Scalpay, Outer Hebrides


Scalpay is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

Geology

The bedrock of northwest and of southeast Scalpay is Archaean gneiss belonging to the Lewisian Complex. Across the centre of the island is a band of mylonite and protocataclasite associated with the Outer Hebrides Thrust Zone. Some restricted occurrences of amphibolite and ultramafic rocks are also present. A number of tholeiitic dykes of Tertiary age cross the island with a NW-SE alignment. Scalpay is largely free from superficial deposits apart from an area of peat in the northeast.

Geography

Scalpay is around long and rises to a height of at Beinn Scorabhaig. The area of Scalpay is. The main settlement on the island is at the north, near the bridge, clustered around An Acairseid a Tuath.
The island is peppered with small lochans. The largest of these is Loch an Duin which has a tiny island in it, with the remains of the fort still visible. Eilean Glas, a tiny peninsula on Scalpay's eastern shore, is home to the first lighthouse to be built in the Outer Hebrides.
Scalpay's nearest neighbour, Harris, is just away across the narrows of Caolas Scalpaigh. In 1997, a bridge from Harris to Scalpay was built, replacing a ferry service.

Etymology

Mac an Tàilleir suggests the name derives from "ship island" from the Norse. However, Haswell-Smith states that the Old Norse name was Skalprøy, meaning "scallop island".

Religion

The vast majority of the locals in Scalpay are Protestants. The island is home to two Presbyterian churches, the Free Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland.

Demographics

In 2001, the island had 322 people, whose main employment was fish farming and prawn fishing. By 2011 the population had declined by 9% to 291 whilst during the same period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702.
Scalpay is home to many Gaelic singers and psalm precentors. The island used to have more than 10 shops over 30 years ago but due to lack of people and work, the last shop closed in 2007. There also used to be a salmon factory, which was a major local employer from 2001 until its closure in 2005. In the spring of 2009, local newspapers reported that the factory was to reopen as a net washing facility to support the local fish farming industry. In 2012, the Scalpay community bought and opened a community shop/café, Buth Scalpaigh.
Photographer Marco Secchi lived on Scalpay for few years between 2002-2008 and documented life and landscape of the Outer Hebrides.
In 2011 the island's owner, Fred Taylor, announced that he proposed handing over the land to the local population. One proposal was that the island would be owned by a local development trust; under another proposal it would form part of the larger North Harris Trust, itself community owned. Islanders voted to accept the gift and assume community ownership of the island. They will go into partnership with the North Harris Community Trust to run the island.

Footnotes