Eyebroughy
Eyebroughy (or archaically Ibris; NT493859) is a small, rocky islet in the Firth of Forth, 200 m off East Lothian, Scotland.
 Eyebroughy, with rocks in foreground | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Eyebroughy The island shown within East Lothian | |
| Coordinates | 56.066667°N 2.816667°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Islands of the Forth |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | East Lothian |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
 | |
Location
Eyebroughy sits 200 metres (220 yd) off the East Lothian coast, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) to the north northeast of the village of Gullane and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of North Berwick.[1] It is in the parish of Dirleton and sits opposite the western part of Dirleton's East Links, at low tide it may be possible to walk to the island. It formed part of the estate of Archerfield.[2]
Environment
It is an RSPB reserve, and the birds breeding on the island include common eider, great cormorant and herring gull, wintering birds include ruddy turnstone and purple sandpiper.[3] The island is formed from an intrusion of trachytes from the lower Carboniferous.[1] Eyebroughy is part of the Firth of Forth Islands Species Protection Area.[4] It has been described as small and very narrow.[5]
Shipwrecks
Two shipwrecks are noted for Eybroughy. The first was the 94-ton wooden schooner Jane which was stranded on Eyebroughy, with a cargo of alum and a single passenger on its way from Goole to Leith, on 18 December 1892.[6] The second is that of the 310-ton lighter Bertha, which loaded with salvage equipment. This vessel was lost on 21 December 1900 as it driven away from a stranded steamer and ran into Eyebroughy.[7]
Literary references
The Scottish historical novelist Nigel Tranter, who lived in nearby Luffness, mentioned Eyebroughy in at least two of his novels, Drug on the Market[8] and Flowers of Chivalry.[9]
Notes
- "Eyebroughy". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "OS1/15/23/14". Scotland's Places. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- Ian J. Andrews; Keith Gillon, eds. (2019). Lothian Bird report 2017. Lothian Branch, Scottish Ornithologists Club.
- "Firth of Forth Islands SPA". Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "Topographical Dictionary of Scotland". British Library. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "Jane: Eyebroughy, Firth Of Forth". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- "Bertha: Eyebroughy, Firth Of Forth". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- Nigel Tranter (1963). Drug on the Market. Hachette UK, 2013. ISBN 1444768697.
- Nigel Tranter (1987). Flowers of Chivalry. Hachette UK, 2012. ISBN 1444757636.
