Island 388 - Long Taing, Skea, North Roe, Shetland

Long Taing is a small low lying uninhabited tidal island linked to the north west side of Shetland Mainland near the farm of Skea, which is part of North Roe district.  It is linked to Mainland by a couple of tombolos, as there is a small rocky outcrop halfway across to it called Bu Taing, which splits the tombolo into two halves.

The island is popular with seals at low tide: as I approached the island I could see at least a dozen seals hauled out on the sandy tombolo.  However while I was still about 400 metres away, they spotted me and all hastily got back into the sea.  They must have good eyesight, as I wasn't making much noise or maybe I was upwind of them.  They didn't go far and most of them were watching me from the water as I crossed the tombolo.  There were a few terns around but they weren't particularly bothered by my presence and I didn't see any eggs but I made sure to keep to below the high tide level as far as possible to avoid any potential nest sites and didn't stay long.

Looking north up the coast of Mainland from Long Taing

 

The double tombolo with Bu Taing in the middle

 

Outer Skerry from Long Taing: you can just about see the small lighthouse on it

 

The inner part of Long Taing from the outer part

 

Long Taing from mainland

 

Long Taing and Bu Taing from Mainland

Island 387 - Holm of Heogland, Unst, Shetland

Holm of Heogland is a small uninhabited tidal island off the south coast of Unst 1.5 miles south west of the village of Uyeasound and the same distance to the south east of Belmont, where the Blue Mull Sound Ferry, which serves Yell, Fetlar and Unst, docks.  The island is low lying, grass covered and about 200 metres from north to south by 150 metres from east to west. At high tide the area of water separating Holm of Heogland from Unst is called Holm Sound.

The 1:50,000 scale Landranger Ordnance Survey map I had dated 1987 shows the island to be tidal, as does the 2015 edition of the 1:25,000 scale Explorer map.  However the current Landranger map shows that it isn't tidal.  However it is, because I walked to it!  It wasn't the most pleasant crossing - I slid my way across over 200 metres of slippery seaweed covered rocks in an ungainly manner but I got there and back without falling over, getting wet feet or breaking my ankle.  It wasn't a spring tide on the day I visited and it was over an hour after low tide but the causeway was still clear of the water. 

I was staying at the excellent Gardiesfauld Youth Hostel in Uyeasound and had already walked 10 miles around Unst whilst geocaching that day but I thought it was worth the effort at 9pm to walk along the coast path from Uyeasound to see if I could access Holm of Heogland.  The coast path was an easy and interesting walk, with just a few boggy patches. As it was almost the longest day of the year, there was no danger of it getting dark for several hours.  However I didn't spend long on the island, as I was aware the tide was coming in and there isn't a lot to see on it.  According to the OS map there is a cairn on the island but I didn't notice it.

Holm of Heogland is visited by the local sheep, as about a dozen of them were in residence when I arrived.  They ran away from me but I kept my distance, so they didn't feel the need to run back across the causeway.  The thrift was in flower on the island.

Unst from Holm of Heogland

 

Closely grazed grass on Holm of Heogland

 

Sheep on Holm of Heogland

 

Holm of Heogland from Unst - the Blue Mull Ferry behind the island is on its way to Fetlar

Island 386 - Mid Ness of Houlland, Yell, Shetland

The Ness of Houlland on the north coast of Yell is divided into 3 parts:

• Inna Ness, which is a peninsula joined to Yell at the north end of the lovely golden Sands of Breckon
• Mid Ness, which is just about a tidal island (it would only be cut off during extreme high tides or storm conditions) and which lies to the west of Inna Ness
• Outsta Ness, which is another tidal island to the west of Mid Ness. 

My friend Deb and I only got as far as the eastern end of Mid Ness.  It was an easy scramble down to the beach from the western end of Inna Ness but the climb up onto the top of Mid Ness, although possible, didn't look easy (going up looked okay but getting down again would have been more difficult), so we contented ourselves with standing above the high tide level and we managed to reach out and touch some thrift plants growing on the island. The top of Mid Ness is covered in very short grass,  so I presume that the local sheep are more sure footed and adventurous than we were and that they visit Mid Ness to provide grass cutting services.

Looking south towards the Hill of Brimness from Mid Ness

 

 Inna Ness from Mid Ness

 

The way up onto Mid Ness is the diagonal rock face running through the photo

 

Looking north towards the North Pole from Mid Ness

 

Mid Ness from Inna Ness

 

Sands of Breckon from Inna Ness

Island 385 - Oggar Holm, Vementry, Shetland

Oggar Holm is an uninhabited tidal island located between Shetland Mainland at the hamlet (2 houses) of Vementry and the island of Vementry.  Vementry is located 4 miles north west of the village of Aith and up a narrow no through road with not that many passing places.  However I didn't meet any cars at any inconvenient points.

