Bass Rock

Bass Rock () is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, off North Berwick.

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It is a volcanic plug and over 100 m high. It is part of the Firth of Forth Islands SPA, a Special Protection Area covering some, but not all of the islands in the inner and outer Firth. Bass Rock itself is an SSSI, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, in its own right.

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It plays host to at least 40,000 pairs of gannets and is the largest single rock gannetry in the world so that, when viewed from the mainland, large regions of the surface appear white due to the sheer number of birds (and their droppings). In fact the scientific name for the gannet, Sula bassana or Morus bassanus, derives its name from the rock. They were traditionally known locally as 'Solan Goose'.

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Historically the home of the Lawder family, their crest (the gannet head) reflects the use of the birds for food in lean times. It was also a notorious gaol for many decades where many political prisoners were sent.

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It is also home to a 20 metre lighthouse, built in 1903 by David Stevenson, but has been unmanned since 1988.

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It is sometimes called, "the Ailsa Craig of the East".

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Firth of Forth: The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh, and East Lothian to the south. The river is tidal as far inland as Stirling, but generally it is considered that the inland exte...

Scotland: :For other uses, see Scotland (disambiguation). See also British Isles (terminology)....

North Berwick: North Berwick is a small Scottish seaside town in East Lothian, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, about 25 miles east of Edinburgh. It is connected to the Scottish capital by a frequent rail service. North Berwick became a popular holiday resort in the 19th century because of its two sandy b...

Bass Rock related Images and Photos (experimental)

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