"period Scottish island populations as a whole grew by 4% to 103,702. Orkney is separated from the mainland of Scotland by the Pentland Firth, a wide seaway between Brough Ness on the island of South Ronaldsay and Duncansby Head in Caithness. Orkney lies between 58°41′ and 59°24′ North, and 2°22′ and 3°26′ West, measuring from northeast to southwest and from east to west, and covers . Orkney is separated from the Shetland Islands, a group further out, by a body of water called the Fair Isle Channel. The islands are mainly low-lying except for some sharply rising sandstone hills on"
"Shetland Shetland (), also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies northeast of Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney, from the Scottish mainland and southeast of the Faroe Islands. They form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total area is , and the population totalled 23,210 in 2011. Comprising the Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament, Shetland Islands Council is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland; the islands' administrative centre and only"
"Northern Isles The Northern Isles (; ; ) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. The climate is cool and temperate and much influenced by the surrounding seas. There are a total of 26 inhabited islands with landscapes of the fertile agricultural islands of Orkney contrasting with the more rugged Shetland islands to the north, where the economy is more dependent on fishing and the oil wealth of the surrounding seas. Both have a developing renewable energy industry. They also share a common Pictish and Norse history. Both island groups were"
"Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of Great Britain. Orkney is 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as ""the Mainland"". It has an area of , making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall. A form of the name dates to the pre-Roman era and the islands"
"the main group, are part of Orkney and technically amongst the Northern Isles. However, the other small islands that lie off the north coast of Scotland are in Highland and thus not usually considered to be part of the Northern Isles. Orkney is situated north of the coast of mainland Scotland, from which it is separated by the waters of the Pentland Firth. The largest island, known as the ""Mainland"" has an area of , making it the sixth largest Scottish island. The total population in 2001 was 19,245 and the largest town is Kirkwall. Shetland is around north of"
"Fair Isle Channel The Fair Isle Channel, also known as the Fair Isle Gap, is a body of water in northwest Scotland in the North Sea separating the Orkney Islands from the Shetland Islands. It is so named because of the presence of the Fair Isle, one of the Shetland Islands, which is located near its center. The Fair Isle Channel is believed to be one of the bodies of water used by the Spanish Armada in 1588 during its attempt to return to Spain following the Battle of Gravelines. Several of the Armada's ships became stragglers once this channel"
"place names of the islands are dominated by their Norse heritage, although some may retain pre-Celtic elements. The phrase ""Northern Isles"" generally refers to the main islands of the Orkney and Shetland archipelagos. Stroma, which lies between mainland Scotland and Orkney, is part of Caithness, and so falls under Highland council area for local government purposes, not Orkney. It is, however, clearly one of the ""northern isles"" of Scotland. Fair Isle and Foula are outliers of Shetland, but would normally be considered as part of Shetland and thus the Northern Isles. Similarly, Sule Skerry and Sule Stack, although distant from"
"was past, and ended up being lost on the shores of Ireland in the following weeks. Fair Isle Channel The Fair Isle Channel, also known as the Fair Isle Gap, is a body of water in northwest Scotland in the North Sea separating the Orkney Islands from the Shetland Islands. It is so named because of the presence of the Fair Isle, one of the Shetland Islands, which is located near its center. The Fair Isle Channel is believed to be one of the bodies of water used by the Spanish Armada in 1588 during its attempt to return to"
"Pentland Firth The Pentland Firth (, meaning the Orcadian Strait) is a strait which separates the Orkney Islands from Caithness in the north of Scotland. Despite the name, it is not a firth. The name is presumed to be a corruption of the Old Norse ""Petlandsfjörð"", meaning ""the fjord of Pictland"", and is completely unrelated to the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh. Prior to the Norse occupation of Orkney the strait was known as the ""Sea of Orcs"" – a reference to the Pictish tribe who inhabited Orkney. Such was their marine prowess that there are also instances of this name"
