Great Bernera
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| Great Bernera | |
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| Location | |
  Great Bernera
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| Great Bernera shown within Scotland. | |
| OS grid reference: | NB162344 |
| Names | |
| Gaelic name: | Bearnaraigh |
| Norse name: | bjarnar-øy |
| Meaning of name: | Bjørn's island from Norse |
| Area and Summit | |
| Area: | 2122 ha |
| Area rank (Scottish islands): | 34 |
| Highest elevation: | 87 m |
| Population | |
| Population (2001): | 233 |
| Population rank (inhabited Scottish islands): | 29 out of 97 |
| Main settlement: | Breaclete |
| Groupings | |
| Island Group: | Lewis and Harris |
| Local Authority: | Outer Hebrides |
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| References: | [1][2][3][4] |
Great Bernera, often known just as Bernera (Scottish Gaelic: Bearnaraigh) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.
Great Bernera lies in Loch Roag on the north-west coast of Lewis and is linked to it by a road bridge. Built in 1953, the bridge was the first pre-stressed concrete bridge in Europe.[2] The main settlement on the island is Breaclete (Scottish Gaelic: Breacleit), home to a small museum, mini-mart, school, church and community centre, complete with cafe, fire station and doctors surgery.
Since 1962, the island has been owned by Prince Robin de la Lanne-Mirrlees,[2] a former Queen's Herald, who is recognised as Laird of Bernera. He has a house and fish farm at Kirkibost.[2]
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[edit] History
[edit] Calanais VIII
Callanish VIII is a unique standing stone arrangement near the bridge between Lewis and Bernera, set out in a semi-circle.
[edit] Bostadh
Bernera is also known for its Iron Age (or possibly Pictish) settlement at Bostadh, discovered in 1992 and now covered by sand to preserve it. A replica Iron Age house matching those now buried is sited nearby.
[edit] Bernera Riot
The island was the location of the Bernera Riot, where crofters resisted the Highland clearances. The main industry on Bernera today is lobster-fishing, with a fish processing plant at Kirkibost. There are still some weavers but it is no longer one of the main industries. The island now boasts a museum, a shop (with off-licence), a post office and also petrol pumps.
[edit] Geology
The island has deposits of muscovite and tremolite asbestos. An example of a rock of tremolite on muscovite from Great Bernera is shown in the photograph to the right.
[edit] Trivia
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling owns a converted blackhouse on the island, and has ancestral connections with the area through his mother.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
- ^ a b c d Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate.
- ^ Ordnance Survey
- ^ Iain Mac an Tailleir. Placenames. Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.
- ^ Angus Howarth. "Darling hit with holiday home tax", The Scotsman, 20/03/2004. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
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