BASS (isle of), a rock, about a mile in circumference, in the mouth of the Frith of Forth, at a small distance from the town of North Berwick in East Lothian. It is steep and inaccessible on all sides, except to the south-west; and even there it is with great difficulty that a single man can climb up with the help of a rope or ladder. It was formerly kept as a garrison. A party of King James's adherents surprised it at the Revolution, and it was the last place in the three kingdoms that submitted to the new government; upon which, its fortifications were ordered to be neglected. In summer, this remarkable rock, which rises to a great height above the water, in form of a cone, is quite covered with sea-fowl which come hither to breed. The chief of these are the solon geese, which arrive in June, † See Pelicans and retire in September. It also contains a small warren for rabbits, and affords pasture for a few sheep.
The force of the tides have now almost worn a hole quite through this rock. W. Long. 2. 15. N. Lat. 56. 3.