Sanday, Inner Hebrides

Infobox Scottish island
latitude=57.05
longitude=-6.48
GridReference=NG282043
celtic name= Sandaigh
norse name=
meaning of name=
area=184 ha
area rank=115
highest elevation= 59 m (194 feet)
Population=6
population rank= 78=
main settlement=
island group= Small Isles
local authority=Highland
references=Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) "The Scottish Islands". Edinburgh. Canongate.] [ [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/ Ordnance Survey] ]

Sanday (Scottish Gaelic: Sandaigh) is one of the Small Isles, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It is a tidal island linked to its larger neighbor, Canna, via sandbanks at low tide, and also connected to the larger island by a bridge. Canna and Sanday form a single community, and are usually described as Canna.

Like its neighbour, Canna, the whole island is owned by the National Trust for Scotland, and is part of the Lochaber committee area of Highland Council. [cite web
last = Patterson
first = A
title = Seabird Enhancement Programme on the Islands of Canna and Sanday
work = Case Studies -- Species Regeneration
publisher = National Trust for Scotland
month = June | year = 2000
url = http://www.ntseducation.org.uk/students/case-species.html
accessdate = 2006-06-10]

A small primary school on Sanday serves the communities of both islands, and currently - as of the year 2006-07 - educates a single student. A footbridge to the island was built in 1905 to allow pupils from Canna to reach the school regardless of the state of the tide. This bridge was destroyed by storms in 2005, and has been replaced by a road bridge which was completed in April 2006. This new bridge allows vehicular access at all tide levels between the two islands, although the road on Sanday is still covered by water during high tides.

From the mainland the island can be reached by the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry system from the port of Mallaig. Sanday includes rocks that are geologically part of the Paleocene and Eocene British Tertiary Volcanic Province, among some of the youngest rocks found in Scotland. [cite web
title = Tertiary Igneous (TER-IGN)
work = Geological Conservation Review GCR Database
publisher = Joint Nature Conservation Committee
url = http://www.jncc.gov.uk/earthheritage/gcrdb/GCRblock.asp?block=94
accessdate = 2006-06-10] clear

References