Esha Ness, also spelled Eshaness, is a peninsula on the west coast of Northmavine, on the island of Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. Esha Ness Lighthouse is located on the west coast of the peninsula, just south of Calder's Geo. The lighthouse was designed by David Alan Stevenson and commissioned in 1929. The hamlet of Tangwick contains the Tangwick Haa, a former Laird's house that has been a museum since 1987.
Esha Ness and the surrounding rocks are the remnants of a stratovolcano, which was active around 395 MYA. [1] The rocks testify that eruptions were violent and explosive, with the ignimbrite of Grind o da Navir being a deposit from pyroclastic flows. [1] The island of Muckle Ossa is what remains of the main vent of the Esha Ness volcano, while Kirn o Slettans is a side-vent. [1]
Esha Ness is on the west coast of Northmavine on the island of Mainland, Shetland. It lies to the northwest of St Magnus Bay, to the north of Papa Stour. [2] There are several small settlements in the peninsula, including Stenness and Tangwick in the south, Braewick and Braehoulland in the east, and Ure near the north coast. The principal road running through the peninsula is the B9078 road which passes near Braewick and West Heogaland to the coast, ending at Stenness. [3] Calder's Geo is a large geo that cuts into the western black volcanic cliffs of Esha Ness. To the north of the geo is a sea cave that has been measured at more than one and a half times the size of "Frozen Deep", a chamber in Reservoir Hole under Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, potentially making it the largest natural chamber in Britain. [4]
There are numerous blowholes in the vicinity, notably the Holes of Scraada in a cleft where the sea appears about 300 yards from the cliff line on the west coast. There are also a number of giant boulder fields along the cliffsides, with rocks deposited from the cliffs during storms, [5] and various islands offshore from Esha Ness including Dore Holm, the Isle of Stenness, and the Skerry of Eshaness, a small island about 1,200 yards off the south coast. [6] About two and a half miles from the small inlet of Hamna Voe is Ossa Skerry. [2]
Esha Ness Lighthouse on the west coast, just south of Calder's Geo, was designed by David Alan Stevenson and commissioned in 1929. [7] The power of the Atlantic Ocean storms is displayed at the Grind o Da Navir, a large amphitheatre just north of the Eshaness lighthouse that opens out through a breach in the cliffs. Here, the waves have thrown rocks of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) high over 15 metres (49 ft) above the sea. [8]
Cross Kirk Cemetery lies near the Loch of Breckon, with the graves of physician John Williamson (Johnnie Notions), with a stone of mixed Roman and Runic inscriptions, and the grave of Donald Robertson with epitaphs. Sae Breck Broch, partially excavated by Charles S. T. Calder in 1949, is about 200 metres (660 ft) up a steep hill to the west of the cemetery, and contains the remains of a coast guard watchtower. About 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) directly east of here is the site of Hogaland Broch. The Broch of Houlland is on a large promontory on the Loch of Houlland, which has three rows of defensive walls. Also of note is March Cairn, a Neolithic square cairn overlooking Muckla Water. Excavated by Calder in 1949, it is 10 metres (33 ft) across and contains a cruciform chamber of about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) in height, supported by large stones. Two pottery sherds, two stone discs and a quartz tool were unearthed at the site. Muckla Water square cairn is about 250 metres (820 ft) east-northeast of the site. [9]
The hamlet of Tangwick contains the Tangwick Haa Museum. The house belonged to the Cheyne family, who were the Lairds of Tangwick. The last Laird, John Cheyne VIII, died in 1840 and it was left to the caretaker. After a long period of neglect, functioning as a workshop, it was highlighted for restoration by the Shetland Amenity Trust in 1985 and opened as a museum in 1987. [10]
Yell is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland. In the 2011 census it had a usually resident population of 966. It is the second largest island in Shetland after the Mainland with an area of 82 square miles (212 km2), and is the third most populous in the archipelago, after the Mainland and Whalsay.
The Out Skerries are an archipelago of islets, some inhabited, in Shetland, Scotland, and are the easternmost part of Shetland. Locally, they are usually called Da Skerries or just Skerries.
Northmavine or Northmaven is a peninsula in northwest Mainland Shetland in Scotland. The peninsula has historically formed the civil parish Northmavine. The modern Northmavine community council area has the same extent. The area of the parish is given as 204.1 km2.
