| Scottish Gaelic name | Unknown |
|---|---|
| Old Norse name | Unknown |
| Meaning of name | Unknown |
 | |
| Location | |
  St Ninian's Isle St Ninian's Isle shown within Scotland | |
| OS grid reference | HU365210 |
| Coordinates | 59°58′N 1°21′W / 59.97°N 1.35°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Shetland |
| Area | c. 72 ha |
| Area rank | Unknown [1] |
| Highest elevation | 53 m |
| Administration | |
| Council area | Shetland |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Demographics | |
| Population | last inhabited 1796 |
 | |
St Ninian's Isle is a small tied island connected by the largest tombolo in the UK[2] to the south-western coast of the Mainland, Shetland, in Scotland. It is part of the civil parish of Dunrossness on the South Mainland. The tombolo, known locally as an ayre[3] from the Old Norse for "gravel bank",[4] is 500 metres long.[5] During the summer the tombolo is above sea level and accessible to walkers. During winter, stronger wave action removes sand from the beach so that it is usually covered at high tide, and occasionally throughout the tidal cycle, until the sand is returned the following spring. Depending on the definition used, St. Ninian's is thus either an island, or a peninsula;[6] it has an area of about 72 hectares.
The nearest settlement is Bigton, also in the parish of Dunrossness. The important early medieval St Ninian's Isle Treasure of metalwork, mostly in silver, was discovered under the church floor in 1958. Many seabirds, including puffins, visit the island, with several species nesting there.
- ^ Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
- ^ St Ninian's Tombolo. Archived 23 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine J.D. Hansom, Coastal Geomorphology of Great Britain (2003). Extract from the Geological Conservation Review.
- ^ Nicolson (1972) p. 21
- ^ Guide to Scandinavian origins of place names in Britain. Archived 4 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Ordnance Survey, 2004.
- ^ "Get-a-map" Archived 22 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Ordnance Survey
- ^ Fettes College Shetland Landscapes Archived 30 August 2004 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 3 August 2007.