Orosay
Tidal Island by Barra, Scotland
title: "Orosay" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["islands-of-the-sound-of-barra", "uninhabited-islands-of-the-outer-hebrides"] description: "Tidal Island by Barra, Scotland" topic_path: "general/islands-of-the-sound-of-barra" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orosay" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Tidal Island by Barra, Scotland ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Scottish island"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| coordinates | |
| location_map | Scotland Outer Hebrides |
| caption | Orosay shown within the Outer Hebrides |
| GridReference | NF712060 |
| celtic name | Orasaigh |
| norse name | Örfirisey |
| meaning of name | "tidal island" |
| area | 38 ha |
| highest elevation | 38 m |
| Population | Uninhabited |
| island group | Barra |
| local authority | Western Isles |
| references | |
| :: |
|Map= |coordinates = |location_map=Scotland Outer Hebrides |caption=Orosay shown within the Outer Hebrides |GridReference=NF712060 |celtic name=Orasaigh |gaelic pronunciation= |norse name=Örfirisey |meaning of name= "tidal island" |area=38 ha |area rank= |highest elevation= 38 m |Population= Uninhabited |population rank= |main settlement= |island group=Barra |local authority=Western Isles |references= Orosay () is a small uninhabited tidal island in the Sound of Barra lying at the north end of Traigh Mhòr, the "big beach" on the north east coast of Barra. It is one of ten islands in the Sound of Barra, a Site of Community Importance for conservation in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It is about 30 ha in extent and the highest point is 38 m. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Orosay.jpg" caption="Orosay from the air, with the narrows of Caolas Orasaigh in the foreground and [[Gighay]] and [[Hellisay]] beyond."] ::
Geography and etymology
Inland, the nearest settlement is Eoligarry, separated from the island by the strait of Caolas Orasaigh (English: "Sound of Orosay"). The smaller beach of Tràigh Cille-bharra ("the beach of the church of Barra") lies to the north. The islands of Fuday, Greanamul, Gighay and Hellisay lie further offshore in the Sound of Barra. The name "Orosay" is a variant of "Oronsay", from the Old Norse for "tidal" or "ebb island", found commonly in the Hebrides. For example, there are two other small Orosay/Orosaighs surrounding Barra alone. One is at at the south eastern approaches to Castle Bay and the second at in Caolas Bhatarsaigh east of the causeway.
History
The writer Compton Mackenzie lived on Barra nearby and is buried at Cille Bharra, opposite the island. There is no record of Orosay itself ever having been permanently inhabited.
Beach runway
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/2004_0806hebridies0040.JPG" caption="Barra airport"] ::
Barra's airport uses Traigh Mhòr ("big beach"), also known as Cockle Strand, as a runway.
In the 1970s concern was expressed about the progressive deepening of Caolas Orasaigh as a possible cause of increased ponding of water on the beach runway at low tide. The problem does not, however, appear to have been serious and apparently no action was taken.
Orosay in literature
Julian Barnes's short story "Marriage Lines" (collected in Pulse (2011)) is set entirely on Orosay.
References
- Watson, W.J. (2004) The History of the Celtic Place-names of Scotland. Reprinted with an introduction by Simon Taylor. Edinburgh. Birlinn.
Footnotes
References
- Watson (2004) p. 505.
- [http://www.argyll-yachtcharters.co.uk/Scottish%20Islands.pdf Rick Livingstone’s Tables of the Islands of Scotland] (pdf) Argyll Yacht Charters. Retrieved 12 Dec 2011.
- {{Ordnance Survey
- [http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst7820.html "Orosay, Sound of"] Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
- {{Haswell-Smith. 221
- "Cille Bharra". Undiscovered Scotland.
- "Barra Airport". Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.
- Ritchie, W. (1971) ''Commissioned Report No. 047: The beaches of Barra and the Uists. A survey of the beach, dune and machair areas of Barra, South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist and Berneray''. SNH/Countryside Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 17 August 2009. pp 71-72.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::