa

Oronsay means "ebb island" and there are several tidal islands of this name.^[18]

The three main islands of the Monach Islands (Heisgeir), Ceann Iar, Ceann Ear and Shivinish are connected at low tides. It is said that at one time it was also possible to walk all the way to Baleshare, and on to North Uist, five miles away at low tide. In the 16th century, a large tidal wave was said to have washed the route away.^[2]

St Ninian's Isle is connected to Mainland Shetland by a tombolo. Although greater than 40 hectares in size it fails to meet the definition of an island used in this list as it is only surrounded by water during occasional spring tides and storms.^[19]

Dùn in St Kilda is separated from Hirta by a shallow strait about 50 metres wide. This is normally impassable but is reputed to dry out on rare occasions.^[2]

Castle Islands

Ther are several small Scottish islands that are dominated by a castle or other fortification. The castle is often better known than the island, and the islands themselves are often tidal or bridged. Due to their picturesque nature some of them are well-known from postcards and films. Examples include:

• Bass Rock
• Castle Island
• Calvay
• Castle Stalker
• Castle Tioram
• Eilean Aigas (F)
• Eilean Dearg, Loch Riddon
• Eilean Donan
• Inchtalla (F)
• Inveruglas Isle (F)
• Kilchurn Castle (F)
• Kisimul Castle
• Loch Leven Castle (F)
• Mousa
• Threave Castle (F)
• Wyre

Many of the Islands of the Forth and southern Orkneys have fortifications from the two world wars. Rosyth Castle stands on a former island.

Holy islands

A huge number of the islands of Scotland have some kind of culdee/church connection, and/or are dominated by a church. The more notable include:

• Davaar Island
• Egilsay
• Eynhallow
• Holy Island
• Inchcolm
• Inch Kenneth
• Inchmahome (F)
• Iona
• Isle Maree
• North Rona
• Oronsay
• Papa Stronsay (current Transalpine Redemptorist monastery. Islands called "Papa" or "Pabbay" tend to be former saints' islands)
• St Ninian's Isle
• St Serf's Inch (F)
• Tiree ("land of Iona")

Brother Isle's name is not ecclesiastical in origin as is sometimes stated.

List of Scottish islands named after people

This is a list of islands, which are known to be named after someone. In some cases such as North Ronaldsay this status may not be obvious (it isn't named after a "Ronald", unlike South Ronaldsay). This list omits names such as Hildasay, where the person in question is mythological, or Ailsa Craig, where the individual in question is not known, and also Colonsay & Egilsay where the derivation is disputed.

• Eilean Chaluim Chille - Saint Columba
• Island Davaar - St Barr
• Eilean Donan - Saint Donan
• Flannan Isles - St Flannan
• Frank Lockwood's Island (south of Mull)
• Inchcolm - Saint Columba
• Inch Kenneth - Saint Kenneth
• Inchmarnock - St Mearnag
• Inchmahome (F) - St Colmag
• Inchmurrin (F) - St Meadhran/Mirren
• Innis Chonan (F) - Saint Conan
• Isle Maree (F) - Maelrubha
• Isle Martin - Saint Martin
• North Rona - Saint Ronan
• St Serf's Inch (F) - Saint Serf
• Eilean Sùbhainn (F) - ?Saint Swithin
• Sweyn Holm  – Sweyn Asleifsson
• Taransay - Saint Taran

Iqbal Singh, the owner of Vacsay, has also expressed wishes to rename it after Robert Burns.

Places called "island" or "isle" etc which are not islands

Some places in Scotland with names including "isle" or "island" are not islands. They include:

Lewis and Harris are separated by a range of hills but form one island, and are sometimes referred to as "Lewis and Harris". Isle of Whithorn and the Black Isle are peninsulas, and Isleornsay is a village which looks out onto the island of Ornsay. There is no commonly accepted derivation for "Burntisland" which had numerous other forms in the past, such as "Brintilun" and "Ye Brint Eland".^[20]

Gluss Isle at the western entrance to Sullom Voe is one of the many promontories in Orkney and Shetland connected to a larger body of land by an ayre.

Other elements

The name "Inch" (Innis) can mean island (e.g. Inchkenneth, Inchcolm), but is also used for terra firma surrounded by marsh e.g. Markinch, Insch.

Eilean is Gaelic for "island". However, Inistrynich, Eilean na Maodail, Eilean Dubh and Liever Island are all promontories on Loch Awe as opposed to islands, despite their names. Likewise Eilean Aoidhe on Loch Fyne. The Black Isle is also An t-Eilean Dubh in Gaelic, while Eilean Glas is part of Scalpay.

"-holm" is also common as a suffix in various landlocked placenames, especially in the far south of mainland Scotland e.g. Langholm, Kirk Yetholm, Holmhead (by Cumnock), Holmhill (next to Thornhill, Nithsdale). Some of these were river islands in their time, or dry land surrounded by marsh. "Holm" can be found in an element in Holmsgarth, now a suburb of Lerwick and the Parish of Holm on Mainland Shetland and Mainland Orkney respectively. Neither of these is an island in its own right.

Islands named after mainland areas

Likewise, occasionally an island may be named after a location on the nearby mainland, or a major neighbouring island - or vice versa. Examples of this include Vementry, which was originally the name of an island, but whose name has been transferred to a nearby farm on Mainland Shetland, Oldany Island, whose name has been transferred to Oldany; Cramond Island which is named after neighbouring Cramond (a district of Edinburgh) and Eilean Mhealasta in the Outer Hebrides, which is named after Mealista on Lewis.

See also

• Geography of Scotland
• List of Orkney islands
• List of Shetland islands
• List of Marilyns on Scottish islands
• List of islands of England
• List of islands of Wales
• List of islands of Ireland
• British Isles
• List of the British Isles by area
• Infobox Scottish island
• Template:Hebrides
• Template:Shetland
• Template:Islands of the Forth

References and footnotes

External links

• Scottish Island Network - Population Statistics

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