Fetlar is served by a roll-on, roll-off ferry across the Bluemull Sound from Belmont on Unst and Gutcher on Yell. Until April 2013 the ferry was free for both cars and passengers. The journey time is 25 minutes.
Sometimes I have a feeling that I am going to like a place before I have been there and this was the case with Fetlar, even though we didn't experience the best weather during our day trip from Yell in early May 2013. Although the sun shone intermittently, in between were frequent hail showers and the gale force winds were unrelenting and forced us to cancel our plans to explore parts of the island on foot.
I returned to Feltar for a day in early September 2019. The weather was less wet and windy than on my previous visit and I parked my car at Funzie (pronounced Finnie) and walked down the south east coast of Fetlar to a headland called The Snap. The coastal scenery on the way to The Snap was stunning - dramatic cliffs, stacks and a natural arch.
Tresta Beach
Tresta Beach
Tresta Beach
There are other sandy beaches on Fetlar, called the Sands of Sand (not a very original name) and the wonderfully titled Sand of Paradise on the north coast near Everland.
There are other sandy beaches on Fetlar, called the Sands of Sand (not a very original name) and the wonderfully titled Sand of Paradise on the north coast near Everland.
Blue Mull Sound is aptly named. The coast of Fetlar near Brough Lodge
Aithbank
This building began as a fishing station and in the 20th century became home to Jamesie Laurenson, a local historian and storyteller. It is now a camping böd.
Near The Snap
Funzie Bay
Byre Chapel, Society of Our Lady of the Isles (SOLI)
Parish Church
The church was built in 1790 on the foundations of a medieval chapel.
Brough Lodge and Folly
Brough Lodge, May 2013
Brough Lodge, September 2019
Brough Lodge, September 2019
Brough Lodge was built c1820 for Arthur Nicolson (he became Sir in 1826 when he inherited a title) on the site of an earlier hall. It was built in a Georgian Gothic style but later generations of the family added other styles to it. It had four bedrooms and the outbuildings included a byre, a cart shed and a wash-house. The house fell into a state of disrepair after Sir Arthur's death in 1863 but was repaired by the Nicolsons in the 1890s. It was last lived in by Lady Jean Nicolson in the 1970s.
The folly tower behind the lodge is built on the site of an earlier broch. It was also built for Sir Arthur Nicolson, who used it as an astronomical observatory.
There were plans to renovate Brough Lodge when we visited Fetlar in 2013. The trust responsible for it hoped to turn it into holiday accommodation and a venue for art and environmental courses. However when I returned to Fetlar in 2019 the building was still in the same state of dereliction.
Sir Arthur Nicolson also had another folly built at Gruting on the north coast of Fetlar. It is supposed to be haunted by the ghosts of the tenants that Sir Arthur evicted from their land to make way for sheep. He began the clearances in 1822 and by 1858 he had emptied the north and west of the island of crofters. Stone from their houses was used to build his folly.
Funzie Bay
The buildings in the distance were originally a haaf (fishing station). Fish were salted and dried before being exported.
Funzie Bay
Funzie Bay is very interesting geologically, as the conglomerate rock there is very unusual in that the cobbles within it have been stretched and compressed into rods. They are part of the ophiolite sequence of rocks, along with the east coast of Unst.
Fetlar Interpretive Centre, Houbie
Houbie looking toward Lamb Hoga
Planticrubs on the road between Aith and Funzie
These can be found all over Shetland. They are small stone inclosures which used to be used to raise young plants, e.g. kale
Geowall at Funzie
Fetlar's only shop
This is also a café, although we visited on a Wednesday in early May 2013 and at that point the café was only open on Fridays. There is no petrol station on the island. On my next visit on a Sunday in September 2019 the shop and café were open and I had enjoyed an excellent piece of flapjack with a cup of tea.
This building began as a fishing station and in the 20th century became home to Jamesie Laurenson, a local historian and storyteller. It is now a camping böd.
Wick of Aith, looking south west towards Lamb Hoga
Stacks at Wick of Aith with Lamb Hoga in the background
Stany Holm, Funzie Bay
Muckle Birriers Geo
Furra Stacks, Funzie Ness
Muckle Birriers Geo
Butsa, Funzie Ness
Natural arch near The Snap
SOLI is the most northerly religious community in the UK. It was founded by Sister Agnes, an Anglican Franciscan, in 1984. This former byre was their original chapel but now they have a purpose built one. I think the byre is still a chapel but there was no welcome or open/closed notice displayed, so we didn't try to look in it. Note - in 2015 the nuns moved to Unst because several of their members were elderly and in need of social care.
