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Dùn is an island in St Kilda, Scotland. It is nearly long. Its name simply means "fort" in Fisher, James & Waterston, George (Nov. 1941) ''The Breeding Distribution, History and Population of The Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) in the British Isles''. Edinburgh. The Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 10, No. 2 pp. 204-272.
Retrieved 24 March 2007
Dùn, which protects Village Bay on Hirta from the prevailing south-westerly winds, was at one time joined to Hirta by a natural arch. MacLean (1972) suggests that the arch was broken when struck by a
Dùn is an island in St Kilda, Scotland. It is nearly long. Its name simply means "fort" in Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...
(for more information, see "dun
A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse.
Etymology
The term comes from Irish ''dún'' or Scottish Gaelic ''dùn'' (meaning "fort"), and is cognat ...
"), but the fort itself has been lost – old maps show it on Gob an Dùin (), which is at the seaward end.
Though Dùn is almost joined to Hirta
Hirta ( gd, Hiort) is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The names (in Scottish Gaelic) and ''Hirta'' (historically in English) have also been applied to the entire archipelago. Now without a perman ...
at Ruiaval, the two islands are separated by Caolas an Dùin (the straits of Dùn). This prevents Soay sheep
The Soay sheep is a breed of domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') descended from a population of feral sheep on the island of Soay in the St Kilda Archipelago, about from the Western Isles of Scotland. It is one of the Northern European short-t ...
from Hirta straying onto the island, and thus it is more vegetated.
The small island is home to the largest colony of fulmar
The fulmars are tubenosed seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two extinct fossil species from the Miocene.
Fulmars superficially resemble gulls, but are readily distinguished by their flight on ...
s in Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
. Before 1828, St Kilda was their only British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
breeding ground, but they have since spread and established colonies elsewhere, such as at Fowlsheugh
Fowlsheugh is a coastal nature reserve in Kincardineshire, northeast Scotland, known for its cliff formations and habitat supporting prolific seabird nesting colonies. Designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Scottish Natura ...
.Retrieved 24 March 2007
Dùn, which protects Village Bay on Hirta from the prevailing south-westerly winds, was at one time joined to Hirta by a natural arch. MacLean (1972) suggests that the arch was broken when struck by a galleon
Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...
fleeing the defeat of the Armada, but other sources, such as Mitchell (1992), provide the more credible (if less romantic) explanation that the arch was simply swept away by one of the many fierce storms which batter the islands every winter.
See also
*Cleit
A cleit is a stone storage hut or bothy, uniquely found on the isles and stacs of St Kilda; whilst many are still to be found, they are slowly falling into disrepair. There are known to be 1,260 cleitean on Hirta and a further 170 on the other ...
- a unique St Kildan form of stone shelter
* 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 ...
References
* Haswell-Smith, Hamish ''The Scottish Islands'' * Fisher, James & Waterston, George (Nov. 1941) ''The Breeding Distribution, History and Population of The Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) in the British Isles''. Edinburgh. The Journal of Animal Ecology, Vol. 10, No. 2 pp. 204–272. * MacLean, Charles ''Island on the Edge of the World: the Story of St. Kilda'', Canongate, 1977 St Kilda, Scotland Marilyns of Scotland Seabird colonies Natural arches of Scotland {{WesternIsles-geo-stub