View source for Craigleith

{{about|the island in the Firth of Forth|the suburb of Edinburgh|Craigleith, Edinburgh}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Scottish island
|coordinates = {{coord|56.073363|N|2.718848|W|region:GB_type:isle|display=inline,title}}
| Image=  Craigleith_from_East_Bay,_North_Berwick.JPG
| ImageCaption= Craigleith from the East Bay, North Berwick
|location_map=Scotland East Lothian
|caption=The island shown within East Lothian
|GridReference=
|celtic name=Creag Lìte
|norse name=
|meaning of name=rock of Leith
|area=  
|area rank=
|highest elevation=   {{convert|45|m|ft|0}}
|Population=0
|population rank=
|main settlement=
|island group=[[Islands of the Forth]]
|local authority=[[East Lothian]]
|references=
}}
'''Craigleith''' ({{langx|gd|Creag Lìte}}) is a small island in the [[Firth of Forth]] off [[North Berwick]] in [[East Lothian]], Scotland. Its name comes from the [[Scottish Gaelic]]  ''Creag Lìte'' meaning "rock of Leith".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/language/gaelic/pdfs/placenamesC-E.pdf |title=Placenames |author=Iain Mac an Tàilleir |publisher=Pàrlamaid na h-Alba |format=PDF |accessdate=2007-07-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317013236/http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/language/gaelic/pdfs/placenamesC-E.pdf |archivedate=March 17, 2007}}</ref> It is {{convert|45|m|abbr=off}}<ref>{{Ordnance Survey}}</ref> at its highest point.

==Geography and geology==
Craigleith is part of a chain of four islands near North Berwick, along with [[Bass Rock]], [[Fidra]] and the [[Lamb (island)|Lamb]]. Of these, it is the closest to the town's [[harbour]]. Like these other nearby islands, Craigleith is a bird colony. Divers often explore the area around the island.

Craigleith is a [[laccolith]], a [[lava dome]]. (The [[Lothian]]s are dotted with evidence of ancient volcanic activity, such as  [[Bass Rock]] and [[Arthur's Seat]].) Craigleith is made up of [[essexite]], which is popular for making [[curling]] stones.<ref name=gaz>{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst1600.html |title=Overview of Craigleith|publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland|accessdate=2008-02-08}}</ref>

==History and wildlife==
[[File:Craigleith and North Berwick.jpg|thumb|left|Craigleith and North Berwick from North Berwick Law]]
Historically, Craigleith was a [[rabbit]] warren, where the animals were deliberately bred for food. Rabbits were wiped out by [[myxomatosis]] in the 1950s. They were mysteriously re-introduced onto the island in 2008, and some have been seen recently.

In 1814, [[Sir Hew Dalrymple-Hamilton, 4th Baronet|Sir Hew Dalrymple]] purchased the island from North Berwick Town Council.<ref name=gaz/>

The [[puffin]] colony on Craigleith, once one of the largest in Britain with 28,000 pairs, became endangered from 1999 onwards, due to an invasion of the non-endemic plant [[tree mallow]], thriving with warmer winters, which choked the puffins' burrows, preventing them from rearing their chicks, or "pufflings". An ongoing project, SOS Puffin, led by the [[Scottish Seabird Centre]] at North Berwick, was launched early in 2007 after one of the Centre's volunteers, Maggie Sheddan, noticed the ever-decreasing numbers of puffins. Since then, hundreds of volunteers have been working hard to rid the island of the problem, ferried out by boat from the Seabird Centre during the winter months, when the puffins are out at sea. Initial results show signs that the puffins are starting to return to the island to breed.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Scotsman]]|url=http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/235000-lifeline-for-puffins-driven.3350796.jp|title=£235,000 lifeline for puffins driven out by ruthless march of the mallow|author=Ian Johnston|date=2 March 2007|accessdate=2008-02-08}}</ref> Cormorants, shags and guillemots breed here.

The Scottish Seabird Centre has solar-powered cameras on the islands which transmit images of the puffins and other wildlife on the island via [http://www.seabird.org/wildlife/webcams/12/28 live webcams.] Daily boat trips around the island have been made since 2008.

==See also==
{{Portal|Scottish islands|Scotland}}
* [[List of islands of Scotland]]

==External links==
*[http://www.island-man.co.uk/islandmanmagazine.html#craigleith Report of overnight stay on the island]

{{commons category|Craigleith}}

==References==
*{{Haswell-Smith}}
{{reflist}}
{{Islands of the Forth}}

[[Category:Islands of the Forth]]
[[Category:Landforms of East Lothian]]


{{EastLothian-geo-stub}}