Wiay, Inner Hebrides
Wiay, pronounced "waya" is an uninhabited island in Loch Bracadale, off the coast of the Isle of Skye
Wiay is approximately wide by long and lies west of Ullinish, and north of Fiskavaig on the Minginish Peninsula. It is the largest island in Loch Bracadale, with an area of.
Most of the coastline consists of cliffs up to high, and the southern bluff is a striking overhanging cliff of . The highest point of the island is .
Wiay is noted for its stunning sea arches and large echoing sea caves, one of which is reputed to be haunted by an English ghost.
Geography
There are five sea caves, the largest of which are at NG296356 and NG301370, one of which was visited by Johnson and Boswell in September 1773 during their Tour of the Hebrides. There is also a natural sea arch at NG358294.One of the few low points to get onto the island is the main bay "Camas na Cille" above which are the remains of three houses, one of which is a Blackhouse. There is a cut in the rocks here which is clearly man made and allows small boats onto the island even at lower tides.
Visible from the island are Uist to the west and the Cuillin to the south. To the north Healabhal Bheag and Healabhal Mhòr dominate from the Duirinish Peninsula.
Key geographical points are;
- Rubha Garbh - The westernmost point of the island and a possible wreck site. In Scottish Gaelic, "Rubha" means "promontory or headland" and "Garbh" means "rough/wild ", thus ‘Wild Headland’.
- Geodha nan Faochag – southwest shore – Geodha is a cove/inlet and "faochag" means whelk or periwinkle, thus "Periwinkle Cove".
- Geodha Chruidh – Eastern shore – This means "Cattle cove".
Population
The 1841 Scottish Census documents 6 inhabitants living on Wiay. It lists one inhabited building and the inhabitants of "Vuiay" as 3 males, 3 females All born in the county. level only.The 1851 Census shows a population of five.
The 1861 Census shows one family living in one house with three males and three females present, none of whom were children aged 5–16.
An 1869 newspaper report concerning the Harmonia shipwreck notes "The only inhabitant is a shepherd named Dougald MacDonald."
The 1871 Census shows three males and two females.
The "Inverness-shire Ordnance Survey Name Books, 1876-1878" notes the following:
| List of names as written | Various modes of spelling | Authorities for spelling | Situation | Description remarks |
| WIAY | Wiay Wia or Wiay | Mr. D. McDonald, Keeper Colbost, Struan By Portree Mr. A. McNeil D Cameron, Shepherd Carbost | 032; 033 | Is an island situate about west from the above described. It is covered with pretty good rough & healthy pasture. There is a shepherd and his family residing on the island & a number of sheep. The shepherds house is a very poor one & in miserable repair. The island is in the parish of Bracadale & is the property of McLeod of McLeod. Meaning obscure. |
The 1881 Census shows 3 males & 1 female, all of whom spoke Scottish Gaelic.
The 1891 census shows Wiay to be uninhabited & the County Directory of Scotland states: "Wiay, Bracadale..." According to local history, the residents were all found dead following a fortnight of no contact, it is believed that they succumbed to tuberculosis.
Johnson and Boswell visit.
It is believed that Samuel Johnson and James Boswell visited Wiay in September 1773 during their Great Hebridean Tour.James Boswell’s Journal - "The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides" contains the following extract:
WEDNESDAY, 22ND SEPTEMBER 1773: ULLINISH
"In the afternoon, Ulinish carried us in his boat to an island possessed by him, where we saw an immense cave, much more deserving the title of antrum immane than that of the Sybil described by Virgil, which I likewise have visited. It is one hundred and eighty feet long, about thirty feet broad, and at least thirty feet high. This cave, we were told, had a remarkable echo; but we found none. They said it was owing to the great rains having made it damp. Such are the excuses by which the exaggeration of Highland narratives is palliated."
Although Wiay is not mentioned by name it is the only island in Loch Bracadale with a sea cave of this size.
