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Eigg

Coordinates: 56°54′N 6°10′W / 56.900°N 6.167°W / 56.900; -6.167
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Eigg
Scottish Gaelic nameEigeⓘ
Pronunciation[ˈekʲə]
Old Norse nameUnknown
Meaning of nameScottish Gaelic for 'notched island' (eag)
Location
OS grid referenceNM476868
Physical geography
Island groupSmall Isles
Area3,049 hectares (11.8 sq mi)
Area rank28 [1]
Highest elevationAn Sgurr 393 metres (1,289 ft)
Administration
Council areaHighland
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Demographics
Population67
Population rank50 [1]
Largest settlementCleadale
Lymphad
References[2][3][4]
An Sgurr

Eigg (Scottish Gaelic: 'Eige') is one of the Small Isles, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) long from north to south, and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east to west. With an area of 12 square miles (31 km2), it is the second largest of the Small Isles after Rùm.

Geography

The main settlement on Eigg is Cleadale, a fertile coastal plain in the north west. It is known for its quartz beach, called the "singing sands" (Tràigh a' Bhìgeil) on account of the squeaking noise it makes if walked on when dry.

The centre of the island is a moorland plateau, rising to 1,289 feet (393 metres) at An Sgurr, a dramatic stump of pitchstone, sheer on three sides. Walkers who complete the easy scramble to the top in good weather are rewarded with spectacular views all round, of Mull, Coll, Muck, the Outer Hebrides, Rùm, Skye, and the mountains of Lochaber on the mainland.

History

Bronze Age and Iron Age inhabitants have left their mark on Eigg. The monastery at Kildonan was founded by an Irish missionary, St. Donnan. He and his monks were massacred in 617 by the local Pictish queen. In medieval times the island was held by Clan Donald.

Writing in 1549, Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles wrote of "Egge" that it was: "gude mayne land with ane paroch kirk in it, with mony solenne geis; very gude for store, namelie for scheip, with ane heavin for heiland Galayis".[Note 1]

Massacre Cave

During the sixteenth century there was a lengthy feud between the MacLeod and MacDonald clans, which led to the massacre of the island's entire population in the late 16th century. In 1566 a party of MacLeods staying on the island became too amorous and caused trouble with the local girls. They were subsequently rounded up, bound and cast adrift in The Minch but were rescued by some clansmen. In 1577 a party of MacLeods from Skye landed on Eigg with revenge in mind.

File:Eigg island.jpg
An 1892 map of Eigg.[6]

On their return, in the spring, deep snow covered the ground but their arrival had already been spotted by the islanders who had hidden in a secret cave called the Cave of Frances (Scottish Gaelic: Uamh Fhraing) located on the south coast.[7]. The entrance to this cave was tiny and covered by moss, undergrowth and a small waterfall. After a thorough but fruitless search lasting for three to five days, the MacLeods set sail again but a MacDonald carelessly climbed onto a promontory to watch their departure and was spotted. The MacLeods returned and were able to follow his footprints back to the cave. They then rerouted the source of the water, piled thatch and roof timbers at the cave entrance and set fire to it at the same time damping the flames so that the cave was filled with smoke thereby asphyxiating everyone inside either by smoke inhalation or heat and oxygen deprivation. Three hundred and ninety five people died in the cave, the whole population of the island bar one family who managed to escape.[8]

Massacre Cave (grid reference NM434874) sits in the back of a fault-like crevice under a steep rock face. It is no more than 0.65 metres (2.1 ft) height and one needs to crawl to gain access and then keep crawling for a further 7 metres (23 ft) before it opens out. However once properly inside it is much larger than one can imagine. The length is approximately 79 metres (259 ft), the width 8 metres (26 ft) and height 6 metres (20 ft).

18th and 19th centuries

Near to Massacre Cave there is another tidal cave with a large and visible entrance; it is high-roofed and is said to have been used for Roman Catholic services after the 1745 rebellion.

The Cruise of the Betsey (1858)

The Scottish geologist and writer Hugh Miller visited the island in the 1840s and wrote a long and detailed account of his explorations in his book The Cruise of the Betsey published in 1858. Miller was a self-taught geologist; so the book contains detailed observations of the geology of the island, including the Scuir and the singing sands. He describes the islanders of Eigg as "an active, middle-sized race, with well-developed heads, acute intellects, and singularly warm feelings". He describes seeing the bones of adults and children in family groups with the charred remains of their straw mattresses and small household objects still in Massacre Cave. Walter Scott was so appalled and moved on hearing that the skulls and bones of the dead were still stacked there, that he started a fund for a Christian burial which resulted in their removal.

By the 19th century, the island had a population of 500, producing potatoes, oats, cattle and kelp. When sheep farming became more profitable than any alternative, land was cleared by compulsory emigration - in 1853 the whole of the village of Gruilin, fourteen families, was forced to leave.

The actor Alastair Sim's mother came from Eigg and could not speak English until she was fourteen.

Heritage Trust

Satellite view of Eigg. The island in the bottom right of the picture is Eilean Chathastail.

After decades of problems with absentee landlords in the 20th century, the island was bought in 1997 by the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, a partnership between the residents of Eigg, the Highland Council, and the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The story of this community buy-out is told in Alastair McIntosh's book Soil and Soul: People Versus Corporate Power published in 2001. At the time, the population was around 60; in 2005 it was 87.