The North Mainland of the Shetland Islands, Scotland is the part of the Mainland lying north of Voe.
Eshaness Lighthouse is situated on the Northmavine peninsula in the north-west of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It sometimes rendered as Esha Ness Lighthouse.
Uyea is an uninhabited tidal island located to the northwest of Mainland, Shetland. Uyea lies off the Northmavine peninsula, from where it can be reached by foot at low tide. The island's highest elevation is 70 metres (230 ft) and its area is 45 hectares (0.17 sq mi).
The Dore Holm is a small uninhabited islet off the south coast of Esha Ness, located in the north-west of Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. Its natural arch can be seen from the coast between Tangwick and Stenness. The shape of the arch has been compared to a horse drinking deeply from the water.
The Isle of Stenness is one of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is off north west Mainland in the Northmavine.
Yell Sound is the strait running between Yell and Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. It is the boundary between the Mainland and the North Isles and it contains many small islands. Sullom Voe, on the shores of which is a substantial oil terminal, is an arm of Yell Sound.
Ollaberry is a village on Mainland, Shetland, Scotland on the west shore of Yell Sound, 10.9 miles (17.5 km) north by road from Brae. Ollaberry Churchyard contains a Listed B monument, sculpted by John Forbes in 1754. Ollaberry Primary School was established in 1873.
Prehistoric Orkney refers only to the prehistory of the Orkney archipelago of Scotland that begins with human occupation. Although some records referring to Orkney survive that were written during the Roman invasions of Scotland, “prehistory” in northern Scotland is defined as lasting until the start of Scotland's Early Historic Period.
Geopark Shetland is the name used by the Geopark formally established in September 2009 on its entry into the European Geoparks Network. The Geopark extends across the entire Shetland archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is administered by the Shetland Amenity Trust in partnership with organisations such as Scottish Natural Heritage, the Shetland Islands Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and various community and tourism associations.
Hillswick is a small village in Northmavine, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean and lies to the north-north west of Mainland, Shetland, the most northerly group of islands in the United Kingdom. It is situated 35 mi (56 km) from Lerwick. There is a community shop, a blacksmith, a public hall, a health centre, and a Church of Scotland kirk that is now mainly used for funerals, weddings and christenings. There is a wildlife sanctuary, situated at the historic former Hanseatic trading booth on the seafront, a small private art gallery with occasional public exhibitions, and the St Magnus Bay Hotel which offers accommodation, bar and restaurant services. A large dairy and sheep farm takes up the spectacular peninsula called Hillswick Ness, but there is public access and a signed walking route. There is a modern primary school at nearby Urafirth. A small automatic lighthouse is located 1.5 miles south of Hillswick, at the tip of the Ness.
St Magnus Bay is a large coastal feature in the north-west of Mainland Shetland, Scotland. Roughly circular in shape with a diameter of about 19 kilometres (12 mi), it is open to the North Atlantic Ocean to the west. The indented coastline to the north, south and east between Esha Ness in the north and the Ness of Melby in the south contains numerous bays, firths and voes and there are several islands around the perimeter. The waters of the bay are up to 165 metres (541 ft) deep and may have been the site of a substantial meteor impact.
Calders Geo is an inlet in the western cliffs of Esha Ness in Northmavine on the Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. A cave on the north side of the geo has been measured at more than one and a half times the size of "The Frozen Deep", a chamber in Reservoir Hole under Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, potentially making it the largest natural chamber in Britain.
The Drongs are a group of sea stacks off the coast of Hillswick Ness, Northmavine, Shetland, Scotland. They lie to the west of the Isle of Westerhouse in St Magnus Bay. They have been described as "a focus of interest from all surrounding parts, including Eshaness", from which they are the most readily viewed, and as such are considered an icon of Eshaness, along with the famous Dore Holm.
Tangwick Haa is an historic house and museum in Esha Ness, Northmavine, Shetland. The building has two stories in a rectangular layout and along with the adjacent walled garden is Category B listed.
Media related to Esha Ness at Wikimedia Commons
| Populated places |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Geography |
| |
| History | ||
| Buildings | ||
| People | ||
| Inhabited islands | | |
|---|---|---|
| Other islands | ||
| Towns and villages | ||
| Mainland Parishes | ||
| Insular Parishes | ||
| Maritime features | ||
Extreme points
| ||
| Topics | ||