Benbecula

This article is about the island. For the record label, see Benbecula Records.

Benbecula

Beinn nam Fadhla (Gaelic)
Location
Benbecula Map of Benbecula & surrounding islands Benbecula Benbecula shown within the Outer Hebrides Benbecula Benbecula (Outer Hebrides)
OS grid reference	NF807525
Coordinates	57.446°N 7.320°W / 57.446; -7.320
Name
Gaelic pronunciation	[peɲəˈvɤːlˠ̪ə] ⓘ
Name meaning	hill of the fords
Physical geography
Island group	Uist and Barra
Area	8,203 ha (31+5⁄8 sq mi)
Area rank	16
Highest elevation	Ruabhal, 124 m (407 ft)
Administration
Council area	Na h-Eileanan Siar
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Demographics
Population	1,255
Population rank	11
Population density	15.3/km2 (40/sq mi)
Largest settlement	Balivanich
References

The Isle of Benbecula (/bɛnˈbɛkjʊlə/ ^ⓘ ben-BEK-yuul-ə; Scottish Gaelic: Beinn nam Fadhla or Beinn na Faoghla) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2022 census it had a resident population of 1,255 including a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar or the Western Isles Council. The island is about 12 kilometres (7 miles) from west to east and a similar distance from north to south. It lies between the islands of North Uist and South Uist and is connected to both by road causeways. Benbecula's main settlement and administrative centre is Balivanich (Scottish Gaelic: Baile a' Mhanaich, meaning "Town of the Monk").

In 1746, Bonnie Prince Charlie was caught in a storm and forced to land on Benbecula. The population of Benbecula were sympathetic to the Jacobite cause, and smuggled him off the island to safety, as the song has it: "over the sea to Skye".

In 2006, local residents took control of parts of the island in a community buy-out. The previous landowners, a sporting syndicate, sold their 372-square-kilometre (92,000-acre) estate, which included the Isle of Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay, for £4.5 million, to a community-owned organisation known as Stòras Uibhist, which now manages the land in perpetuity.