The final resting place of the ship Harmonia.
On Monday 5 July 1869 the ship Harmonia left Quebec with 15 crew and a cargo of timber, bound for Aberdeen.Later that same day, some off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, a strong wind & heavy seas caused the ship to spring a leak and break a mast. At 23:30 on 6 July the ship "fell over on her beam-ends, the masts being underwater" and the cabin and everything on deck was washed overboard. Eight crew, were drowned.
The seven remaining crew clung to the side of the boat until the masts gave way and the boat righted itself. They remained in the waterlogged and incapacitated ship until Thursday 8 July, when they spotted the Renfrewshire out of Greenock approaching from the west and hoisted the house flag as a symbol of distress, They were rescued and taken back to Greenock, from where they returned to Aberdeen.
The derelict ship remained afloat and was spotted by the ship ‘Nova Scotian’, which was heading from Liverpool to Quebec, on the 6th September, some two months after its loss "with loss of foremast, jibboom and three topmastheads" approximately northwest of Carrickfinn and southwest of Barra, and around from where it had been abandoned.
On or around 25 September 1869, the Harmonia was wrecked on the west coast of Wiay.
A Lloyd's of London report dated Saturday 2 October 1869 stated:
"In the night of the 25th Sept., a large timber-laden ship came ashore on the island of Vinay , off Loch Bracadale, on the West coast of this island, and is a total wreck: the cargo, which is strewed about the coast, consists of oak logs, deals and staves, the logs marked C & JS & Co., the planks TJ, and the staves L & E. The vessel appears to have been abandoned at sea some time ago, her decks being covered with slime: one of the winches is marked 'HARMONIA, of Aberdeen, No. 2'."
The Inverness Courier ran a report which outlined the salvage operation. It noted that Wiay was owed by a Mr Scott of Drynoch and that the wreck was reported by Wiay’s "only inhabitant", a shepherd named Dougald MacDonald who raised the alarm "on Monday last" by getting "heather, wood and hay" and setting it on fire on top of a small hillock, upon which a boat was sent to the island.
The wreck of the Harmonia remains, and is reported at Rubha Garbh, however it is noted that "The location assigned to this record is essentially tentative."
Material recovered from the wreck to date is listed as:
- 1 porthole
- 1 steering wheel,
- Maker's steering wheel
- Bell : from seabed.
Wiay’s Historical Names.
Wiay has historically been referred to by several different names including:- Wia
- Vinay
- Vuiay
- Buyamoire
- Buia
- Via Moir
The Matheson collection volume "Norse influence on Celtic Scotland" states:
"...there are four islands named Wiay, or Buya, Bywa,, to which the Icelandic Vé-ey has been compared; Foula, N. fugl-ey, * fowl-isle."
The name Vinay is also used to mark the location of the Harmonia wreck in reports of the day.
- Wia
- Vuiay
-The 1856 book "A Topographical dictionary of Scotland" by Samuel Lewis notes: "Vuiay, an island, in the parish of Bracadale, Isle of Skye, county of Inverness; containing 6 inhabitants. It is situated in Loch Bracadale, on the southwest coast of Skye; is of very small extent; and like the other islets in the same loch, is only a pendicle to a farm on the opposite shore, affording pasturage for cattle during part of the summer and winter seasons."
-‘The Index of names of places, Scotland, 1841’ lists the Island as ‘Vuiay.’
- Buyamoire
"119. Buyamoire. Be ane myle of sea to this ile of Cransay , layes ane callit Buyamoire, guid for corne and store, perteining to M’Cloyd of Herray . Narrest the ile of Buyamoir lyes foure small iles."
NB - In Scottish Gaelic the word ‘mòr’ means great or big, separating "buya" from "moire".
The Blaeu notes state : "...on the south side of Skye is Oronsay, and a mile from that Wiay Beg, then Wiay Mor, and next five small obscure islands; after them Isay...''"