Sanday, Inner Hebrides

Tidal island of the Small Isles, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides

SandayScottish Gaelic name| Sandaigh

|

Scots name| Sandee[1]
Location

Sanday

Sanday shown within Lochaber

OS grid reference| NG282043
Coordinates| 57°03′N 6°29′W﻿ / ﻿57.05°N 6.49°W﻿ / 57.05; -6.49
Physical geography
Island group| Small Isles
Area| 184 ha (0.71 sq mi)
Area rank| 114 [2]
Highest elevation| 59 m (194 ft)
Administration
Council area| Highland
Country| Scotland
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Demographics
Population| 4[3]
Population rank| 82= [2]
Population density| 2.17 people/km2[3][4]
References| [4][5]

Sanday (Scottish Gaelic: Sandaigh; Scots: Sandee) is one of the Small Isles, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It is a tidal island linked to its larger neighbour, Canna, via sandbanks at low tide, and also connected to the larger island by a bridge. Canna and Sanday form a single community, and are usually described as Canna.

The school

Like its neighbour, Canna, the whole island is owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), and is part of the Lochaber committee area of Highland Council.[6] Whereas Canna is run by the NTS as a single farm, parts of Sanday are used for crofting.

A small primary school on Sanday served the communities of both islands, although is currently closed.[7] A footbridge to the island was built in 1905 to allow pupils from Canna to reach the school regardless of the state of the tide. This bridge was destroyed by storms in 2005, and has been replaced by a road bridge which was completed in April 2006. This new bridge allows vehicular access at all tide levels between the two islands, although parts of the road on Sanday were still covered by water during high tides until the completion of a new road in 2018.[7]

From the mainland the island can be reached by the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry system from the port of Mallaig. Sanday includes rocks that are geologically part of the Paleocene and Eocene British Tertiary Volcanic Province, among some of the youngest rocks found in Scotland.[8]

The largest and most conspicuous building on Sanday is the deconsecrated Catholic church of St Edward, which stands alone on an elevated part of the island, away from the cottages which, together with the school, cluster around the bay facing Canna.

The church, which is also owned by the National Trust for Scotland, was restored and converted into a hostel and Study Centre by the Hebridean Trust. This project was undertaken at the invitation of the owners. The centre is linked to the Archive of Gaelic language and culture that was created by the former owner of Canna and Sanday, John Lorne Campbell. It was successfully completed and opened in 2001 by the Princess Royal. Subsequently, there was water ingress, which caused damage to the interior. This challenge is in the hands of the National Trust for Scotland.

The island is home to a number of different types of wildlife, including puffins, great skua and Manx shearwater.[9]

Panorama taken from Compass Hill on Canna, overlooking Canna Bay and Sanday, the island of Rùm in the distance.

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## See also

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* Scottish islands portal

* List of islands of Scotland

## References

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1. ^ "Map of Scotland in Scots - Guide and gazetteer" (PDF).
2. ^ a b Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent. 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census and 101 such islands in 2022.
3. ^ a b "Scottish Islands Data Dashboard". RESAS/Scottish Government. 2025. p. 6. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
4. ^ a b Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
5. ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 39 Rùm, Eigg, Muck & Canna (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2007. ISBN 9780319229941.
6. ^ Patterson, A (June 2000). "Seabird Enhancement Programme on the Islands of Canna and Sanday". Case Studies -- Species Regeneration. National Trust for Scotland. Archived from the original on 9 May 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2006.
7. ^ a b "First road built on tiny island of Sanday". BBC Scotland. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
8. ^ "Tertiary Igneous (TER-IGN)". Geological Conservation Review GCR Database. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2006.
9. ^ Scotland, National Trust for (20 February 2019). "3 key projects". National Trust for Scotland. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sanday.

* v
* t
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Small Isles (Na h-Eileanan Tarsainn), Inner Hebrides

* Canna/Cannaigh
* Eilean Chathastail
* Eigg/Eige
* Garbh Sgeir

* Hyskeir/Òigh Sgeir
* Muck/Eilean nam Muc
* Rùm
* Sanday/Sandaigh

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