List of freshwater islands in Scotland
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The
freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
islands in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
include those within freshwater
loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...
s and rivers – including tidal areas, so the islands may not always be surrounded by freshwater. It has been estimated that there are at least 31,460 freshwater lochs in Scotland and that 1.9 per cent of the land surface is covered by freshwater. The distribution has a north-west to south-east gradient, with the highest concentrations occurring on the islands of the
Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
."Botanical survey of Scottish freshwater lochs"
SNH Information and Advisory Note Number 4. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
The more notable freshwater islands include Lochindorb Castle Island, Loch Leven Castle Island,
St Serf's Inch St Serf's Inch or St Serf's Island is an island in Loch Leven, in south-eastern Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It was the home of a Culdee and then an Augustinian monastic community, St Serf's Inch Priory. History There was a monastic community on ...
and
Inchmahome Inchmahome, an anglicisation of Innis Mo Cholmaig ("my-Colmac's island"), is the largest of three islands in the Lake of Menteith, in Stirlingshire. History Inchmahome is best known as the location of Inchmahome Priory and for the attendant p ...
, each of which have had a role to play in Scottish history.Coventry (2008) p. 154
Inchmurrin Inchmurrin ( gd, Innis Mhearain) is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is the largest fresh water island in the British Isles. Geography and geology Inchmurrin is the largest and most southerly of the islands in Loch Lomond. It reache ...
, the largest freshwater island in the
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, ...
, is in
Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...
, which contains thirty or more other islands. Various names are used repeatedly. "Inch" or is a Scots word that can mean 'island' (although it is also used for terra firma surrounded by marsh). Similarly, is the
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
for 'island'. A common suffix for offshore islands in the north of Scotland is "-holm", derived from the
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
, meaning a 'small and rounded islet'. This list excludes artificial
crannóg A crannog (; ga, crannóg ; gd, crannag ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually built in lakes and estuarine waters of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were bu ...
s and the numerous small freshwater islands with no recorded name.


Larger islands

This table includes all of the freshwater islands that exceed in size and/or are populated. Inchlonaig and
Inchcruin Inchcruin is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is not to be confused with Creinch, which has occasionally been referred to as "Inchcroin". Geography Inchcruin is one of an island group just south of Luss. It is long, and in elevation ...
are classified by the National Records of Scotland as "inhabited islands but had no usual residents at the time of either the 2001 or 2011 censuses." It is likely that
Eilean Aigas Eilean Aigas (NH4641) ( gd, Eilean Àigeis) is an island in the River Beauly, Scotland, in Kiltarlity parish in traditional Inverness-shire,Wilson, Rev. John ''The Gazetteer of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1882) Published by W. & A.K. Johnstone now Hig ...
is inhabited, at least from time to time as well, although it was not listed as such by the Census in 2001 or 2011.


In mainland lochs

Loch Awe Loch Awe (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Obha'') is a large body of freshwater in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such ...
is Scotland's longest loch and abounds with islands and crannógs. Several of the islands are, or have in the past, been inhabited; there are two castles and the remains of a chapel on the islands. Inistrynich, Eilean na Maodail, Eilean Dubh and Liever Island are all
promontories A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the sof ...
as opposed to islands despite their names. The loch's water levels have fluctuated so some of them may have been islands in recent history, as the promontory on which
Kilchurn Castle Kilchurn Castle () is a ruined structure on a rocky peninsula at the northeastern end of Loch Awe, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It was first constructed in the mid-15th century as the base of the Campbells of Glenorchy, who extended both the c ...
stands once was. There may be up to sixty islands in the
Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...
including
Inchmurrin Inchmurrin ( gd, Innis Mhearain) is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is the largest fresh water island in the British Isles. Geography and geology Inchmurrin is the largest and most southerly of the islands in Loch Lomond. It reache ...
, the largest freshwater island anywhere in the
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 ...
and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, and
Inchconnachan Inchconnachan (''Innis Chonachain'' in Gaelic, meaning 'The Colquhoun's Island') is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland, in the Trossachs National Park. It is accessible by boat from the village of Luss on the south side of the Loch. The islan ...
, which has hosted a small population of
Red-necked Wallaby The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been i ...
since at least 1975. The isolated strongholds of
Lochindorb Castle Lochindorb (from the gd, Loch nan Doirb meaning "loch of the minnows") is a freshwater loch north of Grantown on Spey in the Highland council area of Scotland. In the loch there is an island, which is now thought to have been artificially creat ...
and Loch an Eilein Castle were once in the hands of the 14th century nobleman Alexander Stewart, the infamous "Wolf of Badenoch". There are numerous unnamed small islands in mainland lochs, including those where the water level has been artificially raised by the creation of dams for the production of
hydro-electricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
. This process has created new islands that would previously have been small eminences.


