Horse Isle
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Jun2004.jpg/234px-HorseIsleNearArdrossan(StuartMcMahon)Jun2004.jpg)
Horse Isle is a small, rocky, uninhabited island in the Firth of Clyde, in Scotland. The island lies around 1 km west of the mainland town of Ardrossan at grid reference NS211427, providing some shelter to the harbour that the Arran ferry sails from.
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[edit] Geography
Two smaller islands, North Islet and East Islet, skirt the east coast of Horse Isle and a number of other rocks litter the sound between the island and the mainland.
It is within the administrative district of North Ayrshire.
[edit] History
An old and derelict tower is located at the south end of Horse Isle. Presumably at one time it was used as a lighthouse but it is indicated only by the word "landmark" on the Ordnance Survey map.
A number of ships have been wrecked on the island such as:
- Minerva (1821, brig)
- Morning Star (1871)
- Brigadier (tugboat, 1960, sank) [1]
[edit] Wildlife
Today (2006), Horse Isle is a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Area of Special Protection (AoSP)[1] for breeding seabirds and waterfowl and winter grounds. (The term AoSP replaced Bird Sanctuary Orders (Protection of Birds Act 1967). AoSP’s are created under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 with the aim of preventing disturbance or destruction of birds.)
Species found here include herring and lesser black backed gulls, and eider. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ Conference on the Ecology and Management of the Firth of Clyde - Papers. Firth of Clyde Forum (2001). Retrieved on 2006-10-27.
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