Scottish Blog

The Hebrides are a group of archipelagos on Scotland’s West coast.

The Hebrides are probably the most well known islands in Scotland. The reasons for this are diverse. To some this stems from the fact that some of the oldest rock formations in the British Isles are found in the Hebrides, making it a place of importance and a wealth of information to researchers. The Hebrides can also boast to having the highest concentration of native Scottish Gaelic speakers in the world. The group islands are also one of the remaining areas where Gàidhlig (a subset of the Gaelic language). To some this equates the Hebrides to being a bastion of Scottish heritage and Scottish clan history.

The Hebrides consist of two main island groups, the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These two archipelagos include the islands of Skye, Mull, Islay, Jura, Staffa and the Small Isles, which are all part of the Inner Hebrides. The Outer Hebrides consist of Lewis and Harris, Berneray, North Uist, South Uist, Barra and St Kilda.

It is believed that the Hebrides were settled as early as 8500BC, but beyond small shreds of physical artifacts, the evidence to support this is scarce. With the arrival of the Romans to what is now Scotland there is pieces of information to point to settlement of the Hebrides. In the writing of Diodorus Siculus in 55 BC, there is mention of what appears to be the Outer Hebrides. A number of other astronomers and writers of that time like Pliny the Elder and the Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy, make references to islands that by description seem to match that of the Hebrides.

The Hebrides came under the control of Scotland in 1266 as a settlement with Norway. Before which it was settled and controlled by the Norwegians since the 9th century.