Horse Isle

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For other places with the same name, see Horse Island.
Aerial view of Horse Isle from the southeast
Aerial view of Horse Isle from the southeast

Horse Isle is a small, rocky, uninhabited island in the Firth of Clyde, in Scotland. The island lies around 1 km west of the mainland town of Ardrossan at grid reference NS211427, providing some shelter to the harbour that the Arran ferry sails from.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Two smaller islands, North Islet and East Islet, skirt the east coast of Horse Isle and a number of other rocks litter the sound between the island and the mainland.

It is within the administrative district of North Ayrshire.

[edit] History

An old and derelict tower is located at the south end of Horse Isle. Presumably at one time it was used as a lighthouse but it is indicated only by the word "landmark" on the Ordnance Survey map.

A number of ships have been wrecked on the island such as:

  • Minerva (1821, brig)
  • Morning Star (1871)
  • Brigadier (tugboat, 1960, sank) [1]

[edit] Wildlife

Today (2006), Horse Isle is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Area of Special Protection (AoSP)[1] for breeding seabirds and waterfowl and winter grounds. (The term AoSP replaced Bird Sanctuary Orders (Protection of Birds Act 1967). AoSP’s are created under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 with the aim of preventing disturbance or destruction of birds.)

Species found here include herring and lesser black backed gulls, and eider. [2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Conference on the Ecology and Management of the Firth of Clyde - Papers. Firth of Clyde Forum (2001). Retrieved on 2006-10-27.
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Islands of the Clyde

Coordinates: 55.64482° N 4.84436° W

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