"Hoy Hoy (from Norse ""Háey"" meaning ""high island"") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring — ranked largest in the archipelago after Mainland. A natural causeway, ""the Ayre"", links to much smaller South Walls; the two islands are treated as one entity by the UK census. The dramatic coastline of Hoy greets visitors travelling to Orkney by ferry from the Scottish mainland. It has extremes of many kinds: some of the highest sea cliffs in the UK at St John's Head, which reach ;; a light-stone precarious sea stack taller than the facing cliff – the Old Man of Hoy;"
"Faray Faray (Old Norse: ""Færey"") is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying between Eday and Westray. Previously inhabited, the low-lying island is now a successful grey seal breeding colony. Faray and Holm of Faray are formed of a ridge of Old Red Sandstone which extends southwards from Weather Ness at the southern tip of the island of Westray and almost connects Westray to Eday. The two islands are separated by the Lavey Sound. Faray was known as Pharay (or North Pharay to distinguish it from South Pharay, now called Fara). Both names are derived from the Old Norse 'faerey',"
"Stoker Island Stoker Island is a rocky island lying off the north coast of Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Extending , surface area . The area was visited by early 19th century sealers. The feature is named after Donald Tait, 'stoker' of the survey motor boat ""Nimrod"" of the Royal Navy Hydrographic Survey Unit in the South Shetlands in 1967. The midpoint is located at which is west-southwest of Emeline Island, northwest of Sierra Island, northwest of Dee Island, northeast of Ongley Island, southeast of Romeo Island and south-southwest of Holmes Rock (British mapping in 1968, Chilean"
"McFarlane Strait McFarlane Strait is a strait lying between Greenwich Island and Livingston Island, in the South Shetland Islands off Antarctica. It is long and wide. The name appears on an 1822 chart by Captain George Powell, a British sealer, and is now well established in international usage. The strait is centred at (), and entered between Williams Point and Duff Point to the northwest and between Renier Point and Ephraim Bluff to the southeast (British mapping in 1822 and 1968, Chilean mapping in 1971, Argentine mapping in 1980, Spanish mapping in 1991, and Bulgarian mapping in 2005 and 2009)."
"McFarlane Strait McFarlane Strait is a strait lying between Greenwich Island and Livingston Island, in the South Shetland Islands off Antarctica. It is long and wide. The name appears on an 1822 chart by Captain George Powell, a British sealer, and is now well established in international usage. The strait is centred at (), and entered between Williams Point and Duff Point to the northwest and between Renier Point and Ephraim Bluff to the southeast (British mapping in 1822 and 1968, Chilean mapping in 1971, Argentine mapping in 1980, Spanish mapping in 1991, and Bulgarian mapping in 2005 and 2009)."
"but there are sea otters living here, and the usual seals. Haaf Gruney Haaf Gruney is a small island in the north east of the Shetland Islands. The island is between Unst and Fetlar which are to the north and south respectively. Between it and Yell are a mini-archipelago of small islands including Linga, Sound Gruney, Urie Lingey, Daaey and Wedder Holm. Uyea is also to the west. There was formerly a chromate mine. The island's name is a corruption of the Norse ""hafgröney"", ""gröney"" meaning ""green island"", and ""ha(a)f"" being an old word (still in some use in Shetland),"
"Yell Sound Yell Sound is the strait running between Yell and Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. It is the boundary between the Mainland and the North Isles and it contains many small islands. Sullom Voe, on the shores of which is a substantial oil terminal, is an arm of Yell Sound. The ferry to the North Isles crosses the sound, which can experience strong tides and adverse weather conditions. There are numerous shipwreck sites and several lighthouses to guide shipping. Yell Sound is mentioned briefly in the medieval ""Orkneyinga saga"" and during the 19th century there was a short flourishing of the"
"derivations of some are obscure and may represent pre-Norse, possibly Pictish or even pre-Celtic names or elements. Shetland is around north of mainland Scotland, covers an area of and has a coastline long. Lerwick, the capital and largest settlement, has a population of 6,958 and about half of the archipelago's total population of 23,167 people live within of the town. Scalloway on the west coast, which was the capital until 1708, has a population of less than 1,000. Only 16 of about 100 islands are inhabited. The main island of the group is known as Mainland. The next largest are"
