South Uist, Western Isles - wildfowling - Judges postcard c.1970s

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Wildfowling in South Uist, Outer Hebrides
• Publisher:  Judges of Hastings
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  Scottish 7p maroon regional
• Postmark(s):  Lochbuisdale? c.1977
• Sent to:  Aberdeen
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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South Uist (Scottish Gaelic: Uibhist a Deas) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. In the 2011 census it had a usually resident population of 1,754, a fall of 64 since 2001.^[8] There is a nature reserve and a number of sites of archaeological interest, including the only location in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. The population is about 90% Roman Catholic. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the last remaining strongholds of the Gaelic language in Scotland. In 2006 South Uist, and neighbouring Benbecula and Eriskay were involved in Scotland's biggest community land buyout to date. In the north west there is a missile testing range. Its inhabitants are known in Gaelic as ""Deasaich"" (Southerners).

The west is machair (fertile low-lying coastal plain) with a continuous sandy beach whilst the east coast is mountainous with the peaks of Beinn Mhòr 620 metres (2,034 ft) and Hecla 606 metres (1,988 ft). The main village on the island is Lochboisdale (Loch Baghasdail), from which ferries sail to Oban on the mainland and to Castlebay (Bà gh a' Chaisteil) on Barra. The island is also linked to Eriskay and Benbecula by causeways. Smaller settlements include Daliburgh (Dalabrog), Howmore (Tobha Mòr) and Ludag.

South Uist has a bedrock of Lewisian Gneiss,^[9][10] high grade regional metamorphism dating back to 2900 million years ago in the Archaean. Some show granulite facies metamorphism, but most are the slightly lower temperature amphibolite facies. These formed part of the Earth’s deep ancient crust, left here when the North Atlantic was formed. These are the oldest rocks in the British Isles today and they have been brought to the surface by tectonic movements. They now bear the scars of the last glaciation which has exposed them.

""South Uist Machair"" on the west coast is one of 40 National Scenic Areas in Scotland.^[11]

Mac an TÃ illeir (2003) suggests the derivation of Uist may be ""corn island"".^[12] However, whilst noting that the vist ending would have been familiar to speakers of Old Norse as meaning ""dwelling"" Gammeltoft (2007) states the word is ""of non- Gaelic origin"" and that it reveals itself as a one of a number of ""foreign place-names having undergone adaptation in Old Norse"".^[1]

South Uist was clearly home to a thriving Neolithic community. The island is covered in archaeological sites including chambered tombs, Beaker sites, a Bronze Age hoard, roundhouses, brochs, cairns, ogham inscriptions, Viking settlements, medieval longhouses and post-medieval industry. Bornais on South Uist was the largest Viking settlement known in Scotland. After the Norse occupation, South Uist was held by the MacDonalds of Clan Ranald who made a good living from kelp harvesting owing to the demand for kelp around the turn of the 19th century.^[13] At that time population of the island was around 7300. After the Napoleonic Wars however, competition from imported Barilla resulted in a collapse in the price for kelp and the chief of Clan Ranald found himself facing bankruptcy.^[14] South Uist was sold to Lt. Colonel John Gordon of Cluny in 1837 and the fortunes of the island's tenants went downhill from that point. He initiated Highland Clearances to make way for sheep farming, supplanting the crofters with farmers from the Borders, who brought flocks of Blackface sheep. As a result there was large scale emigration from the island. Over the years, the population of South Uist has fallen from a total of 5093 in 1841 to its present level of 2285.^[15]

Lochboisdale became a major herring port later in the nineteenth century. The island is one of the last surviving strongholds of the Gaelic language in Scotland and the crofting industries of peat cutting and seaweed gathering are still an important part of everyday life.

type=printed postcards

theme=topographical: british

sub-theme=scotland

county/ country=islands

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=unposted