On offshore islands

There are relatively few genuine islands in the lochs of the
Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...
, many of those that do exist being artificial crannógs. By contrast there are innumerable small islands in the estimated 7,500 lochs of the
Eilean Siar The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
, only a small proportion of which are named by the
Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...
. The
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 ...
and
Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...
archipelagos to the north are similarly lacking in freshwater islands. Law Ting Holm is the former location of the national þing, or Norse parliament of Shetland."Thing"
Shetlopedia. Retrieved 3 August 2010.


In rivers

No part of Scotland is more than from the sea
loveofscotland.com. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
and as a result Scotland's rivers are neither very wide nor long (although Scotland has many substantial salt water estuaries called
firths Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more usually refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to ''fj ...
). These are islands in freshwater, or where indicated, occasionally reached by high tides and in brackish water. There are several former islands in the Tay, created by natural silting and artificial reclamation including: Big Island, Bloody Inches near
Murthly Murthly (Scottish Gaelic ''Mòrthlaich'') is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies on the south bank of the River Tay, southeast of Dunkeld, and north of Perth. Perth District Asylum, later known as Murthly Hospital, was opened in t ...
, North Inch and South Inch in
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Richards Islands, Sleepless Inch and The Inch near
Inchtuthil Inchtuthil is the site of a Roman legionary fortress situated on a natural platform overlooking the north bank of the River Tay southwest of Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland (Roman Caledonia). It was built in AD 82 or 83 as the advan ...
.


See also

*
Battle of the North Inch The Battle of the North Inch (also known as the Battle of the Clans) was a staged battle between the Clan Chattan and the "Clan Quhele" in September 1396. Thirty men were selected to represent each side in front of spectators, including King Ro ...
*
Loch Gorm Castle Loch Gorm Castle is a ruined castle located on Eilean Mòr (''big island'') on Loch Gorm, Islay, Scotland. It was once a stronghold of Clan Macdonald. The castle was square, with a round bastion at each corner. The ruins, however, are heavily ...
on Eilean Mòr in Loch Gorm, Islay *
Mugdrum Island Mugdrum Island lies in the Firth of Tay, offshore from the town of Newburgh, Fife, Newburgh, Fife, in the east of Scotland. Geography Mugdrum is low-lying and Reedbed, reedy, with the "North Deep" and "South Deep" channels on either side of the ...
, which lies in tidal waters in the
Firth of Tay The Firth of Tay (; gd, Linne Tatha) is a firth on the east coast of Scotland, into which the River Tay (Scotland's largest river in terms of flow) empties. The firth is surrounded by four council areas: Fife, Perth and Kinross, City of Du ...
. *
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 lochs in Scotland This list of lochs in Scotland includes the majority of bodies of standing freshwater named as lochs but only a small selection of the generally smaller, and very numerous, lochans. This list does not currently include the reservoirs of Scotlan ...
*
List of rivers in Scotland This list of rivers in Scotland is organised geographically, taken anti-clockwise, from Berwick-upon-Tweed. Tributaries are listed down the page in an upstream direction. (L) indicates a left-bank tributary and (R) indicates a right-bank tribu ...
*
Scottish island names The modern names of Scottish islands stem from two main influences. There are many names that derive from the Scottish Gaelic language in the Hebrides and Firth of Clyde. In the Northern Isles most place names have a Norse origin. There are also ...
*
Waterfalls of Scotland Much of Scotland is mountainous; western areas of the Highlands enjoy a wet climate. The more steeply plunging west coast highland rivers in particular are home to countless waterfalls. Scotland has over 150 waterfalls, most are situated in the Hi ...


References and footnotes

;General references * Barrow, G.W.S. (ed.), ''The Kingdom of the Scots: Government, Church and Society from the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Century'' (2003) Edinburgh University Press. * Coventry, Martin (2008) ''Castles of the Clans''. Musselburgh. Goblinshead. * General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003)
Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands
'. Retrieved 9 July 2007. * Grant, Alexander "The Wolf of Badenoch" in W.D.H. Sellar (ed.) (1993) ''Moray: Province and People''. Scottish Society for Northern Studies. Edinburgh; * * * Murray, Sir John and Pullar, Laurence (1910) ''Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909''. London; Challenger Office. *
Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...
(2009
"Get-a-map"
Retrieved January 2010. ;Notes ;Citations {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Freshwater Islands In Scotland *
Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
*