"Arctic species ""Primula stricta"" and ""Primula scandinavica"". Mainland, Orkney The Mainland is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. The name Mainland is a corruption of"
"Geography of Scotland The geography of Scotland is varied, from rural lowlands to unspoilt uplands, and from large cities to sparsely inhabited islands. Located in Northern Europe, Scotland comprises the northern one third of the island of Great Britain as well as 790 surrounding islands encompassing the major archipelagoes of the Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and the Inner and Outer Hebrides. Scotland's only land border is with England, which runs for in a northeasterly direction from the Solway Firth in the west to the North Sea on the east coast. Separated by the North Channel, the island of Ireland lies"
"Stoker Island (British mapping in 1935 and 1968, Argentine in 1957, Chilean in 1971, and Bulgarian in 2005 and 2009). Ongley Island Ongley Island is a rugged rocky island lying off the north coast of Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Extending in west-northwest direction and wide, with a surface area of . The area was visited by early 19th century sealers. The feature is named after L.T. Ongley, cartographer in the Admiralty Hydrographic Department in 1935. The midpoint is located at and the island is lying west of Dee Island, north by east of Aprilov Point, Greenwich"
"light every 3 seconds. The two Range lighthouses direct the ships towards the Hoy Sound from the Atlantic. Graemsay Graemsay is an island in the western approaches to Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The island has two lighthouses. Graemsay lies between Hoy and Stromness on Mainland Orkney, separated from the Mainland by Clestrain Sound. The island is in area and is mainly crofted. The island's geology is Old Red Sandstone of the Devonian period, with two volcanic faults. On the north coast there is granite-schist, a great rarity in Orkney. Graemsay is surrounded by strong tidal races,"
"Mainland, Orkney The Mainland is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections. Seventy-five per cent of Orkney's population live on the island, which is more densely populated than the other islands of the archipelago. The lengthy history of the island's occupation has provided numerous important archaeological sites and the sandstone bedrock provides a platform for fertile farmland. There is an abundance of wildlife, especially seabirds. The name Mainland is a corruption of the Old Norse ""Meginland"". Formerly the island"
"Nesting, Shetland Nesting is a parish in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It includes a part of the east Shetland Mainland, measuring about , along the seaboard from Gletness to Lunna Ness, and also the island of Whalsay and the Out Skerries. The coast is deeply indented by voes and headlands. The arable land comprises only about , the remainder being mostly open moorland. The total area is given as 105.6 km². This includes the ancient parish of Lunnasting in the North and the island parish of Whalsay to the east, which were added to Nesting in 1891. Before that, the"
"Nesting, Shetland Nesting is a parish in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It includes a part of the east Shetland Mainland, measuring about , along the seaboard from Gletness to Lunna Ness, and also the island of Whalsay and the Out Skerries. The coast is deeply indented by voes and headlands. The arable land comprises only about , the remainder being mostly open moorland. The total area is given as 105.6 km². This includes the ancient parish of Lunnasting in the North and the island parish of Whalsay to the east, which were added to Nesting in 1891. Before that, the"
"Sanday, Orkney Sanday is one of the inhabited islands of Orkney that lies off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of , it is the third largest of the Orkney Islands. The main centres of population are Lady Village and Kettletoft. Sanday can be reached by Orkney Ferries or by plane from Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. The Picts were the pre-Norse inhabitants of Sanday but very few placenames remain from this period. The Norse named the island ""Sandey"" or ""Sand-øy"" because of the predominance of sandy beaches and this became ""Sanday"" during the Scots and English"
"Houton Houton is a settlement southeast of Stromness on the island of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. The settlement is within the parish of Orphir, and is situated on a minor road off the A964. From here, a ferry sails to Lyness on Hoy and the oil terminal at Flotta. Nearby are the remains of the Orphir Round Church, dedicated to St Nicholas (the only medieval round church in Scotland) and the Earl's Bu, the ruins of a former manor house of the Earldom of Orkney. These sites are in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. The Holm of Houton is nearby."
