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Boreray

The uninhabited island of Boreray is in the St Kilda group of islands that lie 52 miles (83 km) west of North Harris in the Western Isles. Situated 3 miles (5 km) northeast of St Kilda, this island is little more than a rock outlier with steep cliffs that are home to nesting sea birds. Owned by the National Trust for Scotland it has an area of 76.5 ha (189 acres) and a height of 384m (1260 feet).

The island gives its name to a rare breed of sheep, which emerged through accidental breeding in the 19th century. These sheep are small and hardy, with dense brown wool. Many sheep remained when the islanders were evacuated from the archipelago in the 1930s and the residual population is feral.

The island of Stac an Armin lies to the north.


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©2011 The Editors of The Gazetteer for Scotland
Supported by: The Robertson Trust,  The Royal Scottish Geographical Society,
  School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh.