Fuaigh Mòr
Encyclopedia
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
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...
. It is off the west coast of Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
near Great Bernera
Great Bernera
Great Bernera , often known just as Bernera is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With an area of just over , it is the thirty-fourth largest Scottish island....
in Loch Roag. It is 84 hectare (0.324325813217729 sq mi) and 67 metres (220 ft) at its highest point.
History
In 1841, Vuia Mòr was the scene of a particularly nasty incident in the Highland ClearancesHighland Clearances
The Highland Clearances were forced displacements of the population of the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries. They led to mass emigration to the sea coast, the Scottish Lowlands, and the North American colonies...
. The Clearance here is still a subject of much bitterness in the surrounding area.
A local Lewis story goes that the Bernera Ground Officer, who was responsible for the evictions was later dismissed from his post, and ended up as a tramp in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. While he was begging for food in Ontario, he came to the door of someone he had evicted from Vuia Mòr, but did not recognise them at first. The evictee is said to have given him food, and then reminded him of who she was.
The island is currently uninhabited, and now only used for grazing sheep.
Geography and geology
The rock is Lewisian gneissLewisian 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...
.
The island itself is L-shaped, tapering towards the north. The south east has a small headland extended northwards, called Rubha na h-Athadh, which has a cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
on it. There are a couple of caves in the north as well. There are cliffs on the west coast such as Creag na h-Iolaire (eagle crag)
There are many skerries and small islands near it such as Geile Sgeir, Garbh Eilean, Eilean nam Feannag, Linngeam, Cliatasay, Grousam and yet another Floday, as well as Vuia Beag. Eunay Mòr is between the island and Great Bernera
Great Bernera
Great Bernera , often known just as Bernera is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With an area of just over , it is the thirty-fourth largest Scottish island....
.