"mainland Scotland, covers an area of and has a coastline long. Lerwick, the capital and largest settlement, has a population of around 7,500 and about half of the archipelago's total population of 22,000 people live within of the town. Orkney has 20 inhabited islands and Shetland a total of 16. The superficial rock of Orkney is almost entirely Old Red Sandstone, mostly of Middle Devonian age. As in the neighbouring mainland county of Caithness, this sandstone rests upon the metamorphic rocks of the Moine series, as may be seen on the Orkney Mainland, where a narrow strip of the older"
"Orkney and Shetland to the rest of Scotland, the main routes being Scrabster harbour, Thurso to Stromness and Aberdeen to Lerwick, both operated by NorthLink Ferries. Inter-island ferry services are operated by Orkney Ferries and SIC Ferries, which are operated by the respective local authorities and Northlink also run a Lerwick to Kirkwall service. The archipelago is exposed to wind and tide, and there are numerous sites of wrecked ships. Lighthouses are sited as an aid to navigation at various locations. The main airport in Orkney is at Kirkwall, operated by Highland and Islands Airports. Loganair provides services to the"
"Haaf Gruney Haaf Gruney is a small island in the north east of the Shetland Islands. The island is between Unst and Fetlar which are to the north and south respectively. Between it and Yell are a mini-archipelago of small islands including Linga, Sound Gruney, Urie Lingey, Daaey and Wedder Holm. Uyea is also to the west. There was formerly a chromate mine. The island's name is a corruption of the Norse ""hafgröney"", ""gröney"" meaning ""green island"", and ""ha(a)f"" being an old word (still in some use in Shetland), meaning deep open water, especially that used for fishing. ""Haaf"" is"
"Brother Isle Brother Isle ( meaning broad beach island) is a small, uninhabited island in Shetland, Scotland. It lies between the islands of Yell and Shetland Mainland. It is in size. The island's rock is ""undifferentiated moine gneiss and quartzite."" It is sometimes assumed that the ""Brother"" in the name refers to Culdees/""papar"" who were frequent inhabitants of the smaller islands, however, in this case there is no apparent evidence for this claim, and it would appear to be merely folk etymology. At only 40 hectares in size (about 1/6 of a sq. mile) and surrounded by tidal rips which"
"Gairsay Gairsay (Old Norse: ""Gáreksey"") is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, located in the parish of Rendall, off the coast, astride one of the approaches to the bays of Firth and Kirkwall. It is about long and wide and includes one conical hill and a small harbour called Millburn Bay, which is sheltered by the peninsula known as the Hen of Gairsay. According to the ""Orkneyinga saga"", in Norse times Gairsay was the winter home of the Norse chieftain Sweyn Asleifsson, one of the last great Vikings. He farmed during the summer months and spent the winters with his"
"amongst the two crew and ten passengers. The main roads on Flotta are the B9045 and the B9046, which connect the ferry terminal with the settlement of Whome. Flotta has no causeways similar to the Churchill Barriers, which could allow vehicles to be driven to the nearby islands. All road vehicles are reliant on using the ferry to the Orkney Mainland, and to Hoy. Flotta Flotta is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries to Houton on the Orkney Mainland and Lyness"
"Ongley Island Ongley Island is a rugged rocky island lying off the north coast of Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Extending in west-northwest direction and wide, with a surface area of . The area was visited by early 19th century sealers. The feature is named after L.T. Ongley, cartographer in the Admiralty Hydrographic Department in 1935. The midpoint is located at and the island is lying west of Dee Island, north by east of Aprilov Point, Greenwich Island, northeast of Miletich Point, Greenwich Island, east-northeast of Kabile Island, south by east of Romeo Island and southwest of"