In 1882-4, Frances Groome's Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland described Handa like this:
Handa, an uninhabited island of Eddrachillis parish, W Sutherland, separated from the mainland by the Sound of Handa, ¼ to ½ mile broad, and lying 21/8 miles NNW of Scourie. Measuring 1½ mile from E to W, and 1 mile from N to S, it has a proximately circular outline, consists of sandstone in highly inclined strata, and rises rapidly north-westward to a height of 406 feet above sea-level at Sithean Mor, whence it breaks sheer down onwards the ocean, presenting, round more than one-third of its entire periphery, a continuous series of steep cliffs. ...
As seen from the SE it seems to be wholly of a dusky, greenish hue, and it exhibits in its ascents and in its cliffs striking features of ledge and fissure, that form a more imposing piece of rock scenery than almost anywhere else is to be found in the United Kingdom. One enormous perforation, inwards and upwards from the ocean-level, is swept by the influx and reflux of the tides, and roofed by natural arches resting on huge blocks of rock. Myriads of sea-fowl build in the cliffs, whose summit commands a sublime view of the lofty seaboard of the mainland from Rhu Stoir to the promontory N of Loch Inchard.—Ord. Sur., sh. 107, 1881. See a long article in the Scotsman of 28 July 1880.
Handa through time
Handa is now part of Highland district. Click here for graphs and data of how Highland has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Handa itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Handa, in Highland and Sutherland | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/21960
Date accessed: 25th April 2024
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