2 Islands to Explore in East Lothian Council

Bass Rock is a tiny island formed from a plug of volcanic rock in the Firth of Forth, Scotland. It contains the world’s largest colony of Northern gannets, one of the biggest seabirds in the North Atlantic. Much of the rock is “painted” white by the birds’ guano. The rock is uninhabited, but historically has been settled by an early Christian hermit, and later was the site of an important castle, which after the Commonwealth period was used as a prison.

Fidra is a currently uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, 4 kilometres northwest of North Berwick, on the east coast of Scotland. The island is an RSPB Scotland nature reserve. Like the other islands 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; and a rocky stack at the other end.