A lifetime of Islands: Island 21

Unst is the most northerly inhabited island in the British Isles. It is 12 miles from north to south by 5 miles from east to west. Unst is accessible by vehicle ferry across the Blue Mull Sound from Gutcher on Yell and from Hamars Ness on Feltar to Belmont on Unst. The main settlements on Unst are Baltasound, Haroldswick and Uyeasound. In 2011 the population of the island was 632.

I spent a couple of days on Unst in August 1978 and one day at the end of April 2013. On both occasions I walked to Hermaness to see Britain's most northerly island (Muckle Flugga) and rock (Out Stack). My 3rd visit was in June 2017 when I stayed at the excellent Gardiesfauld Hostel in Uyeasound. The highlight of my visit was finding my 10,000th geocache, 14 years after I started the hobby. My 4th visit was a day trip from Unst in early September 2019.

Unst is home to a host of Britain's most northerly buildings and businesses e.g. post office (Baltasound - when we visited in 1978 it was further north at Haroldswick but this branch closed in 1999), house (Skaw), Brewery (Valhalla Brewery at Saxa Vord), castle (Muness), wood (Halligarth) and church (Methodist church at Haroldswick).

Hermaness National Nature Reserve in the north west corner of Unst is home to 100,000 seabirds during the breeding season. Gannets, guillemots, puffins, razorbills, great skuas (known in Shetland as bonxies), red-throated divers, fulmars, black guillemots, kittiwakes and arctic skuas can be seen. There are around 650 pairs of bonxies nesting on the nature reserve, making it the 3rd largest colony in the world.

There is a waymarked 2.5 mile walk from the car park at Burrafirth to and along the cliffs at Hermaness to view Muckle Flugga and the seabird cliffs. It was possible to make it into a circular walk by following a vague and at times boggy path over Hermaness Hill and then almost due south back to the car park. I think this was the only path in 1978 and I remember a bothy about half way to Hermaness Hill. This is no longer there: it blew away in a hurricane on the night of 31st December 1991. Sadly two people were sheltering in the hut at the time: David Caseley and Katherine Buyers. They were both killed. David's body was found close to where the hut had been and Katherine's body was found half a mile away. The wreckage of the bothy was spread over a wide area. The wind speed that night was gusting in excess of 173 miles an hour. Houses, the RAF Station at Saxa Vord and business premises all over the island were badly damaged. NB: I didn't walk to Hermaness during my 2017 visit to Unst, but I understand that you now have to walk there and back along the waymarked path and that you are no longer allowed to use the inland path.

RAF Saxa Vord was a radar station in the north of Unst from 1957-2006. Since then the site has been converted into a resort offering self-catering and hostel accommodation for visitors. There is a restaurant & bar and Foords Chocolates/North Base Café. The latter also has an interesting exhibition about the history of RAF Saxa Vord. In my opinion resort is a rather exotic term for such a windswept place! NB: 2017 update: Foords Chocolates and Café has closed down but there is now an excellent teashop in Haroldwick: Victoria's Vintage Tea Rooms.

Muness Castle in the south east corner of the island was built in 1598 by Laurence Bruce. It was designed by Andrew Crawford, who also designed Scalloway Castle on Shetland Mainland. It has circular towers at opposite corners and a z-plan design and it originally had 3 floors. The ruins are maintained by Historic Scotland. When we visited in 2013 it was unlocked and torches were provided to enable us to have a good look round.

Bobby's Bus Shelter near Baltasound is named in honour of Bobby Macaulay. In 1995, aged 6, he wrote to the local newspaper, the Shetland Times asking for a new bus shelter. One was installed by the council and it was furnished by local people. Since 2002 it has been decorated in a different theme each year. In 2013 when we visited, the theme was sheep and in 2017 it was flowers.

Unst Boat Haven at Haroldswick has a collection of traditional fishing craft. Unst Heritage Centre is housed in the old school building at Haroldswick. Both are well worth a visit. Also at Haroldswick there is a replica Viking longhouse and the Skidbladner, which is a full size replica of the Gokstad ship discovered in a Viking burial mound in Norway in 1880.

The Keen of Hamar National Nature Reserve is located to the east of Baltasound. The rock in this area is serpentine. This rare rock type is found elsewhere in the UK e.g. Fetlar, Lizard, Rum and Skye. However Unst has one of the largest expanses in Europe of weathered serpentine debris. It is home to several rare plants, including Edmonston's Chickweed (known locally as Shetland mouse-ear), which is found nowhere else on earth except Unst.

Below the Keen of Hamar at Hagdale chromite (iron chromate) was mined from the 1870s until the 1920s. This was used for pigments and in steel making. The Hagdale chromite mine was the largest in Britain. The remains of a horse-drawn crushing mill have been restored and can be viewed up close.

During my September 2019 visit, I walked to Woodwick on the west coast of Unst. It is a walk of just over a mile each way from a small parking area at Houlland at the end of the road beyond Balliasta. The walk is signed and for most of the way the footpath is clear, if a little boggy in places. You have to walk up a hill and then down the Dale of Woodwick to get to the beach. As its name implies, lots of driftwood (including some large tree trunks) is washed up onto the beach at Woodwick (along with lots of plastic rubbish). It is a beautiful spot and well worth the effort of getting there.

Burrafirth
The buildings in the photo used to be the shore station for the lighthouse on Muckle Flugga.

Hermaness

Cliffs at Hermaness

Hermaness

Muckle Flugga and Out Stack

Bobby's Bus Shelter - Sheep Theme: 2013

Bobby's Bus Shelter near Baltasound

John Peel Memorial Traffic Island

This is located close to Bobby's Bus Shelter

Muness Castle

Puffin sculpture at Muness Castle, Sept 2019

Beach at Ham of Muness

Ham of Muness

Standing stone at Burragarth, Unst

Standing Stone at Clivocast, Unst

The Skidbladner and Viking Longhouse, Haroldswick

Haroldswick

Muckle Flugga and Out Stack

The lighthouse on Muckle Flugga was built by Thomas Stevenson (father of the author Robert Louis Stevenson) and completed in 1858. It was automated in 1995.

Café at Belmont Ferry Terminal

This double decker bus had recently opened as a café when we visited in April 2013. Sadly it is no longer a café.

Remains of a Second World War Radar Station at Lamba Ness

Cliffs at Lamba Ness

Lamba Ness

Britain's most northerly house at Skaw

Britain's most northerly beach - Skaw

Haroldwick Methodist Church - Britain's most northerly church

Haroldswick Methodist Church

The foundation stone for the church was laid in August 1990.

Inside Haroldwick Methodist Church

The church was designed by Shetland architect Frank A. Robertson. It is based on a simplified form of a Norwegian wooden Stave Kirk. It is lined with Scandinavian red pine and the laminated beams supporting the roof are from Denmark. The wooden boss at the centre of the roof was made as a school project to a design adapted from a 5th century stone carving. It symbolises Jesus, crucified and crowned with the wreath of immortality, together with 5 studs representing the wounds of Christ.