List of Orkney islands

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This is a list of Orkney islands in Scotland. The Orkney archipelago is located 16 kilometres (10 miles) north of mainland Scotland and comprises over 70 islands and skerries, of which 20 are inhabited. In addition to the Orkney Mainland there are three groups of islands. The North and South Isles lie respectively north and south of Mainland. The Pentland Skerries are a group of small islands in the Pentland Firth, a dangerous stretch of water between mainland Scotland and the larger islands of Orkney, through which run the strongest tidal streams in Britain.^[1]. The Isle of Stroma is often mistakenly included with the Orkney Islands, but is part of Caithness.

The definition of an island used in this list is that it is 'land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human devices such as bridges and causeways'.^[2] There are four islands joined to the Orkney Mainland by a series of causeways known as the Churchill Barriers. They are South Ronaldsay, Burray, Lamb Holm and Glims Holm. In addition, Hunda is connected to Burray by a causeway.^[3] The barriers were constructed by Italian prisoners-of-war as a means of preventing enemy submarine access to the vast natural harbour of Scapa Flow after the sinking of HMS Royal Oak by a German U-boat in 1939 with the loss of 883 lives. The Italian prisoners constructed a small Roman Catholic chapel on Lamb Holm as a place of worship during their incarceration.^[4]

Most of the islands have a bedrock formed from Old Red Sandstone, which is circa 400 million years old, and was laid down in the Devonian period.^[5] The islands have good agricultural qualities and have been continuously inhabited for thousands of years,^[6] as evidenced by the World Heritage Site of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney. The archipelago is exposed to wind and tide, and there are numerous lighthouses as an aid to navigation.^[7] The European Marine Energy Centre, which is located at Stromness, is currently testing various wave and tidal energy devices from Billia Croo on the Mainland and Eday.^[8] The islands all fall within the Orkney Islands Council area. Most of the larger islands have development trusts that support the local economy.^[9][10]

Contents 1 Main list 2 Smaller islets and skerries 3 See also 4 References and footnotes

[edit] Main list

This is a list of islands with an area greater than 15 hectares (approximately 37 acres). Records for the last date of settlement for the smaller uninhabited islands are incomplete, but all of the islands listed here would have been inhabited at some point during the Neolithic, Pictish or Norse periods.

'Ward Hill' or a variant thereof is very common as the name of the highest point on the island. These locations are named after those high places used for the lighting of warning beacons.^[11]

Island	Group	Area (ha)[12]	Population[13]	Last inhabited[14]	Highest point[15]	Height (m)[16]
Auskerry	North Isles	0008585	5		West Hill	18
Brough of Birsay	Mainland	0002121	0	unknown	Brough Head	42
Burray	South Isles	00903903	357			80
Calf of Eday	North Isles	00243243	0	unknown		54
Cava	South Isles	00107107	0	1990s		38
Copinsay	South Isles	0007373	0	1970s	Broad Lee	70
Damsay	North Isles	0001818[17]	0	unknown		11
Eday	North Isles	027452745	121		Ward Hill	101
Egilsay	North Isles	00650650	37			35
Eynhallow	North Isles	0007575	0	1842-90		30
Fara	South Isles	00295295	0	1960s	Thomson's Hill	43
Faray	North Isles	00180180	0	1940s		32
Flotta	South Isles	00876876	81		West Hill	58
Gairsay	North Isles	00240240	3			102
Glims Holm	South Isles	0005555	0	unknown		32
Graemsay	South Isles	00409409	21		West Hill	62
Holm of Papa	North Isles	0002222[17]	0	unknown		15
Hoy	South Isles	13468	272[18]		Ward Hill	479
Hunda	South Isles	00100100	0	unknown		41
Lamb Holm	South Isles	0004040	0	1945		20
Linga Holm	North Isles	0005757	0	1842-90		18
Muckle Green Holm	North Isles	0003232[17]	0	unknown		28
Muckle Skerry	Pentland Skerries	0003434[17]	0	1994		20
North Ronaldsay	North Isles	00690690	70			2
Orkney Mainland	Mainland	52325	15315		Mid Hill	271
Papa Stronsay	North Isles	0007474	10			13
Papa Westray	North Isles	00918918	65		North Hill	48
Rysa Little	South Isles	0003232[17]	0	19th century[19]		20
Rousay	North Isles	048604860	212		Blotchnie Fiold	250
Sanday	North Isles	050435043	478		The Wart	65
Shapinsay	North Isles	029482948	300		Ward Hill	64
South Ronaldsay	South Isles	049804980	854		Ward Hill	118
South Walls	South Isles	00850850[17]	120[18]		Gallow Tuag	57
Stronsay	North Isles	032753275	343		Burgh Hill	44
Switha	South Isles	0004141	0	20th century?[20]		29
Swona	South Isles	0009292	0	1974	Warbister Hill	41
Westray	North Isles	047134713	563		Fitty Hill	169
Wyre	North Isles	00311311	18			32

[edit] Smaller islets and skerries

This is a continuing list of uninhabited smaller Orkney islands (many of which are called 'Holm' from the Old Norse holmr, meaning a small and rounded islet),^[21] tidal islets only separated at higher stages of the tide, or skerries which are only exposed at lower stages of the tide.

In the vicinity of:

• Auskerry: Lunga Skerries, Oessen Skerry, The Clett.
• Calf of Eday: Lashy Skerries, The Bow.
• Cava: Barrel of Butter.
• Copinsay: Black Holm, Corn Holm, Horse of Copinsay, Scarf Skerry, Sow Skerry, Ward Holm.
• Eday: Green Holm, Red Holm, Rusk Holm.
• Egilsay: Holm of Scockness, Kili Holm.
• Eynhallow: Sheep Skerry.
• Flotta: Calf of Flotta.
• Gairsay: Holm of Boray, Holm of Rendall, Little Seal Skerry, Skertours, Sweyn Holm, Taing Skerry.
• Glims Holm: Dulse Skerry, Glimpsholm Skerry.
• Graemsay: Middle Skerry, Skerry of Cletts, Sour Skerry, Sow Skerry.
• Hoy: Grassy Cletts, Inner Skerry, Middle Skerry, Old Man of Hoy, Outer Skerry, The Needle.
• Mainland: Bo Skerry, Bow Skerries, Braga, Brough of Bigging, Holm of Houton, Holm of Grimbister, Holm of Rendall, Iceland Skerry, Inner Holm, Kirk Rocks, Little Skerry, Mirkady Point, Nevi Skerry, Outer Holm, Oyster Skerries, Puldrite Skerry, Quanterness Skerry, Scare Gun, Seal Skerry, Skaill Skerries, Skerries of Clestrain, Skerries of Coubister, Skerries of Lakequoy, Skerry of Work, Skerry of Yinstay, Smoogro Skerry, Thieves Holm, Whyabatten, Yesnaby Castle.
• Muckle Skerry: Clettack Skerry, Little Skerry, Louther Skerry.
• North Ronaldsay: Altars of Linnay, Green Skerry, Hoe Skerries, Reefdyke, Seal Skerry.
• Papa Stronsay: Jack's Hole, Jack's Reef.
• Papa Westray: Cairn Head, Muckle Quoy.
• Rousay: Little Brig, Muckle Brig.
• Sanday: Baa Gruna, Start Point.
• Shapinsay: Broad Shoal, Grass Holm, Helliar Holm, Skerry of Vasa.
• Stronsay: Holm of Huip, Holms of Spurness, Ingale Skerry, Little Linga, The Bow.
• Swona: Selki Skerry, South Clett, The Tails of the Tarff, West Wini Skerry.
• Westray: Holm of Aikerness, Holm of Faray, Shell Holm, Skea Skerries, Wart Holm.
• Wyre: Wyre Skerries.

[edit] See also

• List of places in Orkney
• List of Shetland islands
• List of islands of Scotland
• North Sea islands

[edit] References and footnotes

v • d • e Orkney Islands List of Orkney islands Inhabited Islands Mainland · Auskerry · Burray · Eday · Egilsay · Flotta · Gairsay · Graemsay · Hoy · North Ronaldsay · Papa Stronsay · Papa Westray · Rousay · Sanday · Shapinsay · South Ronaldsay · South Walls · Stronsay · Westray · Wyre Other Islands Eynhallow · Helliar Holm · Lamb Holm · Switha · Swona · North West islands · North East islands · South West islands · South East islands Towns and Villages Kirkwall · Balfour · Finstown  · Houton · Longhope · Lyness · Stromness · Whitehall Mainland Parishes Birsay · Deerness · Evie · Firth · Harray · Holm · Kirkwall  · Orphir · Rendall · St Andrews · St Ola · Sandwick  · Stenness · Stromness