Isle of May
IsleOfMay.jpg
The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately 8 km (5 miles) off the coast. The isle belongs to the "Kingdom of Fife". It is just 1 km long and half a kilometre width. Since 1956 the isle is dedicated as a "National Nature Reserve". The visitor centre of the isle was founded as a bird observatory in 1934 and was the first bird observatory in Scotland. Birds that can be seen on the island include Puffins, Kittiwakes, Razorbills, Guillemots, Shags, Terns and Eider Duck.
The isle just can be visited for one day. The only way to get there is by ferry. It takes 45 minutes to go from the small ports of Anstruther and Crail to the isle.
The so-called "Battle" of May Island took place nearby on the night of 31 January 1918. A sequence of accidental collisions between Royal Navy warships occurred over little more than an hour which saw two submarines sunk with heavy loss of life, another four damaged along with a light cruiser.