The Cumbraes
Encyclopedia
The Cumbraes are a group of island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

s in the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...

, 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...

. The islands belong to the traditional county
Counties of Scotland
The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....

 of Bute
County of Bute
The County of Bute is one of the registration counties of Scotland. In 2001 its usually resident population was 13,720.-Local government county:...

 and the modern unitary authority of North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...

.

The main islands in the group are:
  • Great Cumbrae
    Great Cumbrae
    Great Cumbrae is the larger of the two islands known as The Cumbraes in the lower Firth of Clyde in western Scotland...

  • Little Cumbrae
    Little Cumbrae
    Little Cumbrae is an island in the Firth of Clyde, in North Ayrshire, Scotland. The island is known locally as Wee Cumbrae.-Etymology:...



These two islands are separated from each other by a broad sound
Sound (geography)
In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....

 called The Tan and from the Scottish mainland by a busy shipping channel known as the Fairlie Roads.

There are also a number of uninhabited islets in the group:
  • The Eileans
    The Eileans
    The Eileans are two small, low lying islands located in Newtown Bay, Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland .The name is an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic, eilean meaning "Island"...

  • Castle Island
    Castle Island, Scotland
    Castle Island or Allimturrail is a small tidal island, lying off the east coast of Little Cumbrae, and to the west of Trail Island, in the Firth of Clyde. It is joined to Little Cumbrae at low tide....

  • The Broad Islands
  • Trail Isle


The Cumbraes are referred to as the Kumreyiar in the Norse Saga of Haakon Haakonarson
Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar
Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar is an Old Norse kings' saga, telling the story of the life and reign of King Haakon Haakonarson of Norway. The saga was written by the Icelandic historian and chieftain Sturla Þórðarson, in the 1260s...

.
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