Pladda ( gd, Pladaigh) is an uninhabited island off the south coast of the Isle of Arran in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

at , western Scotland. It is home to the automated

Pladda Lighthouse Pladda Lighthouse is an active 18th century lighthouse situated at the southern end of the island of Pladda in western Scotland. The lighthouse dates from 1790 and was designed by Thomas Smith. It was the first light on the Clyde to be commissio ...

. The island is privately owned, having been put up for sale by Arran Estate in 1990. As of 2022, the island is again for sale.

Geography

Pladda is a small, flat, teardrop-shaped island, long and rising to just above sea level. Unusually for such a small island, it has its own source of fresh water. Pladda shares its name with Pladda Island, a tiny islet situated in the Lynn of Lorne between Lismore and Ardmucknish Bay.

Lighthouse

Pladda Lighthouse and its ancillary buildings stand at the southern end of Pladda.

Church

There appears to have been a church or chapel on Pladda.

John of Fordun John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th ce ...

and other chroniclers from 1400 to 1500 speak of the isle of St Blase of Pladda. Nothing now remains to mark its site, and its whereabouts are unknown.

In popular culture

Pladda and its lighthouse feature extensively in Peter Hill's book ''Stargazing: Memoirs of a Young Lighthouse Keeper''. They were also filming locations for "Queen Victoria Syndrome", the first episode of season 5 of ''

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

''.

References

External links

Northern Lighthouse Board site on the history of Pladda Lighthouse
Islands of the Clyde Uninhabited islands of North Ayrshire Firth of Clyde {{NorthAyrshire-geo-stub