Fuday (Scottish Gaelic: Fùideigh) is an uninhabited island of about 232 hectares (570 acres) and is one of ten islands in the Sound of Barra, a Site of Community Importance for conservation in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It lies just east of Scurrival Point on Barra and west of Eriskay. Fuday is owned by the Scottish Government.[4] Deserted since 1901, its peak population is recorded only as seven.
It is still used for the summer grazing of cattle, and they used to be swum across the 1-mile-wide (2-kilometre), but shallow, Caolas Fuideach (strait) to there from Eoligarry. When cattle were first introduced to the island, they were killed by dehydration. The crofters who left the cattle on the island failed to show the animals the location of the only drinkable source of water on the island, a loch far inland on the island. The cattle thus could not find drinking water and died of thirst.[citation needed]
Notes and references
- ^ 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.
- ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
- ^ Ordnance Survey. OS Maps Online (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure.
- ^ "Overview of Fuday". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
57°03′N 7°23′W / 57.050°N 7.383°W
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