Copinsay Lighthouse

Out in the grey sparkling sea off Orkney east mainland, there’s a small island that belongs to the birds.

In the summer, the south-easterly facing cliffs below Copinsay’s lighthouse are a blizzard of sea birds. On these crags, more than 35,000 pairs of guillemots, fulmars, razorbills, puffins and kittiwakes arrive every year to breed.

Copinsay is an uninhabited slope of an island which almost looks like a rising green wave. At the waves’ crest there is a sharp drop – these sea cliffs, a haven for birds, extend for a mile. A lighthouse stands midway.

When Copinsay was inhabited

On the lower side of the island there is a beach and a pier, and near that, an old Orkney farmhouse. In the 1930’s, a family lived here – a Mr Groat, who had 13 children, farmed the island. The children, along with the Lighthouse Keepers’ children, were given lessons by a resident teacher in a special school room within the farmhouse.

Copinsay’s grass, though exposed and salted, is fertile and it supported horses, cattle and sheep. The residents went fowling – catching seabirds to eat and collecting their eggs – and they embarked every two weeks on shopping trips to Deerness.

The Groats eventually moved to the mainland in 1958.

Copinsay Lighthouse

A single road leads uphill from the farmhouse to Copinsay’s lighthouse. Despite not being very tall (the cylindrical tower is only 16m high), the lighthouse stands on one of the highest points of the island, a cliff edge 76m high. Visitors will enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of Orkney from the light.

Copinsay’s lighthouse flashes 5 times every 30 seconds and has a range of 14 nautical miles. The white tower has a black lantern with an ochre trim and a balcony. Like many other lighthouses in Scotland, it was built by a member of the Stevenson family.

David Allan Stevenson was the last of his family to build lighthouses, and he was known for his attention to detail and for being thorough. It was completed on 8 November 1915, but was only lit 4 years later in 1919, after the First World War had ended.

The lighthouse has a helipad and a discontinued foghorn, and though it was not damaged in the Second World War like many other lighthouses in the area, a British aircraft crashed nearby!

Like most other lighthouses in Scotland, Copinsay became automated in 1991, and continues to look handsome and well-maintained under the care of the Northern Lighthouse Board. Inland there are some blocky-looking keeper’s accommodation buildings – these are privately owned.

In the summer, the south-easterly facing cliffs below Copinsay’s lighthouse are a blizzard of sea birds. On these crags, more than 35,000 pairs of guillemots, fulmars, razorbills, puffins and kittiwakes arrive every year to breed. For bird-enthusiasts the island is a must-visit.

Visiting Copinsay

Copinsay is about 1½ miles from the Orkney Mainland, and a boat from Skaill in Deerness can be chartered to take visitors out to the island – this takes around 40 minutes. Care is needed when landing on the pier!

There are lots of interesting things to see. Near to Copinsay there are four islets. Three of these, Corn Holm, Ward Holm, Black Holm, are accessible at low tide. Look on Corn Holm for the bow of a sunken trawler called Prince Deluge!

The fourth islet, the dramatic Horse of Copinsay, rises sharply from the sea. Surrounded by cliff edges and strong tides, the 28m high island is a difficult one to land on. The Groats once kept pigs on the Horse of Copinsay, and the animals fed on bird’s eggs!

Surrounding Copinsay and its islets, there are many buoys to mark creels – these waters are excellent for lobster and crab.

Visitors trying to uncover clues to Copinsay’s history will be left baffled. It has been occupied since ancient times, and below the farmhouse, old walls and an ancient midden face the sea. Elsewhere, there is an old burial site.

The name Copinsay comes from the Old Norse Kolbeinsey, which means ‘Kolbein’s Island’, but little is known about who he was.

Following the Groats departure, in 1972, the RSPB bought Copinsay and its surrounding islets in memory of naturalist James Fisher, and it is now an important bird sanctuary. Part of Copinsay’s grassy slope is still cultivated to provide a haven for birds, such as corncrakes.

Exploring Copinsay is a treat that few get to experience but visitors will find themselves quite unwanted!

Whilst exploring the island, you’ll encounter fields of birds rising in alarm, and hear the whoosh of divebombing bonxies and arctic terns. The birds here have grown used to having the island to themselves. A once small colony of seals has grown now to a vast number that live near the jetty. You’ll hear the haunting moans of seals on your visit to the island and, if you get too close, see them franticly splashing into water.

In Orkney folklore, the Copinsay Brownie is the haunting tale of an ugly, wet, leathery creature who used to visit the lonely farmer on the island.

Copinsay and its lighthouse, so cut off from the rest of the world, are an explorer’s dream to visit, a snapshot of the past, guarded by wild creatures.

By Magnus Dixon
Orkney and Shetland enthusiast, family man, loves walks, likes animals, terrible at sports, dire taste in music, adores audiobooks and films, eats a little too much for his own good.

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