Sule Skerry
Encyclopedia
Sule Skerry is a remote skerry
in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland
.
, lies 10km to the southwest. The remote islands of Rona
and Sula Sgeir
lie approximately 80km further to the west. Sule Skerry and Sule Stack are both a part of the Orkney Islands
council area.
Sule Skerry is 16 ha in area and about 0.8 kilometres long along its length. It reaches a height of 12 meters. It is formed of Lewisian gneiss
.
at the centre high point of the island and a number of small cairns around the periphery.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Sule Skerry lighthouse was the most remote manned lighthouse in Great Britain from its opening in 1895 to its automation in 1982. Its remote location meant that construction could only take place during the summer, thus it took from 1892-94 to complete.
A meteorological buoy
used in Met Office
's Marine Automatic Weather Station (MAWS) Network is located off Sule Skerry. Results from the buoy are used in the Shipping Forecast
.
are listed as a Special Protection Area
as they are home during the breeding season to thousands of puffin
s and gannets and smaller numbers of the rarer Leach's Storm Petrel and Storm Petrels. Note that Leach's petrel visit the island but breeding is not proved. Since the first visiting birds in 2003 there is now a large breeding population of Gannet; a possible overflow from nearby Sule Stack.
Every year the puffins and other seabirds on sule skerry are monitored by a team of birders called the sule skerry ringing group. They have been monitoring the seabirds on the island since 1975.
The island is tree-less, since few trees would withstand the high winds of winter and salt spray environment. The dominant plant is Maritime Mayweed Tripleurospermum maritimum
.
is a story of a Silkie
who lives on Sule Skerry.
Skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack....
in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Geography
Sule Skerry lies 60 kilometres west of the Orkney Mainland at . Sule Skerry's sole neighbour, Sule StackSule Stack
Sule Stack or Stack Skerry is an extremely remote island or stack in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland. It is formed of Lewisian gneiss.Sule Stack lies 66 kilometres west of the Orkney mainland at...
, lies 10km to the southwest. The remote islands of Rona
North Rona
Rona is a remote Scottish island in the North Atlantic. Rona is often referred to as North Rona in order to distinguish it from South Rona . It has an area of and a maximum height of...
and Sula Sgeir
Sula Sgeir
Sula Sgeir is a small, uninhabited Scottish island in the North Atlantic, west of North Rona...
lie approximately 80km further to the west. Sule Skerry and Sule Stack are both a part of the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
council area.
Sule Skerry is 16 ha in area and about 0.8 kilometres long along its length. It reaches a height of 12 meters. It is formed of Lewisian gneiss
Lewisian complex
The Lewisian complex or Lewisian Gneiss is a suite of Precambrian metamorphic rocks that outcrop in the northwestern part of Scotland, forming part of the Hebridean Terrane. These rocks are of Archaean and Paleoproterozoic age, ranging from 3.0–1.7 Ga. They form the basement on which the...
.
Uses
There is a lighthouseLighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
at the centre high point of the island and a number of small cairns around the periphery.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Sule Skerry lighthouse was the most remote manned lighthouse in Great Britain from its opening in 1895 to its automation in 1982. Its remote location meant that construction could only take place during the summer, thus it took from 1892-94 to complete.
A meteorological buoy
Buoy
A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
used in Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
's Marine Automatic Weather Station (MAWS) Network is located off Sule Skerry. Results from the buoy are used in the Shipping Forecast
Shipping Forecast
The Shipping Forecast is a four-times-daily BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The forecasts sent over the Navtex...
.
Biology
Sule Skerry together with Sule StackSule Stack
Sule Stack or Stack Skerry is an extremely remote island or stack in the North Atlantic off the north coast of Scotland. It is formed of Lewisian gneiss.Sule Stack lies 66 kilometres west of the Orkney mainland at...
are listed as a Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...
as they are home during the breeding season to thousands of puffin
Puffin
Puffins are any of three small species of auk in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak during the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among...
s and gannets and smaller numbers of the rarer Leach's Storm Petrel and Storm Petrels. Note that Leach's petrel visit the island but breeding is not proved. Since the first visiting birds in 2003 there is now a large breeding population of Gannet; a possible overflow from nearby Sule Stack.
Every year the puffins and other seabirds on sule skerry are monitored by a team of birders called the sule skerry ringing group. They have been monitoring the seabirds on the island since 1975.
The island is tree-less, since few trees would withstand the high winds of winter and salt spray environment. The dominant plant is Maritime Mayweed Tripleurospermum maritimum
Tripleurospermum maritimum
A common seaside plant, Tripleurospermum maritimum is also known as Matricaria maritimum, commonly known as sea mayweed. It is found in many coastal areas of Northern Europe, including Scandinavia and Iceland, often growing in sand or amongst beach pebbles.As with many maritime plants, sea mayweed...
.
Folklore
The Great Silkie of Sule SkerryThe Great Silkie of Sule Skerry
The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry or The Grey Selkie of Suleskerry is a traditional folk song from Orkney. The song was collected by the American scholar, Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century and is listed as Child ballad number 113...
is a story of a Silkie
Selkie
Selkies are mythological creatures that are found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish folklore....
who lives on Sule Skerry.