Birsay Orkney Islands Scotland

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The Brough of Birsay is an uninhabited tidal island off the north-west coast of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland, in the parish of Birsay. It is located around 13 miles north of Stromness and features the remains of Pictish and Norse settlements as well as a modern light house.

The island is accessible on foot at low tide via a largely natural causeway. It is separated from the mainland by a 240-metre (790-foot) stretch of water at high tide: the Sound of Birsay.[5]

The Norse settlement has been partly removed by coastal erosion, and the cliffs are reinforced by concrete rip-rap to prevent further damage.

The Old Norse name for the island was “Byrgisey” which means fort island, and gives the parish its name. Brough, indeed, means fort.

The earliest settlement on the island is thought to have been in the 6th century, perhaps by Christian missionaries.
In the 7th and 8th centuries it was a significant Pictish fortress, but by the 9th century the Picts had been displaced by Norsemen. - Birsay Orkney Islands Scotland - Buy Royalty Free 3D model by LibanCiel