The ceremony to mark the handover to community ownership took place a few weeks after the 1997 General Election and was attended by the Scottish Office Minister, Brian Wilson, a long-standing advocate of land reform. He used the occasion to announce the formation of a Community Land Unit within Highlands and Islands Enterprise which would in future support further land buy-outs in the region.

Economy and transport

The view from MV Sheerwater en route from Arisaig

Tourism is important to the local economy, especially in the summer months, and the first major project of the Heritage Trust was An Laimhrig, a new building near the jetty to house the island's shop and post office, a tearoom, craft shop, toilet and shower facilities.[9] There are two ferry routes to the island. A’Nead Hand Knitwear is a new island business making garments such as cobweb shawls and scarves.[10]

There is a sheltered anchorage for boats at Galmisdale in the south of the island. In 2004 the old jetty there was extended to allow a roll-on roll-off ferry to dock. The Caledonian MacBrayne ferry Lochnevis sails a circular route from Mallaig around the four "Small Isles" - Eigg, Canna, Rùm and Muck from the fishing port of Mallaig. Arisaig Marine also run a passenger ferry called the MV Sheerwater from April until late September from Arisaig on the mainland.[11]

Electrification project

The next major project of the Heritage Trust was to enable the provision of a mains electricity grid, powered from renewable sources. Previously, the island was not served by mains electricity and individual crofthouses had wind, hydro or diesel generators and the aim of the project is to develop an electricity supply that is environmentally and economically sustainable.

Two of Eigg's wind turbines

The new system incorporates a 9.9 kWp PV system, three hydro generation systems (totalling 112 kW) and a 24 kW wind farm supported by stand-by diesel generation and batteries to guarantee continuous availability of power. A load management system has been installed to provide optimal use of the renewables. This combination of solar, wind and hydro power should provide a network that is self sufficient and powered 98% from renewable sources. The system was switched on, on 1 February 2008.[12] Electricity began being rationed in June 2010, after mild weather caused supply to fall short of demand.[13]

The Heritage Trust has formed a company, Eigg Electric Ltd, to operate the new £1.6 million network, which has been part funded by the National Lottery and the Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company.[14][15]

Other sustainability projects

In September 2008, Eigg began a year long series of projects as part of their success as one of ten finalists in NESTA's Big Green Challenge. While the challenge finished in September 2009, the work to make the island "green" is continuing with solar water panels, alternative fuels, mass domestic insulation, transport and local food all being tackled.[16] In May 2009 the island hosted the "Giant’s Footstep Family Festival", which included talks, workshops, music, theatre and advice about what individuals and communities can do to tackle climate change.[17]

In January 2010, Eigg was announced as one of three joint winners in NESTA's Big Green Challenge, winning a prize of £300,000.

Wildlife

View of the Mainland from Eigg

An average of 130 species of bird are recorded annually. The island has breeding populations of various raptors: Golden Eagle, Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Kestrel, Hen Harrier and Short and Long-eared Owl. Great Northern Diver and Jack Snipe are winter visitors, and in summer Cuckoo, Whinchat, Whitethroat and Twite breed on the island.[18][19]

See also

References

General references
  • Banks, Noel, (1977) Six Inner Hebrides. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. ISBN 0715373684
Notes
  1. ^ English translation from Lowland Scots: "a good land with a parish church and many gannets; very good for sheep, with a good harbour for Highland galleys."[5]
Citations
  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. ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
  3. ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate.
  4. ^ Ordnance Survey
  5. ^ Munro, D. (1818) Description of the Western Isles of Scotland called Hybrides, by Mr. Donald Munro, High Dean of the Isles, who travelled through most of them in the year 1549. Miscellanea Scotica, 2. Quoted in Banks (1977) p. 190
  6. ^ Harvie-Brown, J.A. and Buckley, T. E. (1892), A Vertebrate Fauna of Argyll and the Inner Hebrides. Pub. David Douglas., Edinburgh. Facing P. LVI.
  7. ^ Some sources translate the Gaelic Uamh Fhraing as the Cave of Francis.(Macpherson, Norman. Notes on antiquities from the island of Eigg, Edinburgh University.
  8. ^ Kieran, Ben. Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur, Yale University Press, 2007 ISBN 0300100981, 9780300100983. P.14
  9. ^ "Eigg Shop and Post Office" Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  10. ^ "A'Nead Hand Knitwear" anead-knitwear.co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  11. ^ "Welcome to Arisaig Marine Ltd" arisaig.co.uk Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  12. ^ Ross, John (1 February 2008) "Island finally turns on to green mains Eigg-tricity". Edinburgh. The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  13. ^ Bingham, John (28 June 2010). "Power rationed on 'green island' Eigg after mild weather causes drought". The Daily Telegraph.
  14. ^ "Isle of Eigg, Inner Hebrides, Scotland - 2007" Wind and Sun Ltd. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  15. ^ "Island energised by lottery cash" BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  16. ^ "Green Eigg islanders earn place in UK’s Big Challenge says Press and Journal" islandsgoinggreen.org. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  17. ^ "Take Giant Green Footsteps to Eigg’s Family Festival". Senscot. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  18. ^ "Eigg-ceptional summer". Scottish Wildlife (November 2007) No. 63 page 4.
  19. ^ "Bird watching on Eigg" Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust. Retrieved 27 December 2007.

56°54′N 6°10′W / 56.900°N 6.167°W / 56.900; -6.167

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