Eilean nan Ròn ( gd, island of the seals) is an island near
Skerray
Skerray ( gd, Sgeirea) is a remote small crofting hamlet and fishing port on the north coast of Sutherland, Scotland. It is located by road northeast of Tongue, Highland, Tongue and by road west of Thurso. Skerray is home to a community of art ...
, in the north of
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...
, Scotland.
[Wilson, Rev. John ''The Gazetteer of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1882) Published by W. & A.K. Johnstone] An estimated 350 seal pups are born here annually.
History
Eilean nan Ròn was populated for many years. 73 people lived there in 1881 and 30 in 1931 but it has been uninhabited since 1938.
The final evacuation list contained nine people from the Mackay family – Christina Bella Mackay, Hector Sinclair Mackay, Jessie Ann Mackay, Willie John Mackay, Hugh Campbell Mackay, Donald Mackay, Ina Mackay, Chrissie Dolina Mackay and Christina Mackay.
The ruins of a settlement can be seen from the Skerray and in the waist of the island, between Mol na Coinnle ("Pebble Beach of the Candles") and Mol Mòr ("big pebble beach").
[
]
Geography and geology
Eilean nan Ròn is not one of the Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebrid ...
, which lie off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The island is mainly sandstone with steep cliffs on the north and east coasts and a natural arch at Leathad Ballach.,[ which is high, and wide.][ The high points are Cnoc an Loisgein at , and Cnoc na Caillich at . As Rev. Wilson wrote in 1882:
:''It looks like two islands, is mostly engirt with high precipitous rocks, includes a low tract of very fertile soil.''][
There are several islets and islands off Eilean nan Ròn. These include the ]tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
Eilean Iosal (low island), and beyond it Meall Thailm (or "Meall Holm"). To the south west is the dully named An Innis ("small island"). The Rabbit Islands are in Tongue Bay to the south west.
Wildlife
As the name implies, Eilean nan Ròn is popular with grey seals
The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...
, that come here in their hundreds each autumn to pup.[ The island also has large numbers of seabirds, and sheep, which were left when the Island was evacuated.
]
See also
* List of islands of Scotland
This is a list of 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 "land that is surrounded by ...
* List of outlying islands of Scotland
The outlying islands of Scotland are not part of the larger archipelagos and island groups of Scotland—the Hebrides, the Northern Isles or the Islands of the Forth and Clyde estuaries. None of these islands are currently inhabited and few o ...
Footnotes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eilean Nan Ron
Islands of Sutherland
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North West Sutherland
Uninhabited islands of Highland (council area)
Natural arches of Scotland