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Jura, Scotland

Coordinates: 56°5′N 5°45′W / 56.083°N 5.750°W / 56.083; -5.750
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Jura
Scottish Gaelic nameDiùraⓘ
Old Norse nameDýr-ey/Hjǫrt-ey
Meaning of nameOld Norse for 'deer island'
Location
OS grid referenceNR589803
Physical geography
Island groupIslay
Area366.92 km2 (142 sq mi)
Area rank8 [1]
Highest elevationBeinn an Òir 785 m (2,575 ft)
Administration
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryScotland
Council areaArgyll and Bute
Demographics
Population188
Population rank34 [1]
Largest settlementCraighouse
Lymphad
References[2][3][4]

Jura (Scottish Gaelic: Diùra, pronounced [ˈtʲuːɾə]) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. The island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch Fyne. However, during the first half of the twentieth century the Campbells gradually sold the island as a number of separate estates. Jura now comprises six estates which are all in separate ownership: Ardfin, Inver, Jura Forest, Ruantallain, Tarbert, and Ardlussa.

Geography

Satellite picture of Jura

With an area of 36,692 hectares, or 142 square miles (368 km2), and only 188 inhabitants recorded in the 2001 census, Jura is much less densely populated than neighbouring Islay. In fact, of all the Scottish islands, only Rùm is more sparsely populated.[5] The main settlement is the village of Craighouse on the east coast. Craighouse is home to the island's sole distillery, producing Isle of Jura whisky. The village is also home to the island's only hotel, shop and church.

The chief link to Jura is from the neighbouring island of Islay: a small car ferry operates across the Sound of Islay between Port Askaig on Islay and Feolin Ferry on Jura. Following a successful trial in September 2007, a new passenger service operated in the summers of 2008 and 2009 between Craighouse and Tayvallich on the mainland and is continuing in 2010.[6]

From Feolin Ferry a single track road follows the southern and eastern coastline of the island. At the southern tip of the island, half way between Feolin and Craighouse, the road passes Jura House.[7] Thanks to the sheltered southerly aspect, the gardens are home to exotic specimen plants from Australasia. The gardens are open to the public. To the north of Craighouse the road leads to Lagg, Tarbert, Ardlussa and beyond. A private track runs from the road end to the far north of the island.

The west coast of Jura has no permanent inhabitants, but is home to a number of raised beaches. Between the northern tip of Jura and the island of Scarba lies the Gulf of Corryvreckan where a whirlpool makes passage dangerous at certain states of the tide.

The island has a large population of red deer and it is commonly believed that the name Jura was derived from hjǫrtr, the Old Norse word for deer. (In Old Norse dýr was a euphemism for hjǫrtr, as this was a sacred and tabooed word.) Much of the island is used for deer stalking, and visits by stalking parties have become a significant source of employment and a contributor to the island's economy.[8]

The deer prevent the island from tumbling back down to woodland, as was its former state; indeed, before the clearances and abundance of deer, the isle's name was thought to come from 'the great quantity of yew trees which grew in the island'.[9]

Two of the Paps of Jura taken from above Caol Ìla on Islay.
The scree-covered peak of Beinn an Òir
Beinn Shiantaidh from the south

Paps of Jura

The island is dominated by three steep-sided conical quartzite mountains on its western side – the Paps of Jura which rise to 785 metres (2,575 ft). There are three major peaks:

  • Beinn an Òir (Gaelic: mountain of gold) is the highest peak, standing at 2,575 feet (785 m), and is thereby a Corbett.
  • Beinn Shiantaidh (Gaelic: holy mountain) stands at 2,477 feet (755 m) high.
  • Beinn a' Chaolais (Gaelic: mountain of the kyle) is the lowest of the Paps, reaching 2,408 feet (734 m).[3]

The Paps dominate the landscape in the region and can be seen from the Mull of Kintyre and, on a clear day, Skye and Northern Ireland. The route of the annual Isle of Jura Fell Race includes all three Paps and four other hills.

These hills were the subject of William McTaggart's 1902 masterpiece The Paps of Jura,[10] now displayed in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.[11]

Culture

Like all inhabited Hebridean islands, Jura has its own indigenous tradition of Gaelic song and poetry.[12][13]

Towards the north end of Jura, some miles beyond the end of the metalled road, is Barnhill, a remote house where the novelist George Orwell spent much of the last three years of his life. Orwell was known to the residents of Jura by his real name, Eric Blair. It was at Barnhill that Orwell finished Nineteen Eighty-Four, during 1947–1948 while critically ill with tuberculosis.[14] He sent the final typescript to his publishers, Secker and Warburg, on 4 December 1948, who published the book on 8 June 1949.[15]

Apart from the connection with Orwell, Jura is perhaps best known {{citation}}: Empty citation (help) for an event which took place on 23 August 1994, when Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, known then as the music group The KLF, filmed themselves burning £1 million in banknotes in the Ardfin boathouse on the south coast of the island.[16]

In fiction

Jura is featured in the plot of the 2007 novel The Careful Use of Compliments by the Scottish writer Alexander McCall Smith.

Jura is also briefly mentioned in the Galactic Milieu series by Julian May.

In music

Jura is mentioned in: "Crossing to Jura", a song by R. Kennedy and D. MacDonald, recorded in 1997 by JCB with Jerry Holland on the album "A Trip to Cape Breton"; "The Bens of Jura", a song by Capercaillie; and "Isle of Jura", a song by Skyclad.

Footnotes

  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. ^ a b Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Scotland
  6. ^ "Jura Passenger ferry Website". Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  7. ^ "Jura House". Jura House and Gardens. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  8. ^ http://www.theisleofjura.co.uk/index%20files/Emedia/The%20Jura%20Economic%20Study.pdf The Jura Economic Survey, 2005. Retrieved 2009-10-17
  9. ^ Statistical account of Scotland - Account of 1791-99 vol.12 p.318
  10. ^ "William McTaggart". Machrihanish Online. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  11. ^ "Kelvingrove Art Gallery". planetware.com. Retrieved 2007-04-04.
  12. ^ Simon Ager. "Toirt m' aghaidh ri Diùra". Omniglot. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  13. ^ "Da Thaobh Loch Seile". all celtic music. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  14. ^ Bowker, Gordon (2004). George Orwell. London: Abacus.
  15. ^ Bowker (2004) p. 383, 399.
  16. ^ K Foundation Burn a Million Quid

Gallery

  • Sunset over Beinn an Òir and Beinn Shiantaidh (two of the Paps of Jura) with Corra Bheinn to the right.
    Sunset over Beinn an Òir and Beinn Shiantaidh (two of the Paps of Jura) with Corra Bheinn to the right.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Isle of Jura.

56°5′N 5°45′W / 56.083°N 5.750°W / 56.083; -5.750

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