Foula is located 14 miles south west of Watts Ness on Shetland Mainland. If you travel due west from Foula the next landfall is the east coast of Greenland. The Old Norse name for the island was Fuglaey, meaning "bird island". The island is 2.5 miles from east to west and 3.5 miles from north to south.
In theory Foula is a very easy island to visit for a day trip: Airtask provides two scheduled flights from Tingwall Airport on Shetland Mainland to Foula on 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) during the summer months. However, the planes are very small (8-seater) and the flights are often cancelled due to high winds and/or low visibility. I first booked a day trip in June 2017, but that was cancelled. I then tried on two different dates in September 2019 and they were both cancelled, due to inclement weather. Finally in May 2026 I made it! Our pilot's first attempt to land was aborted, due to the presence of sheep on the runway. We landed safely at the second attempt.
I was the only day visitor, but when I arrived the occupants of a small cruise ship had just arrived on the island. Some of them went on a guided walk to the north end of the island, but most of them walked from the pier at Ham up to the school, where there is a part-time souvenir shop. They left after a couple of hours.
There is a regular ferry service from Ham on Foula to Walls on Shetland Mainland. It is operated by BK Marine Ltd and runs 3 times a week in the summer and twice a week in the winter. The journey takes 2 hours. The ferry lives on Foula. It is winched out of the water and kept in a concrete bunker when it isn't in use, because the harbour at Ham is very exposed. Shetland Sea Adventures offer occasional day trips to Foula by boat from Hamnavoe on West Burra.
Foula's population peaked at 267 in 1881, when most of the islanders made a living from fishing. It had fallen to 222 by 1901, 54 by 1961. In 2001 it was 31 and in 2011 it was 38. Half the inhabited houses are located in the south east of Foula at Hametoon and most of the rest are on the east coast at Ham. The island's school/community centre is located at Ham.
There is no food shop on Foula. There is a Post Office, which is open a few days a week. You can rent self-catering accommodation, but you will need to bring your own food and other supplies. The only public toilet is at the airstrip.
Geologically the south and centre of Foula is made of sedimentary Old Red Sandstone, while the north east side is composed of metamorphic rocks, mainly schists and gneiss. There are 5 distinct peaks on the island: Da Sneug (418m), Hamnafield (344m), Da Kame (376m), Da Noup (248m) and Soberlie (221m). Da Noup is separated from the other peaks by a glacial U-shaped valley called Da Daal.
The now extinct North Germanic language Norn was spoken on Foula until 1800. The islanders still use the Julian calendar and celebrate Christmas Day on 6th January and New Year's Day on 13th January. The rest of Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752.
A small lighthouse was built on the south east coast of Foula at Da South Ness in 1986. A Met Office weather station is located close to it.
The Baxter Chapel is located near the airstrip. It was built in memory of a Congregationalist called Baxter, by his two sisters.
Before avian flu arrived on Foula in 2022, the island hosted the largest colony of great skuas (known as bonxies in Shetland). 1400 dead bonxies were found on Foula in 2022.
At the west end of the valley called Da Daal is a deep crack in the rock known as Da Sneck o da Smaalie.
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