Auskerry
| Auskerry | |
 Auskerry Lighthouse | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
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| |
| Grid reference: | HY675165 |
| Area: | 210 acres |
| Highest point: | 59 feet |
| Data | |
| Population: | 5 |
Auskerry is a small island in eastern Orkney. It lies in the North Sea south of Stronsay and has a lighthouse, completed in 1866.
The name of the island is from Norse, and means “East Skerry”.
Description
Auskerry is a small, flat, red sandstone islet, three miles south of Stronsay.[1] A standing stone and mediæval chapel are signs of early settlement.[1] The island was uninhabited for a time after the automation of the lighthouse in the 1960s. It was previously a popular location for hunting seals.[1]
Auskerry has been inhabited for 30 years by a family who keep a flock of rare North Ronaldsay sheep.[2] There are three small wind turbines and four solar panels on the island, which provide most of the power. After a series of expansions and renovations, the single roomed stone bothy is now a modern house with four bedrooms, kitchen, shower room and living room. The chemical toilet is outdoors due to the complication of installing septic tanks. Mail is delivered from Stronsay, once a month, by a fishing boat.
Lighthouse
The Hastings County, a 380-foot Norwegian cargo ship ran ashore on north west of Auskerry in 1926 during thick fog.[3] The vessel broke in half and wreckage is spread over a wide area, with the engine on the beach.
The lighthouse lights the north entrance to the Stronsay Firth.[4] It was built in 1866 by engineers David and Thomas Stevenson.[5] It is attached to two flats; the lower one is used all year as a store and the top one is used mainly in summer.
Wildlife
Auskerry is designated a Special Protection Area due to its importance as a nesting area for Arctic Tern and Storm Petrel; 4.2% of the breeding population of Storm Petrel in Great Britain nest on the island.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Auskerry". Gazetteer for Scotland. http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1738.html. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ↑ "Isle of Auskerry". http://www.isleofauskerry.co.uk/. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ↑ "Hastings County". North Isles Diving. http://www.jeanelaine.co.uk/text/NorthIslesDiving.htm#hastingscounty. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ↑ "SS Hastings County Ashore On Auskerry". Scran. http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-110-990-C. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ↑ "Auskerry History". Northern Lighthouse Board. http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/auskerry.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
- ↑ "Special Protection Area description: Auskerry". JNCC. http://www.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1919. Retrieved 2007-08-24.
| Islands of Orkney |
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Inhabited islands: |