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Rousay
Rousay (, sco, Rousee; non, Hrólfsey meaning Rolf's Island) is a small, hilly island about north of Mainland, the largest island in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. It has been nicknamed "Egypt of the north", due to its archaeological diversity and importance. Like its neighbours Egilsay and Wyre, it can be reached by ro-ro ferry from Tingwall. This service is operated by Orkney Ferries, and can take up to 95 passengers (reduced to 50 in winter), and 10 cars. The ferry links the islands of Rousay, Egilsay, and Wyre with each other, and with the mainland of Orkney. Demographics In the 2001 census, Rousay had a population of 212. Most employment is in farming, fishing or fish-farming; craft businesses and seasonal tourism-related work are present. Geography and natural history It is separated from mainland Orkney by Eynhallow Sound. One road circles the island, about long, and most arable land lies in the few hundred yards between it and the coastline. With an area of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muckle Water
Muckle Water is a long, narrow fresh water loch on Ward Hill on Rousay, Orkney, Scotland. It is the biggest loch on the island and is popular for fishing. It can be reached by a track from the roadside. The Suso Burn on the north eastern shore drains the loch into the Sound of Rousay. A rare hybrid pondweed (''Potamogeton'' sp.) is found in the loch as a result of its unique nutrient levels. The loch was surveyed in 1906 by James Murray and later charted as part of The Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909 . The Nuggle In Orkney folklore it is said that Muckle Water is haunted by a Nuggle, a magical creature usually in the form of horse similar to the Celtic kelpie A kelpie, or water kelpie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Each-Uisge''), is a shape-shifting spirit inhabiting lochs in Scottish folklore. It is usually described as a black horse-like creature, able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie .... The Nuggle waits at the loch side un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, the Mainland, Orkney, Mainland, has an area of , making it the List of islands of Scotland, sixth-largest Scottish island and the List of islands of the British Isles, tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney’s largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall. Orkney is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland, council areas of Scotland, as well as a Orkney (Scottish Parliament constituency), constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area, and an counties of Scotland, historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three councils in Scotland with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north of the coast of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, the Mainland, has an area of , making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney’s largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall. Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and an historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents. The islands have been inhabited for at least years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts. Orkney was col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wyre, Orkney
Wyre (historically known as Viera and Veira) is one of the Orkney Islands, lying south-east of Rousay. It is and at its highest point. It is one of the smallest inhabited islands in the archipelago. Orkney Ferries sail from the island to Tingwall on the Orkney Mainland, Egilsay and Rousay. History Wyre's history is still very apparent, and it has two ancient monuments maintained by Historic Scotland, Cubbie Roo's Castle and St Mary's Chapel. Bishop Bjarni grew up on Wyre, and was the son of Kolbein Hruga (see Cubbie Roo's Castle below.) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland'' says that he: :"composed the only significant work of Norse poetry to have survived in the rkneyislands, his '' Lay of the Jomsvikings''. He also played an important part in securing the canonisation of Earl Rognvald."Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) ''Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland''. London. HarperCollins. The poet Edwin Muir (1887–1959), known for his prominent part in the Scottish Renaissance, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midhowe Broch
Midhowe Broch () is an Iron Age broch located on the west coast of the island of Rousay in the Orkney Islands, in Scotland. Description Midhowe Broch () is situated on a narrow promontory between two steep-sided creeks, on the north side of Eynhallow Sound. The broch is part of an ancient settlement, part of which has been lost to coastal erosion. The broch got its name from the fact that it's the middle of three similar structures that lie grouped within 500 metres of each other and Howe from the Old Norse word ''haugr'' meaning mound or barrow. accessed 14 February 2014 The broch tower has an internal diameter of 9 metres within a wall 4.5 metres thick, which still stands to a height of over 4 metres. The broch interior is crowded with stone partitions, and there is a spring-fed water tank in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brinian
Brinian is a village on the island of Rousay, in Orkney, Scotland. Trumland Trumland is a Category B listed house and associated estate on Rousay, in Orkney, Scotland, built in its present form in the 1870s. Designed by David Bryce (1803–1876), the house was commissioned by Sir F W Traill-Burroughs (1831–1905) ... is situated to the west of the village, with Taversöe Tuick nearby. Brinian is within the parish of Rousay and Egilsay. References External links Around Rousay - Brinian [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rinyo
