Eynhallow lies between Rousay and the Mainland and takes its name from the Norse for holy island. It was inhabited, with 26 people in 1841, until the landowner cleared the crofters in 1851. That clearance revealed the ruins of a church that had been forgotten.
According to the tradition, the island was Hildaland, the hidden land, and the Finfolk kept it hidden under a spell. A farmer from Evie called the Guidman o' Thorodale had his wife stolen by a Finman. In revenge he took the island by force of ritual. He and his sons cut nine crosses in its turf, circled the shore three times and sowed nine rings of salt. The enchantment was lifted and the island became visible.
It is also said that no cat, mouse or rat would thrive on Eynhallow, and a 1529 account is cited for the odd belief that corn cut after sunset bled.
The island is uninhabited and is a bird reserve. It is reached only by private boat through a strong tidal race.
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