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Kerrera

Scottish Gaelic name	Cearrara
Pronunciation	[ˈkʲʰarˠəɾə]
Old Norse name	Kjarbarey
Meaning of name	Norse for 'Kjarbar's island' or possibly 'copse island'
Gylen Castle
Location
KerreraKerrera shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference	NM813281
Coordinates	56°23′53″N 05°32′19″W / 56.39806°N 5.53861°W / 56.39806; -5.53861
Physical geography
Island group	Mull
Area	1,214 ha (4+5⁄8 sq mi)
Area rank	44
Highest elevation	Carn Breugach 189 m (620 ft)
Administration
Council area	Argyll and Bute
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	34
Population rank	57
Population density	2.8/km (7.3/sq mi)
Largest settlement	Balliemore
References

Kerrera (/ˈkɛrərə/ KERR-ə-rə; Scottish Gaelic: Cearara or Cearrara) is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, close to the town of Oban. In 2016 it had a population of 45, divided into two communities in the north and south of the island.

Geography

The island is around 7 km (4 mi) long and around 2 km (1+1⁄4 mi) wide, and is separated from the mainland by the Sound of Kerrera, about 500 m (1⁄4 mi) wide. The highest point on Kerrera is Carn Breugach at 189 m (620 ft). The island is linked to the mainland by two ferry services. In the middle of the island, the Caledonian MacBrayne passenger ferry MV Carvoria operates from the Gallanach Road (about 3 km or 2 mi southwest of Oban). From the landing place, tracks lead to the scattered settlements in the centre and south of the island. The south end circular walking loop takes around 3 hours to walk. The northern tip of the island can be accessed by a separate marina ferry service operating from North Pier in the centre of Oban. The service runs to Oban Marina near Ardentrive Farm, which is now linked by a road to the rest of the island.

History

The island is known for the ruined Gylen Castle, a small tower house built in 1582. It was also the place where Alexander II of Scotland died in 1249. The artist J. M. W. Turner visited Kerrera in 1831 and made 25 sketches of the castle which are in the Tate Gallery, London.

Community

Most of the island is owned by the McDougalls of Dunollie, who are descended from the Norse-Gael Somerled. The four-acre (1.6 ha) tidal island at the north-east tip of Kerrera, Rubh a' Chruidh, was sold for £426,000 in 2010 to Lanarkshire businessman David Hamilton.

In the 2011 census, Kerrera had a population of 34. However in 2019, residents said that the population had doubled to 68 people, including 18 children. There are no public buildings or facilities on the island (apart from two compost loos provided by the community). In July 2019, the Isle of Kerrera Development Trust community organisation purchased the old primary school building, close to the public ferry slip near the centre of the island; the building had been empty and deteriorating since closing in 1997. The community plans to restore the building into a multi-functional centre.

The main industries on the island are farming (sheep and Highland cattle) and tourism. There was an exotic bird sanctuary, closed as of 2017. There is a tea room/café (Kerrera Tea Garden & Bunkhouse) at the south end near Gylen Castle but as of 2016 no shop and no pub. The castle itself was restored to some extent in 2006 and is open to the public.

In August 2021 work began to connect the small communities in the north and south of the island by road. A forestry track was initially constructed, and in October 2022 a metalled single track road was opened.

Geology

The oldest bedrock of Kerrera is black slate ascribed to the Easdale Subgroup of the Dalradian Argyll Group. Overlying this across half of the island are conglomeratic sandstones and basalt and augite-andesite lavas of early Devonian age, the former being the local representative of the Old Red Sandstone and the latter constituting part of the Lorne Plateau Lavas. Ripple marks and sun cracks are preserved in shale strata on the south coast, belying the subaerial environment in which deposition of these sediments took place. There are thin limestones within both the Easdale Slate Formation and the younger sandstones. All of these strata are cut by NW-SE aligned igneous dykes forming part of the North Britain Palaeogene Dyke Suite associated with early Palaeogene volcanism. A number of geological faults cut across Kerrera, the majority are aligned NE-SW. Modern beach deposits and raised marine deposits of Holocene age are found around the island particularly on the north coast and along the Sound of Kerrera.

Gallery

• Outline map of Kerrera.
• Sunset over Kerrera, viewed from Oban.
• Disused school on Kerrera

References

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. ^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Ainmean-àite/Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
5. Ordnance Survey. OS Maps Online (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure.
6. Anderson, Joseph (ed.) (1873) The Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. Edmonston and Douglas. The Internet Archive. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
7. "Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland database". Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
8. ^ Humphries, Will (14 December 2016). "Divided island seeks funds for first road". The Times. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
9. Ardill, Thomas (1 December 2012). "Gylen Castle, Kerrera and the Firth of Lorn from the North 1831 by Joseph Mallord William Turner". Tate. J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours.
10. ^ McLennan, Louisa (19 June 2013). "Scotland to a tea: Kerrera Tea Garden". The Herald. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
11. Moira Kerr (15 February 2010). "Scottish island Rubh'a Chruidh sells for £426,000". The Scotsman. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
12. "community organisation".
13. "Castle reopens after restoration". News, UK, Scotland, Glasgow and West. BBC. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
14. "Tiny Kerrera gets first tarred road across island". News, UK, Scotland, Glasgow and West. BBC. 28 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
15. "Onshore Geoindex". British Geological Survey. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
16. "Lismore, sheet 44E (Scotland), Solid Edition". BGS large map images. British Geological Survey. Retrieved 5 February 2020.

External links

Media related to Kerrera at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Inhabited islands of the Hebrides
Inner Hebrides	Canna Coll Colonsay Danna Eigg Eilean dà Mhèinn Eilean Shona Eilean Tioram Erraid Gigha Gometra Iona Islay Isle of Ewe Jura Kerrera Lismore Muck Mull Oronsay Raasay Sanday Scalpay Rona Rùm Skye Slate Islands: (Easdale, Luing, Seil, Shuna) Soay Summer Isles Tiree Ulva
Outer Hebrides	Baleshare Barra Benbecula Berneray Eriskay Flodaigh Fraoch-eilean Great Bernera Grimsay (North) Grimsay (South) Lewis and Harris North Uist Scalpay South Uist Vatersay

v t e Islands of Scotland
Geography Northern Isles Shetland list Orkney list Hebrides Outer Hebrides list Inner Hebrides list St Kilda Other Islands of the Clyde Islands of the Forth Freshwater Islands Outlying Islands Sea Stacks
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

• Scotland

• Kerrera
• Islands of Argyll and Bute
• Islands of the Inner Hebrides