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Bass Rock

Carboniferous volcanoesCastles in East LothianDefunct prisons in ScotlandHistory of East LothianIslands of the Forth
Landforms of East LothianNorth BerwickPrison islandsSeabird coloniesSites of Special Scientific Interest in Mid and East LothianTourist attractions in East LothianUse British English from February 2014Volcanic plugs of Scotland
North Berwick coast from the air (geograph 5836528)
North Berwick coast from the air (geograph 5836528)

The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass ( ), (Scottish Gaelic: Creag nam Bathais or Scottish Gaelic: Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately 2 km (1 mi) offshore, and 5 km (3 mi) north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcanic plug, 107 m (351 ft) at its highest point, and is home to a large colony of gannets. 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. The island belongs to Hew Hamilton-Dalrymple, whose family acquired it in 1706, and before to the Lauder family for almost six centuries. The Bass Rock Lighthouse was constructed on the rock in 1902, and the remains of an ancient chapel survive. The Bass Rock features in many works of fiction, including Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Lion Is Rampant by the Scottish novelist Ross Laidlaw and The New Confessions by William Boyd. Most recently it features prominently in The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld, which won the 2021 Stella Prize.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Bass Rock (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 56.08 ° E -2.64 °
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Well

A198
EH39 5PJ
Scotland, United Kingdom
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North Berwick coast from the air (geograph 5836528)
North Berwick coast from the air (geograph 5836528)
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