Rinyo was a Neolithic settlement on Rousay in Orkney, Scotland. The site was discovered in the winter of 1837–38 on the lands of Bigland Farm in the north east of the island at . The site was excavated in 1938 and 1946 by Vere Gordon Childe, who also excavated Skara Brae on Mainland Orkney, and by W. G. Grant. Finds included flint implements, stone axes and balls, pottery and a stone mace-head. RCAHMS. Retrieved 25 June 2009. Over 100 archaeological sites have been identified on Rousay, including the complex of and Midhowe Chambered Cairn
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Eynhallow
Eynhallow ( sco, Eynhallow; non, Eyinhelga; nrn, Øjinhellig) is a small, presently uninhabited island, part of Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland. Geography Eynhallow lies in Eynhallow Sound between Mainland, Orkney and Rousay. It is in area. An unnamed skerry is situated approximately to the north-east of the island, separated by Fint Sound. Sheep Skerry adjoins the southern end of the island. There is no ferry to the island, although Orkney Heritage Society organises a trip each July. Otherwise, visitors have to arrange their own transport to the island by private local boat hire. Access can be problematic, as there are strong tidal surges in the surrounding strait, squeezed between Mainland of Orkney and Rousay. History The island's main attraction is Eynhallow Church dating from the twelfth century or earlier, and perhaps originally part of a monastery. The site is maintained by Historic Scotland. In 1841 the island had a population of 26. It has been u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orkney Ferries
Orkney Ferries is a Scottish company operating inter-island ferry services in the Orkney Islands. The company operates ferry services across 15 islands. History The company is owned by the Orkney Islands Council and was established in 1960 as the Orkney Islands Shipping Company. In 1991, the Orkney Islands Shipping Company acquired a private sector ferry company also called Orkney Ferries, which had been established to compete on the short sea crossing from the Scottish mainland to the Orkney Islands, but which had not succeeded in establishing the route. This company's ferry was assimilated into the inter-island fleet, and in 1995 the Orkney Islands Shipping Company adopted the name Orkney Ferries. Despite this acquisition and change of name, the current Orkney Ferries does not operate services to and from the Scottish mainland, leaving this to other operators such as NorthLink Ferries and Pentland Ferries. Services Orkney Ferries operate between the Orkney mainland and fourt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egilsay
Egilsay (, sco, Egilsay) is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, lying east of Rousay. The island is largely farmland and is known for its corncrakes and St Magnus Church, dedicated or re-dedicated to Saint Magnus, who was killed on the island in 1117 by an axe blow to the head. For hundreds of years the story of St. Magnus, part of the Orkneyinga saga, was considered just a legend until a skull with a large crack in it, such as it had been stricken by an axe, was found in the walls of St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. Etymology Unusually for the Northern Isles, it has been suggested that Egilsay may have a partly Gaelic name. While at first sight, it appears to be Egil's island, "Egil" being a Norse personal name, the Gaelic ''eaglais'' (Celtic "eccles") meaning church, may be part of the root, as the island is dominated by a church of pre-Norse foundation. The island of Kili Holm just to the north, may represent ''cille'', a monastic cell. Present day The island's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shapinsay
Shapinsay (, sco, Shapinsee) is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. There is one village on the island, Balfour, from which roll-on/roll-off car ferries sail to Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. Balfour Castle, built in the Scottish Baronial style, is one of the island's most prominent features, a reminder of the Balfour family's domination of Shapinsay during the 18th and 19th centuries; the Balfours transformed life on the island by introducing new agricultural techniques. Other landmarks include a standing stone, an Iron Age broch, a souterrain and a salt-water shower. With an area of , Shapinsay is the eighth largest island in the Orkney archipelago. It is low-lying and fertile, consequently most of the area is given over to farming. Shapinsay has two nature reserves and is notable for its bird life. At the 2011 census, Shapinsay had a population of 307. The economy of the island is primarily based on agriculture with the exception of a fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broch
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy. Origin and definition The word ''broch'' is derived from Lowland Scots 'brough', meaning (among other things) fort. In the mid-19th century Scottish antiquaries called brochs 'burgs', after Old Norse ', with the same meaning. Place names in Scandinavian Scotland such as Burgawater and Burgan show that Old Norse ' is the older word used for these structures in the north. Brochs are often referred to as ''duns'' in the west. Antiquarians began to use the spelling ''broch'' in the 1870s. A precise definition for the word has proved elusive. Brochs are the most spectacular of a complex class of roundhouse buildings found throughout Atlantic Scotland. The Shetland Amenity Trust lists about 120 sites in Shetland as candidate brochs, while the Royal C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
