The Pentland Skerries (

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 ...

: ''Pettlandssker'')Pedersen, Roy (January 1992) ''Orkneyjar ok Katanes'' (map, Inverness, Nevis Print) are a group of four uninhabited

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s lying in the

Pentland Firth The Pentland Firth ( gd, An Caol Arcach, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth. Etymology The name is presumed to be a corruption ...

, northeast of

Duncansby Head Duncansby Head ( gd, Ceann Dhunngain or Dùn Gasbaith) is the most northeasterly part of both the Scottish and British mainlands, slightly northeast of John o' Groats. It lies approximately 20 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Dunnet Hea ...

and south of

South Ronaldsay South Ronaldsay (, also , sco, Sooth Ronalshee) is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland by the Churchill Barriers, running via Burray, Glimps Holm and Lamb Holm. Name Along with North R ...

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 ...

. By far the largest of the islands is

Muckle Skerry Muckle Skerry is the largest of the Pentland Skerries that lie off the north coast of Scotland. It is home to the Pentland Skerries Lighthouse. Muckle Skerry lies in the Pentland Firth at . It is the westernmost of the skerries. At long an ...

, home to two

lighthouses A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

, built in 1794. The other islands lie to the south of Muckle Skerry. From west to east, they are Little Skerry, Louther Skerry and Clettack Skerry.

Accidents

MV Priscilla ran aground on Pentland Skerries on 18 July 2018.

References

Archipelagoes of Scotland Uninhabited islands of Orkney Skerries of Scotland {{Orkney-geo-stub

Accidents

See also

References