The remains of Claig Castle, a vital stronghold of Somerled The former territory of Dal Riata acquired the geographic description Argyle (now Argyll): the Gaelic coast. To Norway, the islands became known as Suðreyjar (Old Norse, traditionally anglicised as Sodor), meaning southern isles. In 1098, under pressure from Magnus, the king of Scotland quitclaimed to him all sovereign authority over the isles. Following Godred's death, the local population resisted Norway's choice of replacement, causing Magnus, the Norwegian king, to launch a military campaign to assert his authority. This became the Kingdom of the Isles, but following the unification of Norway, the islands were under tenuous Norwegian authority, somewhat resisted by local rulers, like Godred Crovan. Vikings ĭál Riata was ultimately destroyed when Vikings invaded, and established their own domain, spreading more extensively over the islands north and west of the mainland, including Jura. It is believed that Jura may have been Hinba, the island to which the 6th-century missionary, Columba, retreated from the monastic community he founded on Iona, when he wished for a more contemplative life. The kingdom thrived for a few centuries, and formed a springboard for Christianisation of the mainland. It was divided into a handful of regions, controlled by particular kin groups, of which the Cenél nÓengusa controlled Jura and Islay. Jura is closer to Ireland's northern province of Ulster than it is to Glasgow, so it should not be unexpected that Irish people crossed the Straits of Moyle and established the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata. There is a Neolithic chambered cairn at Poll a' Cheo in the southwest of the island. Paps of Jura Įvidence of settlements on Jura dating from the Mesolithic period was first uncovered by the English archaeologist John Mercer in the 1960s. The west coast also has a number of raised beaches, which are regarded as a geological feature of international importance. The dykes are most apparent on the west coast, where erosion of the less-resistant rock into which they are intruded has left them exposed as natural walls. On the western half of the island the quartzite has been penetrated by a number of linear basalt dykes that were formed during a period of intense volcanic activity in the early Palaeogene period, 56 million years ago. Jura is composed largely of Dalradian quartzite, a hard metamorphic rock that provides the jagged surface of the Paps. These places aren't classified as settlements by the Ordnance Survey but are shown on the A-Z Great Britain Road atlas 2022 Places classified as settlements by the Ordnance Survey include:
The name was recorded in 678 as Doraid Eilinn, possibly meaning "Doraid's Island". Jurøy, meaning 'udder island', in reference to the Paps of Jura.Dyrøy meaning 'deer island' is the generally accepted derivation.Two different Old Norse words have been suggested:
The modern name Jura dates from the Norse-Gael era. The Jura NSA covers 30,317 hectares (117 sq mi): 21,072 of land and 9,245 of adjacent sea. The southern part of the island, from Loch Tarbert southwards, is designated a national scenic area (NSA), one of 40 such areas in Scotland. īetween Jura's northern tip and the island of Scarba lies the Gulf of Corryvreckan, where a whirlpool makes passage dangerous at certain states of the tide. George Orwell lived on Jura intermittently from 1946 to 1949, and completed his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four while living at a remote farmhouse. North of Craighouse are a number of other small settlements on or near the east coast: Keils, Knockrome, Ardfernal, Lagg, Tarbert, Ardlussa (home of Lussa Gin) and Inverlussa. Craighouse also houses the island's shop, church, primary school, the Jura hotel and bar, a gallery, craft shop, tearoom and the community run petrol pumps. The Jura distillery, producing Isle of Jura single malt whisky, is in the village, as is the island's rum distillery which was opened on 2021.
The main settlement is the east coast village of Craighouse. The island is mountainous, bare and largely infertile, covered by extensive areas of blanket bog. With an area of 36,692 hectares (142 sq mi), and 196 inhabitants recorded in the 2011 census, Jura is more sparsely populated than Islay, and is one of the least densely populated islands of Scotland: in a list of the islands of Scotland ranked by size, Jura comes eighth, whereas by population it comes 31st. Jura ( / ˈ dʒ ʊər ə/ JOOR-ə Scottish Gaelic: Diùra Scots: Jura) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, adjacent to and northeast of Islay.