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Grimsay

Scottish Gaelic name	Griomasaigh
Old Norse name	Grímsey
Meaning of name	ON: Grim's Island
Location
GrimsayGrimsay shown within the Outer Hebrides
OS grid reference	NF855572
Coordinates	57°29′N 7°14′W / 57.49°N 7.24°W / 57.49; -7.24
Physical geography
Island group	Uist and Barra
Area	833 ha (3+1⁄4 sq mi)
Area rank	58
Highest elevation	22 m (72 ft)
Administration
Council area	Outer Hebrides
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	169
Population rank	36
Population density	20/km (52/sq mi)
Largest settlement	Bàgh Mòr and Ceallan
References

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

Inhabitants

The island's population was 169 as recorded by the 2011 census a drop of over 15% since 2001 when there were 201 usual residents. During the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702. 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, 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. Three generations of Stewart family built as many as 1,000 boats from three sheds on Grimsay. 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 Bàgh nam Feadag. It is one of the best examples of a wheelhouse on North Uist but does not appear on Ordnance Survey maps.

• Bagh Mòr on Grimsay, with Ronay in distance
• A wheelhouse on Grimsay

See also

• List of islands of Scotland

Footnotes

1. ^ Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
2. ^ National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
3. ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
4. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 22 Benbecula & South Uist (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2008. ISBN 9780319226223.
5. Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Ainmean-àite/Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
6. ^ "Overview of Grimsay". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
7. Sullivan, Mike; Sullivan, Mike; Pickering, Timothy (2010). The Outer Hebrides: Sea Kayaking Around the Isles & St Kilda. Pesda Press. ISBN 9781906095093.
8. ^ "Feature Page: Grimsay". Undiscovered Scotland. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
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. "Scotland's 2011 census: Island living on the rise". BBC News. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
11. ^ "The Grimsay Boatshed". acrosstheminch.org. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
12. "Grimsay Wheelhouse". Alasdair McKenzie. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
13. "Grimsay Wheelhouse". Outer Hebrides Tourism Industry Association. Retrieved 17 December 2013.

v t e Islands of Scotland
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Prehistory Prehistoric Orkney Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site: Maeshowe Ness of Brodgar Ring of Brodgar Skara Brae Standing Stones of Stenness Prehistoric Shetland Zenith of Iron Age Shetland: Broch of Mousa Jarlshof Old Scatness Prehistoric Western Isles Callanish Stones Dun Carloway Rubha an Dùnain Dun Nosebridge
History Dál Riata Columba Hinba Kingdom of the Isles Scandinavian Scotland Rulers of the Kingdom of the Isles Bishop of the Isles Lordship of the Isles Treaty of Perth Treaty of Ardtornish-Westminster Finlaggan Earldom of Orkney Buckquoy spindle-whorl Udal law 18th and 19th Century Clearances Jacobite risings Flora MacDonald Literature Orkneyinga Saga Description of the Western Isles of Scotland (Monro) A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland (Martin) A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (Johnson) The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (Boswell)
Etymology General Scottish island names Northern Isles Hebrides Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba Specific Arran Gigha Islay Skye St Kilda
Economy Towns Kirkwall Lerwick Rothesay Stornoway Stromness Agencies Community Energy Scotland Crofters Commission Highlands and Islands Enterprise Scottish Islands Federation Oil industry Flotta Sullom Voe
Culture Shetland Aly Bain Thomas Fraser Peerie Willie Johnson Shetland Amenity Trust Up Helly Aa Vagaland Orkney George Mackay Brown Peter Maxwell Davies F. Marian McNeill Kirkwall Ba game Orkney Heritage Society St Magnus Festival Outer Hebrides Compton Mackenzie Fèis Bharraigh Free Church of Scotland Iain Crichton Smith Inner Hebrides Islay whisky Runrig Sorley MacLean West Highland Free Press
Politics Local authorities Shetland Islands Council Orkney Islands Council Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Highland Council Argyll and Bute North Ayrshire
Wildlife Fauna Fair Isle wren Orkney vole Shetland wren St Kilda field mouse St Kilda wren Flora Arran whitebeams Scottish Primrose Shetland Mouse-ear Domesticated animals Cairn Terrier Eriskay Pony Hebridean Blackface Luing cattle North Ronaldsay sheep Scottie Sheltie Shetland cattle Shetland Goose Shetland pony Shetland sheep Soay sheep Westie
Geology Shetland Geopark Shetland Geology of Orkney Eday Group Orcadian Basin Yesnaby Sandstone Group Hebrides Colonsay Group Great Estuarine Group Hebridean Terrane Lewisian complex Lorne plateau lavas Moine Supergroup Moine Thrust Belt Mull Rhinns complex Skye Staffa Torridonian Islands of the Clyde Highland Boundary Fault

57°29′31″N 7°14′39″W / 57.49194°N 7.24417°W / 57.49194; -7.24417

• Uist islands
• Tidal islands of Scotland