Copinsay

Copinsay
Orkney
From the Horse of Copinsay to Copinsay Lighthouse
Location
Location:	58.89778 -2.67611
Grid reference:	HY607015
Area:	180 acres
Highest point:	210 feet
Data
Population:	0

Copinsay is one of the smaller islands of Orkney, lying off the east coast of Mainland. The smaller companion island to Copinsay is called the Horse of Copinsay and lies to the north east to the main island.

Copinsay is now uninhabited and managed as a bird reserve. A lighthouse stands on the island.

The island's name is from Old Norse, from Kolbeinsey meaning "Kolbein's Island".

History and myth

Myths about the island include the story of the Copinsay Brownie.

The island was farmed for many ages, and there is an ancient burial site on the island.

For many generations, until the final inhabitants moving to Mainland in 1958, Copinsay was full of life; the large, double storey farmhouse and behind it the Steading (or farm buildings) form the farm tenants, a school with a schoolteacher and up to three lighthouse keepers' families. One of the island's residents was the poet Edwin Muir.

In the earlier part of the 20th century, a weekly postal service provided contact with the Mainland and fortnightly shopping trips to Deerness, allowing for weather. The farm boasted working horses, cattle and sheep - all of which had to be transported on the "coo" or "cow" boat. Birds' eggs provided a good supplement to the islanders' diet, and men were lowered over the cliffs and a special rope, or rowed out to the Horse to bring back this addition.

Pigs were loosed in the spring on the Horse for many years - feeding on the bird eggs - transported across the sound by boat.

Many interesting facts and accounts of life on Copinsay are still retold in the Deerness Community, with many members still remembering when the island was still home to loved ones.

Wildlife

The island was bought in 1972 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, in memory of the naturalist James Fisher.

Although Copinsay today is uninhabited, some fields are still farmed at the behest of the RSPB, to try provide suitable conditions for Corncrake, so the patch work of yesteryear is returning to the island, even though the people have not.

Together with the three adjacent three islets (Corn Holm, Ward Holm and Black Holm), it is designated a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds due to the unimproved grassland vegetation and sheer sandstone cliffs providing ideal breeding ledges for seabirds.

There is a large colony of grey seals on the island. They usually pup in November each year. puffins can be seen during July on the adjacent holms.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Copinsay)