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Canna, Scotland

Coordinates: 57°03′28″N 6°32′44″W / 57.05790°N 6.54564°W / 57.05790; -6.54564
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Not to be confused with Càrna.
Canna
Scottish Gaelic nameCanaighⓘ, Eilean Chanaighⓘ
Pronunciation[kʰanaj; ˈelan ˈxanaj]
Old Norse namePossibly Kne-oy
Meaning of nameIrish for 'wolf whelp island' or Scottish Gaelic for 'porpoise island'. Possibly Norse for 'knee-shaped island'
Location
OS grid referenceNG244058
Physical geography
Island groupSmall Isles
Area1,130 hectares (4.4 sq mi)
Area rank46 [1]
Highest elevationCàrn a' Ghaill 210 metres (689 ft)
Administration
Council areaHighland
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Demographics
Population6 (12 including Sanday)
Population rank78= [1]
Lymphad
References[2][3][4][5]

Canna (Scottish Gaelic: Canaigh; Eilean Chanaigh) is the westernmost of the Small Isles archipelago, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It is linked to the neighbouring island of Sanday by a road and sandbanks at low tide. The island is 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long and 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) wide. The isolated skerries of Hyskeir and Humla lie 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south west of the island.[3]

The islands were left to the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) by their previous owner, the Gaelic folklorist and scholar John Lorne Campbell in 1981, and are run as a farm and conservation area. Canna House, one of two big houses on the island (the other being Tighard), contains John Campbell's important archives of Gaelic materials that were donated with the islands to the nation.[3] Campbell's widow, the American musician Margaret Fay Shaw, continued to live on Canna until her death in 2004 aged 101.[6] Since then the NTS has engaged in new initiatives to attract new residents and visitors to the island.

Description

Ruins of Coroghan Castle (An Coroghon) on top of a stack at the east end of Canna[7]

There are some 20 buildings on Canna and Sanday, including three churches (one is deconsecrated and has been converted into a hostel and study centre, although it has yet to be used for these purposes). There is also a post office (converted from a garden shed), and a tea room, which is currently (2009) closed, although there are plans to reopen it in spring 2010. The island is isolated and the inhabitants must buy their provisions from the mainland, but it has a telephone link, a red telephone box and broadband internet access, although there is no mobile phone coverage. Electricity is provided by a diesel generator, at mainland voltage and frequency, and there is a private water supply.[8][9]

The island has a very low crime rate, but a mainland-based policeman visits the island twice a year, mainly to inspect gun licences. A doctor based on the neighbouring island of Eigg is available for house calls once a month. The roads on Canna are not metalled and are privately owned, local vehicles therefore do not require road tax. The previous footbridge to Sanday was destroyed by storms during 2005, and has recently been replaced by a road bridge. This allows vehicular access at all tide levels for the first time, although the road on Sanday is still covered by high tides.[8][9]

Lochnevis calls at Canna

A large natural harbour is formed between Canna and Sanday. The pier on Canna and those of the other Small Isles, was rebuilt and enlarged in 2005. This is used by the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry, MV Lochnevis, which links Canna, and the neighbouring Small Isles of Rùm, Eigg and Muck, to the mainland port of Mallaig (2 hours and 30 minutes away). Lochnevis is capable of carrying motor vehicles, although NTS permission is required to land them. The harbour is well sheltered. It is the only deep harbour in the Small Isles, and is very popular with west coast yachting traffic out of Oban and Arisaig.[3][10]

Canna is renowned for its birdlife, including sea eagles, golden eagles and puffins. The island is also inhabited by a number of rare butterfly species. In the nearby waters one can spot dolphins and smaller whales. Canna is noted for its tiers of basalt pillars that rise over the eastern half of the island and the sea cliffs that dominate its northern shore. The highest point on the island is Càrn a' Ghaill (Gaelic for rocky hill of the storm) at 210 metres (689 ft). On the eastern edge of the island, Compass Hill 139 metres (456 ft) is formed of a volcanic rock known as tuff of such a high iron content that nearby ships' compasses are distorted, pointing east, rather than north.[3]

History

A' Chill, situated to the north west of Canna Harbour was the main settlement until 1851 when the island was cleared. The post-clearance population is recorded as 57 in 1881 (with a further 62 on Sanday), and population numbers remained fairly stable at around 20 to 30 during the second half of the 20th century, but by the time of the 2001 census had dwindled to 6 (12 including Sanday).[3] Since then new residents have settled on the island, bringing the 2009 population of Canna and Sanday to around 20 (see 'Call for Families to Canna' below).

