Eday

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Eday
Eday seen from Faray
Eday seen from Faray
Waters North Sea
Archipelago Orkney Islands
Geographical location 59 ° 11 ′  N , 2 ° 47 ′  W Coordinates: 59 ° 11 ′  N , 2 ° 47 ′  W
Location of Eday
length 12 km
width 4 km
surface 27.45 km²
Highest elevation Ward Hill
101  m
Residents 160 (2011)
5.8 inhabitants / km²
main place Calfsound
Ordnance Survey Map Sheet (1959)
Ordnance Survey map sheet (1959)

The inhabited island of Eday (Isthmus Island), part of the Scottish Orkney , is a good 30 km north-northeast of Kirkwall , the capital of the archipelago, and has a maximum length (south-north) of twelve kilometers and a width of four kilometers. At the narrowest point in the middle (at the Loch of Doorny) it is only a few 100 meters wide. Eday has an area of ​​27.54 km² and 160 inhabitants.

The highest elevation of the fertile island, which is made of middle-aged red sandstone , is Ward Hill in the south at 101 m. The Fresness Quarry supplied the stones for the construction of St. Magnus Cathedral . To the north, at Red Head, the spectacular red cliffs drop off steeply.

Even today, the extraction of peat and limestone, as well as cattle breeding and fishing are of certain importance, but many of the residents make their living from the oil industry and tourism. The Eday Community Associaten deserves a special mention, a cooperative mainly made up of women from the island that takes care of tourism. In a bird sanctuary at Loch Mill, rare birds such as the red-throated diver can be seen. On the coast of breeds fulmar and cormorant colony located on the Calf.

Attractions

Huntersquoy - in the foreground the access to the lower area, while the large stones at the back belong to the destroyed upper floor
Breaside

Prehistoric sights are the Stone of Setter , a 4.5 meter high menhir in the northern part of the island and the Fold of Setter, an 85–90 m large circular rampart and the Neolithic megalithic complex of Braeside , a small complex known as the Stalled Cairn . Huntersquoy , is a two-story tomb passage and Vinquoy is a maeshowe -type facility, but with a strongly shifted arrangement of the side chambers. Other "Chambered Tombs" are located near Mill Bay.

traffic

There are both ferries (from Backaland pier) to Mainland , Stronsay and Sanday, as well as flight connections from Edays "London airport". Privately, you can organize a crossing to the small neighboring island of Calf of Eday , which has several interesting megalithic structures .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 2011 census data

Web links

Commons : Eday  - collection of images, videos and audio files