Pladda
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Scottish island
|location_map=Scotland North Ayrshire
|caption=Pladda shown within North Ayrshire
|coordinates = {{coord|55|25|33|N|5|7|10|W|region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(NS027191)|display=inline,title}}
|GridReference=
|Image=Scotland, Pladda Island and Ailsa Craig, seen from Isle of Arran.JPG
|ImageCaption=Pladda seen from the Isle of Arran, with Ailsa Craig in the background
|celtic name=Pladaigh
|gaelic pronunciation=
|norse name=
|meaning of name=
|area= {{convert|13.4|ha|acre|frac=8|abbr=on}}
|area rank=
|highest elevation=
|Population=0
|population rank=
|main settlement=
|island group=
|local authority=North Ayrshire
|references=
}}
Pladda ({{langx|gd|Pladaigh}}) is an uninhabited island {{convert|1|km|mi|abbr=on}} off the south coast of the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde at {{gbmapping|NS027191}}, western Scotland. It is home to the automated Pladda Lighthouse. The island is privately owned, having been put up for sale by Arran Estate in 1990.{{Haswell-Smith|16}} The island was put on sale in 2022 for £350,000,{{cite web |last1=Ewing |first1=Jack |title=Scottish island of Pladda on sale for price of a city flat |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-62434747 |website=BBC News |access-date=5 August 2022}} and bought shortly after.
Geography
Pladda is a small, flat, teardrop-shaped island, {{convert|700|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and rising to just {{convert|27|m|abbr=on}} above sea level. Unusually for such a small island, it has its own source of fresh water. Pladda shares its name with Pladda Island, a tiny islet situated in the Lynn of Lorne between Lismore and Ardmucknish Bay.
Lighthouse
Pladda Lighthouse and its ancillary buildings stand at the southern end of Pladda.
Church
There appears to have been a church or chapel on Pladda. John of Fordun and other chroniclers from 1400 to 1500 speak of the isle of St Blase of Pladda. Nothing now remains to mark its site, and its whereabouts are unknown.{{cite web|url=http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/search_item/index.php?service=RCAHMS&id=40073 |title=Pladda, Church |publisher=ScotlandsPlaces |date=1977-11-11 |accessdate=2012-08-04}}
In popular culture
Pladda and its lighthouse feature extensively in Peter Hill's 2003 book Stargazing: Memoirs of a Young Lighthouse Keeper. They were also filming locations for "Queen Victoria Syndrome", the first episode of season 5 of The Crown.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Pladda, North Ayrshire|Pladda}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070503210656/http://www.nlb.org.uk/ourlights/history/pladda.htm Northern Lighthouse Board site on the history of Pladda Lighthouse]
{{Arran}}
{{Islands of the Clyde}}
Category:Uninhabited islands of North Ayrshire
{{NorthAyrshire-geo-stub}}