[1] Scalpay is around 4 kilometres (2+1⁄2 miles) long and rises to a height of 104 metres (341 feet) at Beinn Scorabhaig.

Across the centre of the island is a band of mylonite and protocataclasite associated with the Outer Hebrides Thrust Zone.

Eilean Glas, a tiny peninsula on Scalpay's eastern shore, is home to the first lighthouse to be built in the Outer Hebrides.

In 1746, Charles Edward Stuart fled to Scalpay after his forces were defeated at the Battle of Culloden.

[11] Photographer Marco Secchi lived on Scalpay for few years between 2002–2008 and documented life and landscape of the Outer Hebrides.

In 2011 the island's owner, Fred Taylor, announced that he proposed handing over the land to the local population.