Parish Church
The church was built in 1790 on the foundations of a medieval chapel.
Brough Lodge, May 2013
Brough Lodge, September 2019
Brough Lodge was built c1820 for Arthur Nicolson (he became Sir in 1826 when he inherited a title) on the site of an earlier hall. It was built in a Georgian Gothic style but later generations of the family added other styles to it. It had four bedrooms and the outbuildings included a byre, a cart shed and a wash-house. The house fell into a state of disrepair after Sir Arthur's death in 1863 but was repaired by the Nicolsons in the 1890s. It was last lived in by Lady Jean Nicolson in the 1970s.
The folly tower behind the lodge is built on the site of an earlier broch. It was also built for Sir Arthur Nicolson, who used it as an astronomical observatory.
There were plans to renovate Brough Lodge when we visited Fetlar in 2013. The trust responsible for it hoped to turn it into holiday accommodation and a venue for art and environmental courses. However when I returned to Fetlar in 2019 the building was still in the same state of dereliction.
Folly at Brough Lodge
Folly tower at Brough Lodge
Folly Tower at Brough Lodge
Sir Arthur Nicolson also had another folly built at Gruting on the north coast of Fetlar. It is supposed to be haunted by the ghosts of the tenants that Sir Arthur evicted from their land to make way for sheep. He began the clearances in 1822 and by 1858 he had emptied the north and west of the island of crofters. Stone from their houses was used to build his folly.
The buildings in the distance were originally a haaf (fishing station). Fish were salted and dried before being exported.
Funzie Bay is very interesting geologically, as the conglomerate rock there is very unusual in that the cobbles within it have been stretched and compressed into rods. They are part of the ophiolite sequence of rocks, along with the east coast of Unst.
This is open from May to September and is well worth a visit. It is also one of the few buildings in which to shelter on a cold, wet or windy day! There are displays about Fetlar's social history, geology, wildlife and archaeology. There is a small admission fee but the lady in charge on the day we visited was most helpful and happy to answer my many questions. They also offer basic refreshments.
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| Leagarth House
Leagarth House was built in 1900 by Sir William Watson Cheyne, a Fetlar born man, who became Joseph Lister's assistant in his work on antiseptic surgery and was also MP for Shetland for a while.
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These can be found all over Shetland. They are small stone inclosures which used to be used to raise young plants, e.g. kale
This is also a café, although we visited on a Wednesday in early May 2013 and at that point the café was only open on Fridays. There is no petrol station on the island. On my next visit on a Sunday in September 2019 the shop and café were open and I had enjoyed an excellent piece of flapjack with a cup of tea.
Lamb Hoga
One of the local school children thinks that the Lamb Hoga (pronounced lammerga) peninsula looks like a turtle and I think I am inclined to agree with them. Lamb Hoga is used as a breeding ground by great skuas, so if you visit during the breeding season, be prepared to be dive bombed by them, as they are very territorial. Much rarer storm petrels also breed here.
Birds. The very rare red necked phalarope breeds at the Mires of Funzie and feeds on the Loch of Funzie. We were there too early in the year to see them and in any case it was far to cold to hang around looking for them. Half of Britain's breeding population comes to Fetlar each year. Red throated divers, which are also rare, can also be seen at Funzie. Whimbrels, yet another rare bird also breed on Fetlar. We thought we saw one of these but it may have been a curlew, as they are very similar. Access to the area around Vord Hill in the north of the island is restricted from May to August during the bird breeding season.
Archaeological sites on Fetlar include
Bird hide at Loch of Funzie
Archaeological sites on Fetlar include
- The Finnigert Daek - a Bronze Age wall, which stretched across the island from north to south. Parts of it can still be seen on Vord Hill, which is the highest point on the island at 158 metres
- Haltadans - a stone circle of 38 circles - also on Vord Hill
- Giant's Grave near Aith - Viking boat burial
- Norse house at Gord - this site along with the Giant's Grave were excavated by Time Team in 2002
- A standing stone, known at the Stone of the Ripples. This is located in the garden of Leagarth House, so you can only look at it from a distance.
Funzie Beach
The Manse
Shetland Ponies
Shetland cow - this is a breed in its own right.
They are small and hardy - like the ponies
They are small and hardy - like the ponies
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