Tuesday 4 February 2014

Fiaray for Fairy?


The next time you are crossing the Sound of Barra by ferry (above) look up to the clouds and then out to the west. The 101-acre Fiaray, an island that has apparently never been inhabited, is to be found on the Atlantic edge.


It has a western shoreline (below) and a seaweed-covered headland called Gruagach (Gaelic for 'beautiful head of hair'). There are two lochans, a drying reef that completely surrounds it and, supposedly, a fairy woman occasionally seen from passing boats. The name of her home comes from the Gaelic feur, for grass or pasture; and the Old Norse for island.


Scottish islands Explorer - hopes to visit Fiaray in the future

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