Oggar Holm is accessible at low tide across a 50 metre long shingle causeway, which is covered in seaweed in places.  The island is about 250 metres in diameter.  It was being grazed by sheep when I visited in mid June 2017 but they took one look at me and ran back across the causeway and up the nearby hill.  The grass was studded with yellow tormentil flowers.  There was a swan swimming in Cribba Sound just off the island and I also heard a snipe drumming while I was on the island.

There was a track of sorts down to Oggar Holm from the cattle grid just before the end of the council maintained road and there was also a convenient spot here to park the car. 

The hamlet of Vementry from Oggar Holm

 

Mussel farm? in Cribba Sound looking towards Vementry from Oggar Holm

 

The headland of Builly from Oggar Holm

 

Oggar Holm from Vementry

Island 384 - South Holm, Ling Ness, Shetland

South Holm is North Holm's smaller and more southerly neighbour on the headland of Ling Ness off the east coast of Shetland Mainland in the area known as South Nesting.  It can be accessed across a 30 metre causeway of sand and seaweed at low tide and is about 50 metres long by 25 metres wide.  There was an easy way up to the top of the island, which is flat and covered with long grass.  Bird's foot trefoil, spring squill and thrift were all in flower when I visited in mid June 2017.

I don't know the purpose of this stone construction on the south coast of South Holm

 

Looking north towards North Nesting from South Holm

 

Looking south east from South Holm across the causeway to a lovely sandy beach and the Dock of Ling Ness

Island 383 - North Holm, Ling Ness, Shetland

North Holm is an uninhabited small tidal island located to the north of the headland of Ling Ness off the east coast of Shetland Mainland in the area called South Nesting.  It is a walk of about 1 km from the council road down a track, which leads to an isolated house on Ling Ness.  Thankfully there didn't seem to be anyone at home when I visited one evening in mid June 2017, as you are in full view of the house while visiting North Holm.  Ling Ness is obviously visited by people, as there was a "Welcome to Ling Ness" sign painted on an broken down old van and another hand painted sign requesting that you keep your dugs on a lead (I think that is the local word for dogs).  However I had the place to myself, apart from a herd of cattle, who were nowhere to be seen when I walked down the track but when I walked back up, they all ran towards me.  I hopped over a wire fence and walked through a bog to get away from them, although I think they were just curious.

North Holm is accessible at low tide across a 15 metre long rocky seaweed covered causeway.   Yes, it was a bit slippery!  There were a few pools of shallow water hidden by the seaweed.  It was a short scramble up on to the top of the island, which is grass covered and flat.  Bird's foot trefoil, spring squill and thrift were in flower.  There is a small pool of water on top of the island, which is about 100 metres in diameter.  I heard a snipe drumming with its wings while I was on the island.

Notice at Farm on road by the start of the track

 

Welcome to Ling Ness

 

North Holm

 

Top of North Holm looking north towards North Nesting

 

Small pool of water - looking south towards the only house on Ling Ness from North Holm

 

House at Ling Ness from North Holm

Island 382 - Grut Ness, Whalsay, Shetland

Grut Ness is a very small tidal island located about 30 metres from the north coast of the island of Whalsay at the hamlet of Vaivoe.  On the Landranger 1:50,000 scale map Grut Ness isn't shown as an island, so I hadn't noticed it on my previous visit to Whalsay in 2013.  The island is no more than about 30 metres in diameter.

I was supposed to be visiting Foula for the day with a friend who lives on Shetland.  However the flight was cancelled due to bad weather, so we visited Whalsay instead, as my friend had never been there.  We found a few geocaches and then drove up and down all the roads on the island.  At Vaivoe we wanted to visit the beach but the only way to get to it without going through someone's private yard, was to hop over a wire fence and walk through a slightly boggy area where some orchids were putting on a good display. 

At the beach we realised that we were looking at a tidal island and as it was low tide we paid it a short visit.  As we walked across the beach to it below the high tide level a few terns took off from the beach.  However, as they didn't seem particularly bothered by our presence, we assumed that they weren't nesting there.  They weren't nesting on the grassy area of Grut Ness but as we turned to leave we spotted some eggs on the shingle above the high tide level, so we beat a hasty retreat and left them in peace.

There is a strange concrete construction on Grut Ness with some drystone walls and a concrete trough.  I see from a document I found online about historic sites on Whalsay that the trough is an abandoned sheep dip.  It was built at some point in the 20th century but it seems an odd place for a sheep dip, as it wouldn't be accessible at high tide.  Maybe sea water was part of the dipping process?

Orchids at Vaivoe

 

The grassy area on Grut Ness

 

Sheep Dip on Grut Ness looking north out to sea

 

Sheep Dip

 

Sheep Dip