Staffin Island

Staffin Island
Gaelic name Eilean Stafainn
Norse name Possibly Fladdaidh.[1]
Meaning of name Norse for "flat island".[2]
Location
Staffin Island
Staffin Island shown relative to Skye
OS grid reference NG491693
Physical geography
Island group Skye
Area 22 ha[3]
Highest elevation c.10 metres (33 ft)[4]
Administration
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country Scotland
Council area Highland
References [4]
Staffin Island from The Quirang

Staffin Island[4][5] (possibly also known as Stenscholl Island[1]) is an islet off the east coast of the Trotternish peninsula of Skye in Scotland.

The Norse name may have been Fladdaidh[1] meaning "flat island". The Gaelic name Eilean Stafainn has the same meaning as the modern English name which is taken from the nearby settlement of Staffin.[6] "Stenscholl" is an area of Staffin.[4]

In 2011 it was reported that the island may be the last in Scotland where the old tradition of having cattle swim between grazings is still carried out. Crofter Iain MacDonald, who used to swim with the animals, now uses a boat to encourage them to swim from Staffin Island to Skye in early spring and back again in October.[7]

The Hut on Staffin Island is a tune composed by Phil Cunningham.[8]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Fladdaidh" Staffin Community Trust. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  2. ↑ Orkney placenames. Orkneyjar. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  3. ↑ Rick Livingstone’s Tables of the Islands of Scotland (pdf) Argyll Yacht Charters. Retrieved 12 Dec 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ordnance Survey. Get-a-map (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure. Ordinance Survey. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  5. ↑ Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 174
  6. ↑ Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 107
  7. ↑ "Skye crofter 'last' to swim his cattle between grazings" (11 February 2011) BBC News. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  8. ↑ "The Hut on Staffin Island" nigelgatherer.com. Retrieved 12 February 2011.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Staffin Island.

Coordinates: 57°38′38″N 6°12′19″W / 57.64389°N 6.20528°W / 57.64389; -6.20528


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