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'Great Bernera', often known just as 'Bernera' (Scottish Gaelic: ''Bearnaraigh'') is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

Great Bernera lies in Loch Roag on the north-west coast of Lewis and is linked to it by a road bridge. Built in 1953, the bridge was the first pre-stressed concrete bridge in Europe. The main settlement on the island is Breaclete (Scottish Gaelic: ''Breacleit''), home to a small museum.
Since 1962, the island has been owned by Prince Robin de la Lanne-Mirrlees, a former Queen's Herald, who is recognised as Laird of Bernera. He has a house and fish farm at Kirkibost.
Bernera is also known for its Iron Age (or possibly Pictish) settlement at Bostadh, discovered in 1992 and now covered by sand to preserve it. A replica Iron Age house matching those now buried is sited nearby.
The island was the location of the Bernera Riot, where crofters resisted the Highland clearances. The main industry on Bernera today is lobster-fishing, with a fish processing plant at Kirkibost. There are still some weavers but it is no longer one of the main industries. The island now boasts a museum, a shop (with off-licence), a post office and also petrol pumps.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling owns a converted blackhouse on the island, and has ancestral connections with the area through his mother. Darling hit with holiday home tax

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Footnotes

References

Footnotes

1. 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
2. Ordnance Survey
3. Placenames Iain Mac an Tailleir

References

1. 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
2. Ordnance Survey
3. Placenames Iain Mac an Tailleir