| Boreray | |
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| Location | |
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Boreray
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| Boreray shown within the Outer Hebrides | |
| OS grid reference | NF855815 |
| Names | |
| Gaelic name | Boraraigh |
| Norse name | Boreray |
| Meaning of name | fort island |
| Area and summit | |
| Area | 198 ha (489 acres) |
| Area rank | 108= |
| Highest elevation | Mullach Mòr 56 m (184 ft) |
| Groupings | |
| Island group | Uist and Barra |
| Local Authority | Outer Hebrides |
| References | [1][2][3][4] |
| If shown, area and population ranks are for all Scottish islands and all inhabited Scottish islands respectively. Population data is from 2001 census. | |
Boreray (Scottish Gaelic: Boraraigh) is an island, with a single crofter, lying 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
The island is dominated by Loch Mòr ('big loch').
Contents |
The island was occupied from prehistoric times. From the fifteenth century, it was owned by the MacLeans.[5] The thirteenth MacLean of Boreray left the island in around 1810, and the island was divided into twenty crofts. The population grew quickly, and 181 inhabitants were recorded in the 1841 census.[6] Through the 19th century there were over 100 people living there.
Over-cultivation and the collapse of the kelp trade brought a gradual decline in the population.[5] In 1923, the island was evacuated at the request of the islanders. One family stayed on until the 1960s, when the island was abandoned. In 1999, the present crofter started rebuilding work and remains the island’s sole inhabitant.[6]
The single croft forms the north-east part of the island. The grazing rights for the remainder are leased to the crofters of the nearby island of Berneray.
The old crofthouse is available as holiday accommodation.[7]
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