North Uist
Location
OS grid reference:	NF835697
Names
Gaelic name:	Uibhist a Tuath
Norse name:	unknown
Meaning of name:	From 'inni-vist', Old Norse for 'dwelling'.
Area and Summit
Area:	30,305 ha
Area rank (Scottish islands):	10
Highest elevation:	Eaval 347 m
Population
Population (2001):	1,271
Population rank (inhabited Scottish islands):	11 out of 97
Main settlement:	Lochmaddy
Groupings
Island Group:	Uists and Barra
Local Authority:	Na h-Eileanan Siar
References:	[1][2][3] [4][5]

North Uist (Scottish Gaelic: Uibhist a Tuath) is an island of the Outer Hebrides.

Description

North Uist is the ninth largest Scottish island and the thirteenth largest island surrounding Great Britain (excluding Ireland). It has an area of 118 square miles (305.6 sq km),^[5] slightly smaller than South Uist. North Uist is connected by causeways to Benbecula via Grimsay, to Berneray, and to Baleshare. With the exception of the south east, the island is very flat, and covered with a patchwork of peat bogs, low hills and lochans, with more than half the land being covered by water. Some of the lochs contain a mixture of fresh and tidal salt water, giving rise to some complex and unusual habitats.

According to the 2001 census North Uist had a population of 1,271,^[6] (1,320 including Baleshare).^[6]

Settlements

The main settlement on the island is Lochmaddy, a fishing port and home to a museum, an arts centre and a camera obscura. Caledonian MacBrayne ferries sail from the village to Uig on Skye, as well as from the island of Berneray (which is connected to North Uist by road causeway), to Leverburgh in Harris. Lochmaddy also has Taigh Chearsabhagh - a museum and arts centre with a cafe, small shop and post office service. Nearby is the Uist Outdoor Centre.

The island's main villages are Sollas, Hosta, Tigharry, Hougharry, Paible, Grimsay and Cladach Kirkibost. Other settlements include Carinish, Port nan Long and Scolpaig, home to the nineteenth century Scolpaig Tower folly.

Things of interest

North Uist has many prehistoric structures, including the Barpa Langass chambered cairn, the Pobull Fhinn stone circle, the Fir Bhreige standing stones and the Baile Sear roundhouses, which were exposed by storms in January, 2005. ^[7]

The island is also known for its birdlife, including corncrakes, arctic terns, gannets, corn buntings and Manx shearwaters. The RSPB has a nature reserve at Balranald.^[8]

The island is also famed for its extremely successful athletics club (North Uist Amateur Athletics Club). This club has performed exceptionally at local, regional and national athletics competitions - taking into consideration the island's lack of facilities and small population.

History

North Uist was granted to Macdonald of Sleat in 1495,^[9] and remained in possession of the Macdonald's of Sleat until 1855, when it was sold to Sir John Powlett Ord.^[5] Today the island is owned by the Granville family through the North Uist Trust.^[5]

The force-fire was last made in North Uist in about 1829.

North Uist and the Clearances

See also:

North Uist was hit hard during the Highland Clearances, and there was large scale emigration from the island to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.^[10] The pre-clearance population of North Uist had been almost 5,000,^[5] though by 1841 it had fallen to 3,870,^[9] and has further dwindled to about 1,300 people today. The clearances occurred later on North Uist, which was predominately Presbyterian, than on South Uist which was mostly Roman Catholic.^[10]

The main reason for the massive scale of emigration was the failure of the island's kelp industry. Since the French Revolutionary Wars the kelp industry had been North Uist's main source of income.^[10] Though with the collapse of their main source of income the crofters of North Uist could not afford the high rents.^[10] Even as the landlords reduced the rents, such as in 1827 when the rents were reduced by 20%, many crofters were forced to emigrate.^[10]

The first real clearances on North Uist occurred in the 1820s.^[10] In 1826 the villages of Kyles Berneray, Baile Mhic Phail and Baile mhic Conon, located on the north-east corner of North Uist, were cleared of their inhabitants. Although some moved further east to Loch Portain, most of those affected moved to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.^[10] The effect of this is shown in the rental roll of 1827, which states that over fifty families had "Gone to America", meaning Cape Breton.^[10] As the economic conditions worsened and with reports of islanders succeeding overseas, the numbers of families emigrating from Scotland to North America greatly increased.^[10] In 1838 1,300 people from North Uist were recorded as being cleared.^[12] It is misconception that most families involved in the clearances were "cleared" from their holdings, though in 1849 there was rioting as 603 inhabitants from Sollas were forcefully cleared by Lord Macdonald.^[13] In the incident the women of Sollas took large part in the rioting.^[15] As a detachment of Glasgow police officers advanced on the protesters, the Sollas men were said to have stood aside, but the women of Sollas stood up to the authorities, and pelted the police with rocks. The police then descended upon the Sollas folk and attacked them with their truncheons.^[16] In fact a Hebredian settlement in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia was originally called Sollas (now Woodbine).^[17][18] North Uist surnames affected during the clearances were the MacAulays, MacCodrums, MacCuishs, and MacDonalds.^[10]

Gallery

Looking along the beach and machair of the spit Corran Aird a' Mhòrain.

Landsat image of North Uist

Notes

External links

• Balranald Nature Reserve
• Taigh Chearsabhagh
• Uist Outdoor Centre
• Am Paipear Community Newspaper

•  • [ e] Islands of the Hebrides
Inner Hebrides	Ascrib Islands Canna Cara Coll Colonsay Crowlin Islands Eigg Gigha Iona Isay Islay Jura Kerrera Lismore Oronsay Muck Mull Raasay Rm Skye Slate Islands Soay Staffa Summer Isles Tiree Treshnish Isles Ulva
Outer Hebrides	Barra (Isles) Benbecula Berneray Eriskay Flannan Isles Great Bernera Harris and Lewis Monach Islands (Heisgeir) North Uist Rockall Scalpay Shiant Isles South Uist St Kilda

Coordinates: