Pabbay, Barra Isles

For other places with the same name, see Pabbay (disambiguation).
Pabbay
Gaelic name  Pabaigh 
Norse name Papey
Meaning of name Island of the papar
Location
Pabbay
Pabbay shown within the Outer Hebrides
OS grid reference NL605880
Physical geography
Island group Outer Hebrides
Area 250 ha (0.97 sq mi)
Area rank 96= [1]
Highest elevation 171 m (561 ft)
Administration
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country Scotland
Council area Outer Hebrides
Demographics
Population 0
References [2][3][4]
Pabbay can be made out in the distance

Pabbay (Scottish Gaelic: Pabaigh, pronounced [ˈpʰapaj]) is one of the Barra Isles at the southern tip of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The name comes from Papey, which is Norse for "island of the papar" (i.e. monks). At only 250 hectares (0.97 sq mi), it never had a large population, and, after all the able-bodied men were killed in a fierce storm while out on a fishing trip on 1 May 1897, it was abandoned in the early twentieth century.

The National Trust for Scotland has owned the island since 2000. With only two sheep left on the island in July 2007 and few, if any, other permanent mammalian residents, Pabbay is consequently home in summer to many ground-nesting birds due to the absence of predators.

The island was the site of a Celtic hermitage, and a Pictish carved stone dates from that period. Remains of an Iron Age settlement can also been seen on Pabbay.

The name of Pabbay is used for one of the three houses of Castlebay Secondary School. The other two are Mingulay and Sandray.

Rock Climbing

Composed of Lewisian gneiss, is "one of the finest climbing venues in the UK".[5] This includes the climbing route The Great Arch, which is graded E7 7a.[6]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
  2. ↑ National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013) (pdf) Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland - Release 1C (Part Two). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland’s inhabited islands". Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  3. ↑ Ordnance Survey. Get-a-map (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure. Ordinance Survey. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
  5. ↑ "Pabbay May 2008 – the official meet report!". LMC. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Pabbay". UKClimbing.com. Retrieved 12 September 2013.

Coordinates: 56°51′32″N 7°34′21″W / 56.85880°N 7.57260°W / 56.85880; -7.57260


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