# Fidra > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fidra > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Fidra.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidra > Source revision: 1349068010 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Fidra** (archaically **Fidrey**[8] or **Fetheray**[9]) is a currently uninhabited island in the [Firth of Forth](/source/Firth_of_Forth), 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) northwest of [North Berwick](/source/North_Berwick), on the east coast of Scotland. The island is an [RSPB](/source/Royal_Society_for_the_Protection_of_Birds) Scotland nature reserve. ## Geography Like the [other islands](/source/Islands_of_the_Forth) near North Berwick, Fidra is the result of volcanic activity around 335 million years ago. Fidra consists of three sections; a hill at one end with the lighthouse on it; a low-lying section in the middle, effectively an [isthmus](/source/Isthmus); and a rocky [stack](/source/Stack_(geology)) at the other end.[10] ## History The island's name is believed to be [Old Norse](/source/Old_Norse) in origin, referring to the large number of bird feathers found there. Like the nearby [Bass Rock](/source/Bass_Rock), it has a substantial [seabird](/source/Seabird) population, and is now an [RSPB](/source/RSPB) reserve. The village of [Gullane](/source/Gullane) lies to the south-west, and the nature reserve of [Yellowcraig](/source/Yellowcraig) and village of [Dirleton](/source/Dirleton), to which parish Fidra belongs,[11] are to the south. Remotely operated cameras on the island send live pictures to the watching visitors at the [Scottish Seabird Centre](/source/Scottish_Seabird_Centre) in North Berwick.[12] Upon the island are ruins of an old chapel, or *[lazaretto](/source/Lazaretto)* for the sick, which was dedicated in 1165 to St Nicholas.[11] In the 12th-century, the island formed part of the [barony of Dirleton](/source/Dirleton), which was granted to the [Anglo-Norman](/source/Anglo-Normans) John de Vaux by King [David I](/source/David_I_of_Scotland). The de Vaux family built a stronghold, known as [Castle Tarbet](/source/Castle_Tarbet), on the island, but in 1220, William de Vaux gifted Fidra to the monks of [Dryburgh Abbey](/source/Dryburgh_Abbey), in the Borders. His successor built [Dirleton Castle](/source/Dirleton_Castle), on the mainland, as a replacement dwelling.[13] ## Nature and ecology The number of breeding [puffins](/source/Puffin) on the island has increased recently due to the removal of an introduced plant, [tree mallow](/source/Tree_mallow) (*Lavatera arborea*). It is likely that it was planted by lighthouse keepers for use as toilet paper, and for its medicinal qualities. The shrub was blocking the entrances to the breeding burrows, and in 1996 the number of occupied burrows had fallen to approximately 400. Following clearance by RSPB Scotland staff and volunteers over 1,000 burrows are occupied in 2016.[14] ## Cultural references [Robert Louis Stevenson](/source/Robert_Louis_Stevenson) often visited the beaches at the area known today as Yellowcraig and it is said that he based his map of *[Treasure Island](/source/Treasure_Island)* on the shape of Fidra. (This claim is also made about the island of [Unst](/source/Unst) in Shetland.) He also mentioned Fidra in his novel *[Catriona](/source/Catriona_(novel))*.[10] [Fidra Books](/source/Fidra_Books) is a publishing house, named after the island, and which uses Fidra's outline as part of its logo.[15] The [progressive rock](/source/Progressive_rock) band [Marillion](/source/Marillion) also briefly mention Fidra in the song, *Warm Wet Circles*, which contains the line "She nervously undressed in the dancing beams of the Fidra Lighthouse",[16] the coast nearby apparently being a well-known courting spot.[16] ## Lighthouse The lighthouse, which was designed by [David Alan Stevenson](/source/David_Alan_Stevenson) (as his first work) in 1885 and supervised by his uncle [Thomas Stevenson](/source/Thomas_Stevenson) was manned until 1970 and is now automated, as are all Scottish lighthouses. However, Fidra was the first unmanned lighthouse.[17] It is accessible via a private jetty on the east coast of the island.[3] The light flashes 4 times every 30 seconds during hours of darkness.[18] ## See also - [List of islands in Scotland](/source/List_of_islands_in_Scotland) - [List of lighthouses in Scotland](/source/List_of_lighthouses_in_Scotland) - [List of Northern Lighthouse Board lighthouses](/source/List_of_Northern_Lighthouse_Board_lighthouses) - [Trinity House of Leith](/source/Trinity_House_of_Leith) ## References 1. Ryder, N.L. ["Displacement of bone waste by seagulls"](http://www.envarch.net/publications/circaea/6.2/circaea(6.2-1990).pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110927114311/http://www.envarch.net/publications/circaea/6.2/circaea(6.2-1990).pdf) 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine (pdf) *Circaea*: The Bulletin of the Association for Environmental Archaeology. **6** No. 2 (1990) University of York. p. 85. Retrieved 19 September 2010. 1. General Register Office for Scotland (28 Nov 2003) *[Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands](http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/occpapers/occasional-paper-10.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070525015452/http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/occpapers/occasional-paper-10.html) May 25, 2007 at the Wayback Machine* Retrieved 9 July 2007. 1. [http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/](http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/) Ordnance Survey 1. Retrieved 2016-05-10. 1. [Fidra](http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Lighthouse/Fidra/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160312212948/http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Lighthouse/Fidra/) 12 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Northern Lighthouse Board. Retrieved 10 May 2016 1. ["Northern Lighthouse Board Fidra"](https://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Lighthouse/Fidra/). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160605022721/https://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Lighthouse/Fidra/) 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 April 2026. 1. Lewis, Samuel (1846). ["Faifley - Fifeshire"](http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43439&strquery=fidrey#s30). *A Topographical*. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 1. Skene, W. F. (November 1862) "Of the early Frisian Settlements in Scotland". Antiquaries of Scotland. **4** Part 1. 1. ["Fidra"](http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1599.html). *Gazetteer for Scotland*. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 1. Martine, John (1890) *Fourteen Parishes of the County of Haddington*, Edinburgh, p.50-51 1. [Fidra Web Cam](http://www.seabird.org/webcam-fidra.asp) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070813120452/http://www.seabird.org/webcam-fidra.asp) 2007-08-13 at the Wayback Machine Scottish Seabird Centre. Retrieved on 18 June 2008. 1. Tabraham, Chris (2007) *Dirleton Castle* 2nd edition. Historic Scotland. ISBN 978-1-904966-41-8 pp.21-22 1. ["RSPB Puffins thriving after herbal toilet paper removal"](http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=5723). *Birdguides*. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016. 1. ["Fidra Books"](http://www.fidrabooks.co.uk/). Retrieved 2008-06-18. 1. Schipper, Jeroen (ed.) (1992–1997). ["What is the Fidra Lighthouse?"](http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/marillion-faq/part1/section-36.html). *Marillion Frequently Asked Questions*. Retrieved 2008-06-18. 1. ["Fidra Lighthouse | Canmore"](https://canmore.org.uk/site/79779/fidra-lighthouse) 1. *Reeds Small Craft Almanac*, London, [Adlard Coles](/source/Adlard_Coles) Nautical, 2007 ## External links - [The Schottish Lighthouses](https://www.enschrage.nl/index.html) *Lighthouses of Scotland and the Island of Man.* - [Fidra Lighthouse](https://www.enschrage.nl/lh/main/main_ec/fidra.html) - [Northern Lighthouse Board](http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Main/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fidra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidra) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidra?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.