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A thing I was recently wondering. For most of the world's population, what is the largest island they can get to, other than the one they are currently on, using only fixed links (ie bridges, tunnels etc. No boats or aircraft).

And I think the answer is very straightforwardly, "Great Britain".

But if you start on Great Britain, then what is it? (I am not counting the land mass of Asia/Africa/Europe as an "island")

in reply to Sarah Brown

Also, "islands" created by canals (e.g. Corinth Canal) don't count.
in reply to Sarah Brown

Feel like it wouldn't take much reinforced concrete for the answer to become "Sri Lanka"
in reply to Sarah Brown

That's one of those cases where the politics are harder than the engineering.
in reply to Sarah Brown

Hong Kong Island? It's not terribly big but I'm struggling for alternatives, and it is very accessible by road tunnel.
in reply to RolloTreadway

@RolloTreadway Nah. It's tiny.

So far the biggest I have found is Skye.

Which is surprising.

ETA: As Adam points out below, Zealand, which I'd even thought about then forgotten!

This entry was edited (1 year ago)
in reply to Sarah Brown

Just been looking up alternatives. Severny island is larger, but there is no fixed link. However, you can probably get there by taking a skidoo over the frozen sea ice in the winter, if that counts.
in reply to Sarah Brown

Yeah, probably better do it in the next year or two if you plan to do it at all
in reply to Sarah Brown

quickly looking at wikipedia, it would probably be Sjælland/Zealand in Denmark. A reduction from ~210000km² to ~7000km². though neither of these would have been the largest for anyone 30 years ago
in reply to Sarah Brown

@geekylou Funny, I thought of that island, too, muddling up Zeeland and Zealand.

As for application of a bit of reinforced concrete to make it a larger island, the most likely candidate might be:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_o…

in reply to Ed Davies

@Ed Davies @geekylou :transgender_flag: Yeah. That's been mooted for ages, and if they ever actually build it it would take the crown.

Although Sri Lanka is much bigger, and it would be physically easier to build a bridge. Just not political easier.

in reply to Ed Davies

@edavies @geekylou I had to double check that that hadn't actually happened before being confident in answering Zealand.
in reply to Sarah Brown

yes I think that! Assuming the Canadian /Alaskan islands i skimmed past don't have bridges of the artificial or ice variety.
in reply to Sarah Brown

@DebiDoes
Prince Edward Island (in the Canadian Maritimes) is bigger, but I'm pretty sure Long Island is next after that.
@Debi
in reply to Sarah Brown

I'm reasonably sure it's Zealand/Sjælland within Europe. Further afield ... ?
in reply to Sion [main]

@sparrowsion The question was largest, not most convenient, so the same answer will necessarily hold for all of the europe-asia-africa landmass.
in reply to Sarah Brown

This is a fun question. Unless I'm mistaken the answer for North/South America is probably Prince Edward Island, in the Canadian Maritimes. There are much bigger islands (e.g. Baffin Island), some of those even more important (e.g. Newfoundland or Long Island [in New York state]). Caveat that I haven't looked at Tierra del Fuego to see how much of that one can get to by bridge/tunnel.
in reply to FeralRobots

@FeralRobots Cape Breton Island in NS is bigger than PEI. I know nothing of Tierra deal Fuego, tho.
in reply to Sarah Brown

@FeralRobots There is indeed—I didn’t realize causeways were excluded!

(I love this game, btw.)

in reply to Sarah Brown

@scr
yeh if I'd noticed a causeway on the map (& known it was bigger) I I would've gone with it instead of PEI!
in reply to Sarah Brown

oh yeah, they keep cancelling and uncancelling that sodding bridge, don't they?