Vacsay ( gd, Bhacsaigh from

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 ...

"bakkiey" meaning "peat bank island") is one of the Outer Hebrides. It is off the west coast of

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

in West Loch Roag. It is in size, and at its highest point.

History

Like many of the surrounding islands, Vacsay is uninhabited due to the Highland Clearances, which occurred here in 1827. It was bought in 1993 by Sirdar Baron Iqbal Singh, a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

business man, who currently lives in Lesmahagow. He has bought the title, "Lord of Butley Manor" and also wishes to rename Vacsay, "

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

' island" or Eilean Burns, although Burns never visited the Outer Hebrides.

Geography and geology

The island is

Lewisian gneiss The Lewisian complex or Lewisian gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean Terrane and the North Atlantic Craton. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleopr ...

. Vacsay has an extremely complicated coastline, and is connected at low tide to several surrounding islets such as Trathasam, and Liacam. It is between the islands of Vuia Mòr and Pabay Mòr and is off

Great Bernera Great Bernera (; gd, Beàrnaraigh Mòr), often known just as Bernera ( gd, Beàrnaraigh), is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With an area of just over , it is the thirty-fourth largest Scottish island. Great Bernera l ...

Footnotes

Islands of Loch Ròg Cleared places in the Outer Hebrides Uninhabited islands of the Outer Hebrides {{WesternIsles-geo-stub