Auskerry
| Auskerry | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 Auskerry
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| Auskerry shown within Orkney | |
| OS grid reference | HY675165 |
| Names | |
| Norse name | Austrsker |
| Meaning of name | east skerry |
| Area and summit | |
| Area | 85 hectares (0.33 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 157= |
| Highest elevation | 18 metres (59 ft) |
| Population | |
| Population | 5 |
| Population rank | 80= out of 99 |
| Groupings | |
| Island group | Orkney |
| Local Authority | Orkney Islands |
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| References | [1][2][3][4][5] |
| If shown, area and population ranks are for all Scottish islands and all inhabited Scottish islands respectively. Population data is from 2001 census. | |
Auskerry (Old Norse: Austrsker, east skerry) is a small island in eastern Orkney, Scotland. It lies in the North Sea south of Stronsay and has a lighthouse, completed in 1866.
Contents |
[edit] Description
Auskerry is a small, flat, red sandstone islet, 3 miles (5 km) south of Stronsay.[6] A standing stone and mediaeval chapel are signs of early settlement.[6] The island was uninhabited for a time after the automation of the lighthouse in the 1960s. It was previously a popular location for hunting seals.[6]
Auskerry has been inhabited for 30 years by a family who keep a flock of rare North Ronaldsay sheep.[7] There are three small wind turbines and four solar panels on the island, which provide most of the power. After a series of expansions and renovations, the single roomed stone bothy is now a modern house with four bedrooms, kitchen, shower room and living room. The chemical toilet is outdoors due to the complication of installing septic tanks. Mail is delivered from Stronsay, once a month, by a fishing boat.[citation needed]
[edit] Lighthouse
The Hastings County, a 116 metre Norwegian cargo ship ran ashore on north west of Auskerry in 1926 during thick fog.[8] The vessel broke in half and wreckage is spread over a wide area, with the engine on the beach.
The lighthouse lights the north entrance to the Stronsay Firth.[9] It was built in 1866 by engineers David and Thomas Stevenson.[10] It is attached to two flats; the lower one is used all year as a store and the top one is used mainly in summer.
[edit] Wildlife
Auskerry is designated a Special Protection Area due to its importance as a nesting area for Arctic Tern and Storm Petrel; 4.2% of the breeding population of Storm Petrel in Great Britain nest on the island.[11]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland.
- ^ Ordnance Survey
- ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 1841954543.
- ^ Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9
- ^ Pedersen, Roy (January 1992) Orkneyjar ok Katanes (map, Inverness, Nevis Print)
- ^ a b c "Auskerry". Gazetteer for Scotland. http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1738.html. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ "Isle of Auskerry". http://www.isleofauskerry.co.uk/. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ "Hastings County". North Isles Diving. http://www.jeanelaine.co.uk/text/NorthIslesDiving.htm#hastingscounty. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ "SS Hastings County Ashore On Auskerry". Scran. http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-110-990-C. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ "Auskerry History". Northern Lighthouse Board. http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/auskerry.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ^ "Special Protection Area description: Auskerry". JNCC. http://www.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1919. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
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Coordinates: 59°02′03″N 2°34′05″W / 59.03429°N 2.56798°W
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