Misplaced Pages

Linga

Scottish Gaelic name	Unknown
Old Norse name	Lyngey
Meaning of name	Heather Island
Linga from the north
Location
LingaLinga shown within Shetland
OS grid reference	HU557986
Coordinates	60°40′N 1°00′W / 60.66°N 1.0°W / 60.66; -1.0
Physical geography
Island group	Shetland
Area	45 ha (111 acres)
Area rank	210=
Highest elevation	26 m (85 ft)
Administration
Council area	Shetland
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	0
References

Linga is a very small uninhabited island in the Bluemull Sound, Shetland, Scotland. It is one of many islands in Shetland called Linga. It has an area of 45 ha and is 26m at its highest point.

Geography and geology

Linga is made up of "coarse mica-schist and gneiss".

It is situated off the east coast of Yell, near the village of Gutcher, and has an area of 111 acres (0.45 km). It is separated from Yell by Linga Sound, and Unst is to the north east. Sound Gruney, Urie Lingey are to the south east, and Hascosay to the south.

There is little freshwater on the island.

History

It is said that Jan Tait of Fetlar once kept a bear on the island, and this is commemorated in the placename - "Bear's Bait". It was said to be from Norway, where he had been taken for trial for murder, but he was pardoned for capturing this particular bear, which had been causing problems over there.

An abandoned chapel is located on the island. An unknown duke once planned to build a large house there after buying land on it. However this was cancelled as doctors and other services refused to provide a service to such a small remote island.

On 19 July 1923, the SS Jane ran aground on the island. The 840-ton ship, carrying herring from Baltasound, Unst to Lerwick, later sank into 20m of water just off the island.

There is also the remains of a sheep fold in the north.

Wildlife

Surprisingly for an island whose name derives from the Norse for "heather isle", very little grows here.

Otters, guillemots and seals breed on the island.

Footnotes

1. 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.
2. ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
3. Iain Mac an Tailleir. "Placenames" (PDF). Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
4. "Get-a-map" Ordnance Survey
5. "Further afield". MV Valkyrie. Retrieved 31 October 2010.

v t e North Isles, Shetland Islands
Inhabited islands	Fetlar Unst Yell
Other islands	Balta Brough Holm Gloup Holm Haaf Gruney Hascosay Huney Linga Muckle Flugga Out Stack Sound Gruney Urie Lingey Uyea
Towns and villages	Aywick Baltasound Belmont Burravoe Copister Cullivoe Gloup Gutcher Houbie Haroldswick Mid Yell Skaw Ulsta Uyeasound West Sandwick
Points of interest	Belmont House Brough Lodge Burgi Geos Daal of Lumbister Hermaness Muness Castle Old Haa Museum RRH Saxa Vord Unst Bus Shelter Valhalla Brewery

v t e Shetland
Inhabited islands	Mainland Bressay Burra East Burra West Burra Fair Isle Fetlar Foula Muckle Roe North Isles Out Skerries Papa Stour Trondra Unst Vaila Whalsay Yell
Other islands	Balta Bigga Brother Isle Colsay Hascosay Hildasay Lamba Linga, Bluemull Sound Linga, Busta Voe Linga (near Vementry) Linga, Vaila Sound Linga, Yell Sound Mousa Noss Oxna Papa Papa Little Samphrey South Havra St Ninian's Isle Uyea, Northmavine Uyea, Unst Vementry Ve Skerries West Linga
Towns and villages	Lerwick Aith Baltasound Bigton Bixter Brae Cunningsburgh Grutness Gulberwick Gutcher Haroldswick Hillswick Levenwick Mid Yell Mossbank North Roe Ollaberry Quarff Sandwick Scalloway Symbister Toab Toft Ulsta Uyeasound Vidlin Voe Walls Weisdale Whiteness
Mainland Parishes	Delting Dunrossness Lerwick Nesting Northmavine Sandsting Tingwall Walls and Sandness
Insular Parishes	Bressay Fetlar Unst Yell
Maritime features	Balta Sound Bluemull Sound Burra Voe Busta Voe Calder's Geo Ronas Voe St Magnus Bay Sullom Voe West Voe of Sumburgh Yell Sound
Extreme points (N S E W)	Out Stack The Skerry, off Fair Isle Bound Skerry Waster Hoevda, Foula
Topics	Animal breeds Etymology History Prehistory

60°40′N 0°59′W / 60.667°N 0.983°W / 60.667; -0.983

• Uninhabited islands of Shetland