The Swinge is the strait between Alderney and

Burhou Burhou (pronounced ''ber-ROO'') is a small island about northwest of Alderney that is part of the Channel Islands. It has no permanent residents, and is a bird sanctuary, so landing there is banned from March 15 to August 1. The island's wildl ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

. It often sees a furious

tidal race Tidal race or tidal rapid is a natural occurrence whereby a fast-moving tide passes through a constriction, resulting in the formation of waves, eddies and hazardous currents. The constriction can be a passage where the sides narrow, for example ...

(the Alderney Race), and Braye Harbour which faces it, has a mile-long breakwater to cope with this. The

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

of the Swinge is probably

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

, related to Old Icelandic ''swinnr'' (swift, rapid)''Alderney Place Names'', Royston Raymond, 1999 Alderney Corbet Rock lies in the Swinge. Corbet Rock is said to have been named after the ancient Corbet family of the Channel Islands. The Little Swinge is between Burhou and Les Nannels. The Race is the strait on the other side of Alderney.

References

Geography of Alderney {{Guernsey-geo-stub