The gnomes arrived in 2010 and they haven’t left the rock since (Picture: Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS)
A bunch of gnomes live on an island in Scotland but nobody knows how they got there.
They live on the rock of Swallow Craig which sits just off Inchcolm Island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland.
The gnomes first appeared in 2010 and some believe they were placed there either by a fisherman or woman.
Legend has it that the gnomes escaped a local garden centre to seek refuge on the rock.
Other myths claim the gnomes were shipwrecked and have called the area home for the last 14 years.
Since 2010, the gnome population has grown and it has led people to callthe place ‘Inchgnome Island’.
Scott Aston, skipper of the Maid of the Forth, takes up to 100 tourists per day to the island, and says visitors ‘crack up’ at the sight.
‘One story behind it is that these gnomes escaped from a garden centre under cover of darkness.
Legend has it that the gnomes escaped a local garden centre (Picture: Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS)
Sometimes the seagulls knock over the gnomes (Picture: Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS)
The gnomes keep on multiplying (Picture: Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS)
‘They made a bid for freedom, escaped over to Inchgnome – and they’ve established their own colony out there. That’s how the legend goes.
‘We hear people on the boat all the time asking, “is that a gnome?” and then they see the sign that says Inchgnome and they laugh at that.’
Scott has run sightseeing cruises on the Forth for 18 years, with trips running daily from Easter until October.
He says he has seen the gnome population mysteriously increase each winter during his time working on the job – but says he has no idea how.
He said: ‘Nobody knows how they got there, and nobody knows why they’re there – but they do seem to multiply every winter.’
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