Fuaigh Mòr

Fuaigh Mòr, sometimes anglicised as Vuia Mor, is an uninhabited island of around 208 acres in Loch Ròg, off the west coast of Lewis near Great Bernera. It rises to 67 metres, and in 1841 it was the scene of a clearance that is still remembered with bitterness in the area. Today it is used only for grazing sheep.

Landscape

Fuaigh Mòr is an L-shaped island of Lewisian gneiss, tapering towards the north. A small headland in the south-east, Rubha na h-Athadh, has a cairn on it, there are caves in the north, and the west coast has cliffs, including Creag na h-Iolaire, “eagle crag”. Around it lie many skerries and islets, among them Fuaigh Beag, Garbh Eilean, Eilean nam Feannag and Eunay Mòr, which lies between Fuaigh Mòr and Great Bernera.

History

The clearance of Fuaigh Mòr in 1841 is part of a painful chapter in the history of Lewis. A local story tells that the Bernera ground officer who carried out the evictions was later dismissed and ended up as a tramp in Ontario, Canada. One day, begging for food, he came to the door of a woman he had evicted from Fuaigh Mòr. He did not recognise her at first; she gave him food, and then reminded him who she was.

The history of these islands shows how deeply the Clearances shaped the Outer Hebrides.

More about Fuaigh Mòr

Great Bernera, just to the north-east, was itself the scene of the Bernera Riot of 1874, when crofters stood up to the estate’s attempts to take their grazing, one of the first successful acts of resistance in the long struggle for crofters’ rights. The history of these islands shows how deeply the Clearances shaped the Outer Hebrides.

Visiting

There is no ferry to Fuaigh Mòr. It can be seen from Great Bernera, joined to Lewis by a bridge, and from boats exploring Loch Ròg. You can collect Fuaigh Mòr as a landing or a sighting in your Island Passport.

Wildlife and area

Loch Ròg is good for Eurasian Otter, Grey Seal and Harbour Seal, and for Red-throated Diver, eider and Black Guillemot. As the name of its cliff suggests, look out for Golden Eagle and Sea Eagle. Other islands nearby include Fuaigh Beag, Vacsay, Flodaigh and Great Bernera.