Wyre, Orkney

The 3.11 km ² island of Wyre ( vigr in the extinct Norn language ) is one of the Scottish Orkney and has 18 inhabitants.

It is located 14 km north of Kirkwall, the main town of the island group on the main island of Mainland. The island is flat and has a length ( east-west) of three kilometers and a width of 1.5 km. Ferry connections are made with the ports Tingwall on Mainland, with Egilsay the northeast and with Brinyan on the north-west neighboring island of Rousay, is separated from the Wyre by the one -kilometer-wide Wyre sound. In summer, the ferries operate daily from October to April, there are no connections Sundays. A trip to Rousay takes five minutes.

On the island there is a post office and a church hall, in which, for example Dance events take place organized by the Wyre Community Association. School children have to take the ferry to Rousay in the primary school or after Mainland to a secondary school.

Worth seeing are the foundations of the ruins of Cubbie Roo 's Castle, an approximately 1145 incurred and thus the oldest stone castle in the Orkney, whose core was originally a rectangular 8 × 8 m mighty Norman tower house. The name goes back to a orkadische legendary figure. The giant Cubbie Roo, also known as a native of Norway Kolbein Hrúga. The Orkney Inga Saga narrated in Chapter 84:

Nearby are the remains of the church of St Mary 's Chapel. Also it dates from the 12th century and has characteristics of Romanesque architecture. It was partially restored, but it carries no roof. In "The Bu" the famous Scottish writer Edwin Muir lived for a while.

On Ha'Breck 2007 and 2011 a Stone Age settlement was investigated by Antonia Thomas.

Like most of the islands of the archipelago consists Wyre from Old Red Sandstone from the time of Devon. Wyre is known for its gray seals and seal populations. The bird life is characterized, inter alia, by ducks.