- Eday
GridReference=HY560338
celtic name=N/A
norse name=Eiðey
meaning of name= Old Norse for 'isthmus island'
area=2,745 ha
area rank=31
highest elevation=Ward Hill 101 m
Population=121
population rank=41
main settlement=Calfsound
island group=Orkney
local authority=Orkney Islands
references= [2001 UK Census perList of islands of Scotland ] [Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) "The Scottish Islands". Edinburgh. Canongate.] [ [http://www.orkneyjar.com/placenames/pl-isle.htm Orkney Placenames] ] [ [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ Ordnance Survey] ] [Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) "Orkneyinga Saga". Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint). ISBN 0-901824-25-9] Pedersen, Roy (January 1992) "Orkneyjar ok Katanes" (map, Inverness, Nevis Print)]Eday is one of the Orkney Islands, which are located to the north of the Scottish mainland in the
United Kingdom . Eday is located in the North Isles of Orkney, and is about 15mile s north of the main island of Orkney Mainland. With an area of eleven square miles, Eday is the ninth largest of the Orkney Islands.Geography and natural history
The centre of Eday is
moorland covered withheather , and the island's main industries have beenpeat extraction andlimestone quarrying. Attractions on the island include theStone of Setter standing stone and thechambered cairn s of Vinquoy, Braeside and Huntersquoy. Eday is also known for itsseabird s and forCarrick house , built in1633 , where thepirate John Gow was captured.Transport
Eday can be reached by both sea and air from the Orkney Mainland.
Orkney Ferries provide ferry crossings toBackaland on Eday fromKirkwall on Orkney Mainland. The Orkney inter-island air service, operated byLoganair , connectsKirkwall Airport with Eday's London Airport.Economy
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) based at
Stromness in Orkney is a newScottish Executive -backed research facility. They have installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney mainland and a tidal power testing station on Eday. [cite web|url=http://www.emec.org.uk/|title=EMEC|accessdate=2007-02-03] Eday Partnership, the localdevelopment trust is active in promoting the island's economy and has instigated numerous projects, including Eday Heritage Centre, and the purchase of a new diesel tank for the island. A community-owned wind turbine is planned. Eday's various community projects contributed £380,000 to the island's economy from 2005-7. ["Progress in the heart of the North Isles" (26 July 2007) Orkney Today newspaper.]In July 2008 the island celebrated the opening of the Eday Heritage and Visitor Centre in the restored former Baptist Church. There is a heritage display area, a permanent archive, a café and a tourist information point. The Eday Oral History Project, which records life on the island in the past, is also housed within the centre. [ [http://www.localpeopleleading.co.uk/showart.php?articleid=6877&typeid=1 "Heritage and Visitor Centre finally opens on Eday"]
Local People Leading . Retrieved 19 July 2008.]Prominent native
Australian pioneer union leader and
Australian Labor Party politician,William Spence was born on Eday in 1846.cite web
first=Coral
last=Lansbury
coauthors=Bede Nairn
title =Spence, William Guthrie (1846 - 1926)
publisher =Australian National University
work=Australian Dictionary of Biography
url =http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060191b.htm
accessdate = 2007-05-10]References
External links
[http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/eday/ Eday Partnership]
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