Eilean Ruairidh Mòr

Eilean Ruairidh Mòr is a forested island in Loch Maree, Wester Ross, Scotland. Its name was formerly anglicised as "Ellan-Rorymore".[5]

Eilean Ruairidh Mòr

Scottish Gaelic name	Eilean Ruairidh Mòr
Meaning of name	Island of Big Rory/Roderick
Location
Eilean Ruairidh Mòr Eilean Ruairidh Mòr shown within Scotland
OS grid reference	NG897733
Coordinates	57.7°N 5.53°W
Physical geography
Island group	Loch Maree
Area	38 ha[1]
Area rank	(Freshwater: 10) [2]
Highest elevation	51 m
Administration
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Council area	Highland
Demographics
Population	0
References	[3][4]

The island is owned by Forestry and Land Scotland, as is the Slattadale Forest on the southern shore of Loch Maree.[4] The islands in Loch Maree are among the least disturbed in Britain and are managed as a national nature reserve.[6]

History

Eilean Ruairidh Mòr was planted with pines in about 1815. There are remains of a subterranean circular structure,[5] similar to a Scandinavian dùn or burgh. The ancestors of the Mackenzies of Gairloch held it as a place of security from the attacks of the Macleods.[7]

Footnotes

1. Rick Livingstone’s Tables of the Islands of Scotland (pdf) Argyll Yacht Charters. Retrieved 12 Dec 2011.
2. 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.
3. 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
4. Ordnance Survey. Landranger (1:50000) Series. Sheet 19: Gairloch and Ullapool.
5. Wilson, Rev. John The Gazetteer of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1882) Published by W. & A.K. Johnstone
6. "Loch Maree Islands National Nature Reserve". NatureScot. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
7. "Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland". Electric Scotland. Retrieved 15 December 2007.