Grimsay

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For other places with the same name, see Grimsay (disambiguation).
Grimsay
Gaelic name Griomasaigh
Norse name Grímsey
Meaning of name ON: Grim's Island
Location
Grimsay is located in Outer Hebrides
Grimsay
Grimsay
Grimsay shown within the Outer Hebrides
OS grid reference NF855572
Physical geography
Island group Uist and Barra
Area 833 hectares (3.22 sq mi)
Area rank 58 [1]
Highest elevation 22 metres (72 ft)
Political geography
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country Scotland
Council area Outer Hebrides
Demographics
Population 169[2]
Population rank 36 [1]
Population density 20 people/km2[2][3]
Largest settlement Bàgh Mòr and Ceallan
Lymphad3.svg
References [3][4][5]

Grimsay (Scottish Gaelic: Griomasaigh) is a tidal island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

Geography

Grimsay is the largest of the low-lying stepping-stones which convey the Oitir Mhòr (North Ford) causeway, a five-mile arc of single track road linking North Uist and Benbecula via the western tip of Grimsay.[6] Until it opened in 1960,[7] a ferry linked Carinish (on North Uist) with Gramsdale (on Benbecula), but could only operate at high tide.[8] There was also a ford which could only be crossed close to low water, usually only with a guide.[8] For significant parts of each day the North Ford was too wet to ford and not wet enough to cross by ferry.[8] East of Grimsay lie several smaller islands including Ronay which was inhabited until 1931.[3]

Inhabitants

The island's population was 169 as recorded by the 2011 census[2] a drop of over 15% since 2001 when there were 201 usual residents.[9] During the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702.[10] The main settlements are Baymore (Bàgh Mòr) and Kallin (Ceallan) at the eastern end of the island. Grimsay has a harbour at Kallin, which is the base to a sizeable shellfish industry,[6] the island's main industry, mostly for lobster, prawns and scallops. Also in Kallin is The Boatshed, a marine repair facility which promotes traditional skills, and employs a full-time boatbuilder and trainee.[11] Three generations of Stewart family built as many as 1000 boats from three sheds on Grimsay.[11] Grimsay is encircled by a single-track road that links most of the island's small croft and fishing settlements together.

History

There is a fine example of an Iron-Age wheelhouse on the northeast coast of the island at Bagh nam Feadag.[12] It is one of the best examples of a wheelhouse on North Uist but does not appear on Ordnance Survey maps.[13]

  • Bagh Mòr on Grimsay, with Ronay in distance

  • Grimsaywheelhouse.jpg

    A wheelhouse on Grimsay

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands >20ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013) (pdf) Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland - Release 1C (Part Two). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland’s inhabited islands". Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  5. ↑ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Ainmean-àite/Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Scotland's Census 2001 – Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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