Recent developments

Rat problem

In September 2005, it was reported that the population of Brown Rats on the island had grown to 10,000 and was causing such problems to both the human population and the birdlife, particularly the rare Manx shearwaters, that a complete cull would take place. However, the population of woodmice, Apodemus sylvaticus on the island is a distinct race descended from a Norse lineage, and as the rat cull used rodenticide, a breeding population of mice was removed beforehand by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) to safeguard the population's future. By the end of 2006 it was believed that Canna was rat-free. The mice had been returned to Canna and appeared to be thriving. During the summer of 2006 there was also an encouraging increase in the number of breeding puffins and razorbills, and Manx shearwaters were nesting for the first time since 1997.[11]

Call for families for Canna

In October 2006 the NTS[12][13] decided to invite two families to rent properties on the island, in an effort to attract new skills and spirit to the island community. The invitation was mainly aimed at people with "skills in building, plumbing and gardening". The call was global[14][15] and over 400 responses were received, from places as varied as Germany, Sweden, India and Dubai. From these, Sheila Gunn and John Clare were chosen to move to Canna during summer 2007.[16] They were joined in early 2008 by two more incomers, Neil and Deborah Baker, from Llannon, in the Gwendraeth Valley in South Wales. Neil is a gardener, and his job is to restore the fine but overgrown gardens of Canna House.[17]

Panorama taken from Compass Hill on Canna, overlooking Canna Bay and Sanday towards Rùm.

Stamps

A single local stamp was issued for Canna in 1958 by the then Laird of Canna, John Lorne Campbell. The stamp shows Compass Hill and two Manx Shearwaters, a seabird found in profusion on the island. Shearwaters is also the name of the currency of the stamp. Its use is optional and all proceeds from the sale - at the island farm and post office - go to the Shipwrecked Mariners Society. The stamps serve the many visitors to the island who wish to have their mail posted there.[18]

See also

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canna.
  • Campell, John Lorne: Canna, the Story of a Hebridean Island. (Canongate, 1984)
  • Shaw, Margaret Fay: From the Alleghenies to the Hebrides (Canongate, 1999)

References

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ United Kingdom Census 2001 per List of islands of Scotland
  3. ^ a b c d e f Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
  4. ^ Ordnance Survey
  5. ^ "The 15 residents of Canna". London: Daily Telegraph. 4 October 2006. Retrieved 20 April 2007.
  6. ^ Road to the Isles. "Canna". Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  7. ^ RCAHMS. "Information on Coroghan Castle". Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  8. ^ a b "The Internet Guide to Scotland: Canna" scotland-inverness.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2008.
  9. ^ a b "Westword" road-to-the-isles.org.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2008.
  10. ^ "Small Isles ferry timetable" Caledonian MacBrayne. Retrieved 24 September 2007.
  11. ^ National Trust for Scotland. "Seabird Recovery Programme". Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  12. ^ "Canna come and live on your isle?". BBC News. 2006-10-13. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  13. ^ Carrell, Severin (2006-11-06). "Wanted: classmates for islander Caroline at Britain's tiniest school". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  14. ^ "Families wanted for tiny island". BBC. 2006-10-09. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  15. ^ Munday, Sean (2006-10-18). "Isolated island's SOS for migrants a huge hit". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
  16. ^ "Joining the island race" (29 March 2007) The Guardian. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
  17. ^ Carrell, Severin (2007-10-13). "Away from it all family prepare for new life on wind-battered isle". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  18. ^ "Modern British Local Posts CD Catalogue, 2009 Edition". Phillips. 2003. Retrieved 2008-12-08.

57°03′28″N 6°32′44″W / 57.05790°N 6.54564°W / 57.05790; -6.54564

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