Little Cumbrae

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Little Cumbrae
Little Cumbrae as seen from Portencross
Little Cumbrae of Portencross seen from
Waters Firth of Clyde
Geographical location 55 ° 43 ′ 20 ″  N , 4 ° 57 ′ 0 ″  W Coordinates: 55 ° 43 ′ 20 ″  N , 4 ° 57 ′ 0 ″  W.
Little Cumbrae (Scotland)
Little Cumbrae
length 3 km
width 1.5 km
surface 3.13 km²
Highest elevation 123  m ASL
Residents uninhabited

Little Cumbrae (locally Wee Cumbrae) is a Scottish island in the North Ayrshire Council Area .

geography

The volcanic island is located in the Firth of Clyde , which separates Little Cumbrae from the Scottish mainland at Farland Head , about two kilometers away . The closest town there is Portencross . The larger sister island of Great Cumbrae is 800 m to the north, while the southern tip of the island of Bute is 2.5 km to the northwest. Little Cumbrae has a maximum length of 3 km by a maximum width of 1.5 km, with an area of ​​3.13 km 2 . The swampy landscape gradually rises to a height of 123 m above sea level.

geology

The volcanism that led to the formation of Little Cumbrae can, according to radiometric data from the Renfrewshire Hills on the Clyde Plateau, be dated to around 335-208 million years (late Holkerium (level B according to Menning et al.), A lower level of the Viséum ).

In a few places on Little Cumrae, lava from the early Carboniferous ( Dinantium ) appears in the form of ENE-NE-running sills.

history

The archipelago is mentioned as the Cumberays in 1264. The islands are probably named after the Scottish Cymry, the second part of the name is Old Scandinavian ay , island.

On the tidal island of Castle Island off the east coast is a tower house called Little Cumbrae Castle . Possibly it served as a guard post to guard against the intrusion of the Vikings into the Firth of Clyde. King Robert II occupied the structure in 1375. In 1635 it was burned down by Oliver Cromwell's troops. The ruin is classified in the highest Scottish monument category A.

In 1750 one of the earliest lighthouses in Scotland was built on the island's highest point. The lighthouse was replaced by a new building on the west coast in the 19th century. The ruins of the Little Cumbrae Old Lighthouse were also classified as a category A monument until 2006.

Glasgow discharged all of its sewage untreated into the Clyde , which led to several cholera epidemics . A royal commission under Sir John Hawkshaw therefore proposed in 1876 that the sewage should be led through a canal to Farland Head and directly into the Firth of Clyde opposite Little Cumbrae . The cost was estimated at £ 2,500,000. The plan never came to fruition, fortunately for the islanders. While between eleven and 23 people lived on the island in the 19th century, the number fell in the 20th century. The last population given in the 1991 census was six. Little Cumbrae is uninhabited today. However, there are plenty of rabbits.

Like many of the British Isles, Little Cumbrae is privately owned. In 2001 there were plans to establish the island as a luxury vacation destination. However, this was not put into practice and the island was finally sold in 2008 for £ 2.5 million. Today the island belongs to an Indian yoga teacher who runs a meditation center there.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Little Cumbrae. In: David Munro, Bruce Gittings: Scotland. An Encyclopedia of Places & Landscapes. Collins et al., Glasgow 2006, ISBN 0-00-472466-6 .
  2. ↑ a b Cumbrae, Little. In: Francis H. Groome: Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical. Volume 2: (Cor - Edn). Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh et al. 1884, p. 326 .
  3. ↑ Menning, M, Weyer, D., Drozdzewski, G., Van Amerom, HWJ & Wendt, I. 2000. A Carboniferous timescale 2000: discussion and use of geological parameters as time indicators from central and western Europe. Geological Yearbook A156, 3-44, quoted from WGE Caldwell, GM Young, Early Carboniferous minor intrusions of the Clyde Plateau: new data from the Cumbrae islands. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 102, 2011, 227
  4. ^ WGE Caldwell, GM Young, Early Carboniferous minor intrusions of the Clyde Plateau: new data from the Cumbrae islands. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 102, 2011, 227
  5. ^ AD Mills, A Dictionary of British Place Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press: Revised 2011 edition, Lemma Cumrae
  6. ^ AD Mills, A Dictionary of British Place Names. Oxford, Oxford University Press: Revised 2011 edition, Lemma Cumrae
  7. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  8. ↑ Entry on Little Cumbrae Castle  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  9. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  10. ^ Anon, The Disposal of Sewage at Glasgow. British Architect August 24, 1888; 30, 7
  11. ↑ Auslan Cramb: Iceland with castle for sale at £ 3m - type would suit shy. In: The Telegraph , September 22, 2005.
  12. ↑ Emma Cowing: Guru of Wee Cumbrae: I want to make Scotland the healthiest nation in the world within ten years. In: The Scotsman. Scotland on Sunday 12th September 2009.

Web links

Commons : Little Cumbrae  - collection of images, videos and audio files