Small Isles

File:Blaeu - Atlas of Scotland 1654 - INSVLÆ QVÆDAM MINORES - The Small Isles.jpg

Blaeu's 1654 Atlas of Scotland - The Small Isles. Rùm is at centre, surrounded by "Kannay', 'Egg' and 'Muck'.

File:Small Isles Ordnance Survey Map 1896.jpg

Ordnance Survey Map of 1896

The Small Isles (Template:Langx<ref name=MacanT>Template:Cite web</ref>) are a small archipelago in the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. They lie south of Skye and north of Mull and Ardnamurchan – the most westerly point of mainland Scotland.

Until 1891, Canna, Rùm and Muck belonged to the county of Argyll,<ref>"Argyll". Vision of Britain. University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 30 May 2020.</ref> while Eigg belonged to Inverness-shire. In that year, the entire archipelago was transferred to Inverness-shire. They now belong to the Highland council area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Name

"Small Isles" is the name of the coterminous civil parish and former Church of Scotland parish,<ref name="HaswellSmith">Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. Template:ISBN. p. 134</ref> originally created in 1726 from part of Sleat parish, the balance of which lies on the much larger island of Skye. The original name of the new parish was Eigg or Short Isles. "In process of time the name was by an easy transition changed from 'Short' to 'Small' Isles."<ref>Donald McLean "Small Isles, County of Inverness", Old Statistical Account of Scotland, Vol. XVII, 1796</ref> The islands are not especially small,<ref name="HaswellSmith"/> with Rùm being the 15th largest in Scotland. The Gaelic name of Template:Lang translates as "cross isles", referring to the islands' position between Morar and Uist.<ref name=MacanT/>

Geography

The four main islands are: Canna, Rùm, Eigg and Muck. The largest is Rùm, with an area of Template:Convert.<ref>Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. Template:ISBN. p. 138</ref>

Smaller islands surrounding the main four include:

• Sanday, separated from Canna by a narrow tidal channel;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Eilean Chathastail, near Eigg and
• Eilean nan Each (Horse Island), near the north coast of Muck (Template:Gbmappingsmall)

There are also a number of skerries:

• Hyskeir or Òigh-sgeir, (not to be confused with Heisker or the Monach Islands in the Outer Hebrides)
• Garbh Sgeir,
• Eagamol, near Eilean nan Each
• Humla, and
• two places called Dubh Sgeir

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the total population of the Small Isles was 153. Five of the islands are inhabited: Eigg (83), Muck (27), Rùm (22), Canna (12) and Sanday (9).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The inhabited islands are in contrasting forms of ownership: Canna (along with the tidally linked Sanday) is owned by a national conservation charity, the National Trust for Scotland;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Eigg has been owned by a local community trust since 1997;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Muck remains in private ownership;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Rùm is largely in the hands of the state (via NatureScot), although some land in and around the only village (Kinloch) is owned by a community trust.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Transport

A Caledonian MacBrayne ferry, Template:MV, links the Small Isles to each other and to the mainland port of Mallaig. The ferry runs a daily service, calling at different islands depending on the day of the week; there are two calls at certain islands on each day to allow for day visits to and from each island.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Lochnevis has a landing craft-style stern ramp allowing vehicles to be driven onto and off the vessel at a new slipway constructed in 2001,<ref>Caledonian MacBrayne: Ferries of the Clyde, Highlands and Islands. Ships Illustrated. Special Issue No. 11. Template:ISBN. p. 74.</ref> however visitors are not normally permitted to bring vehicles to the Small Isles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the summer months the islands are also served by Arisaig Marine's passenger ferry MV Sheerwater from Arisaig, Template:Convert south of Mallaig. Timetables are also arranged to allow time onshore on different islands depending on the day of the week.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Nature and conservation

The Small Isles are all important for their wildlife,<ref name=nsa-review>Template:Cite web</ref> with Rùm being designated as both a national nature reserve and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).<ref name="nnr"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rùm is home to one of the world's largest colonies of Manx shearwater,<ref name=nnr>Template:Cite web</ref> and was the location for the first stage of the reintroduction of white-tailed sea-eagles into Scotland, with 82 birds being released between 1975 and 1985.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rùm, and Canna and Sanday (jointly), are designated as Special Protection Areas (SPA) due their birdlife, with all three islands hosting important breeding populations of guillemots and kittiwakes.<ref name=c&s-spa>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=rum-spa>Template:Cite web</ref> The Canna and Sanday SPA is also designated due to its importance to breeding Atlantic puffins and shags,<ref name="c&s-spa"/> whilst the Rùm SPA designation notes the presence of golden eagles, Manx shearwaters, and red-throated divers.<ref name="rum-spa"/>

Around Template:Convert of the waters around Rùm, Canna and the low-lying rocky islet of Oigh-sgeir have been designated as the Small Isles Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (NCMPA). Of particular note is that this area holds the UK's only known colony of fan mussels.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The seas surrounding all of the Small Isles have also been designated as a SAC due to their importance for harbour porpoises.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The islands and surrounding sea area together form the Small Isles national scenic area, one of the forty such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The designated area covers Template:Convert in total, of which Template:Convert is on land and the remaining Template:Convert is marine (i.e. below low tide level).<ref name=nsa-area>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Visit Small Isles
• Gazetteer for Scotland: Parish of Small Isles
• Gazetteer for Scotland: Parish of Small Isles (History)