Soay (, ) is an island just off the coast of
Skye, in the
Inner Hebrides of Scotland.
Geography
Soay lies to the west of
Loch Scavaig on the south-west coast of Skye, from which it is separated by Soay Sound. Unlike its neighbours Skye and
Rùm, Soay is low-lying, reaching at Beinn Bhreac. The dumb-bell shaped island is virtually cut in half by inlets that form Soay Harbour (north) and the main bay, Camas nan Gall (to the south). The main settlement, Mol-chlach, is on the shore of Camas nan Gall. It is normally reached by boat from
Elgol. The island is part of the
Cuillin Hills National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland.
History
The name derives from
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...
''Sauða-ey'' meaning ''Sheep Island''. Camas nan Gall (G: ''Bay of Foreigners'') is probably named after the
Norse invaders, after whom the Hebrides (''Na h-Innse Gall'') are also named.
The population peaked at 158 in 1851, following eviction of crofters from Skye in the
Highland Clearances.
In 1946, author
Gavin Maxwell bought the island and established a factory to process
shark oil from
basking sharks. The enterprise was unsuccessful, lasting just three years. Maxwell wrote about it in his book ''Harpoon at a Venture''. After the failure of the business the island was sold on to Maxwell's business partner's wife (Jeanne Geddes),
Tex Geddes. The island had the first solar-powered telephone exchange in the world.
Previously mainly
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
-speaking, most of the population was evacuated, at their request, to
Mull on 20 June 1953 due to the poor ferry schedule in the winter when it was frequently cancelled due to bad weather , since then the island has been sparsely populated. In 2001 the population was 7.
By 2003 this had dwindled to 2 and the usually resident population in 2011 were three people.
[
]
Stamps
Local stamps were issued for Soay between 1965 and 1967, all on the Europa theme, some being overprinted to commemorate Sir Winston Churchill. As the stamps were produced without the owner's permission, they are regarded as bogus.
See also
* List of islands of Scotland
Footnotes
References
*
*
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Skye and Lochalsh
Islands of Highland (council area)
Islands of the Inner Hebrides