VALLAY, an island, in the parish of North-Uist,
county of Inverness; containing 59 inhabitants. This
is an island only at high water, being separated from the
north shore of Uist by a shallow sound dry at the subsiding
of the tide. It is a mile and a half in length and
about half a mile in breadth, with, for the most part, a
light sandy soil remarkably fertile in corn and grass in
favourable seasons; but the surface is frequently covered
with sand when strong gales blow from the north-west,
the isle being entirely e.xposed to the wide sweep of the
Atlantic from that point. It is distant from the main
land of the parish about two miles, tlie interval at low
water presenting a spacious strand. At each extremity
of Vallay is safe anchorage for shipping.