A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
Corrievrechan (Gael. `Brecan's cauldron'), a strait between the Argyllshire islands of Jura and Scarba. Scarcely a mile across, it lies about 2 miles W of the route of the Oban steamers, and is seldom traversed by boats, never by ships. The tides-running sometimes 13 miles an hour-here meet round a steep pyramidal rock, which rises from a depth of 100 fathoms to within 15 feet of the surface, and cause a whirlpool, dangerous enough to small craft in stormy weather and at floodtides. This whirlpool by fancy has been exaggerated into another Malström, the haunt of strange and horrible sea-monsters. Also of mermaidens, for Leydon's version of the Gaelic legend tells how Macphail of Colonsay, passing the Corrievrechan, was carried off by one, and for years kept in pleasant durance in a cavern beneath the sea. According to Joyce's Irish -Names and Places (2d ser. 1875), the name Corrievrechan was first applied to a whirlpool in the sound between Rathlin Island and the coast of Antrim, and was thence transferred to the Scotch locality, most likely by the monks of Iona.
(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)
| Linked entities: | |
|---|---|
| Feature Description: | "a strait" (ADL Feature Type: "channels") |
| Administrative units: | Argyll ScoCnty |
| Place: | Corryvreckan |
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