 Sheep and buildings at Mail, looking north, with the Ward of Bressay in the distance | |
  Mail Location within Shetland | |
| OS grid reference | HU430279 |
| Civil parish | |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SHETLAND |
| Postcode district | ZE2 |
| Dialling code | 01950 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Mail is a hamlet on the island of Mainland, in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
Mail is located on the south-eastern side of the island of Mainland adjacent to the A970 road some 10 miles (16 km) south of Lerwick, between Cunningsburgh and Sandwick. It lies almost on the 60th parallel north. Mail has two beaches, the Sands of Mail and the Beach of Mail, separated by the promontory of Bur Ness. Bur Ness contains the Mail churchyard, which has been the site of various archaeological finds.
Bur Ness was the site of Mail's chapel. The chapel was part of Cunningsburgh parish, now part of Dunrossness. Nothing is known of the chapel except that it was the recognised church of the area from a very early date. [1] However, the churchyard still remains.
Several Pictish gravestones dating from the 7th century have been found in the churchyard, [2] including the Mail Stone, with an incised Pictish figure, found in 1992. [3] Gravestones have also been found with Norse runes, indicating Viking activity in the area, as well as inscriptions in Ogham. [4]
Evidence of earlier Iron Age archaeology is also present. Located on a tidal islet at Bur Ness is the site of the former Broch of Mail. The broch is now non-existent. However, a visit in 1934 indicated the circular foundation of a broch tower, although there are no visible traces, having been covered by turf. [5]
A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s. Their origin is a matter of some controversy.
Sanday is one of the inhabited islands of Orkney that lies off the north coast of mainland Scotland. With an area of 50.43 km2 (19.5 sq mi), it is the third largest of the Orkney Islands. The main centres of population are Lady Village and Kettletoft. Sanday can be reached by Orkney Ferries or by plane from Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. On Sanday, an on-demand public minibus service allows connecting to the ferry.
Papa Westray, also known as Papay, is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland, United Kingdom. The fertile soil has long been a draw to the island.
Broch of Mousa is a preserved Iron Age broch or round tower. It is on the island of Mousa in Shetland, Scotland. It is the tallest broch still standing and amongst the best-preserved prehistoric buildings in Europe. It is thought to have been constructed c. 100 BC, and is one of more than 500 brochs built in Scotland. The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.
Bragar is a village on the west side of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, 14 miles from the island's only town, Stornoway. Bragar is within the parish of Barvas, and is situated on the A858 between Carloway and Barvas.
Old Scatness is an archeological site on the Ness of Burgi, near the village of Scatness, parish of Dunrossness in the south end of Mainland, Shetland, near Sumburgh Airport and consists of medieval, Viking, Pictish, and Iron Age remains. It has been a settlement for thousands of years, each new generation adding buildings, and leveling off old ones. Among the discoveries is an Iron Age broch, the Ness of Burgi fort.
Esha Ness, also spelled Eshaness, is a peninsula on the west coast of Northmavine, on the island of Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. Esha Ness Lighthouse on the west coast, just south of Calder's Geo. It was designed by David Alan Stevenson and commissioned in 1929. The hamlet of Tangwick contains the Tangwick Haa Museum, which opened in the former Laird's house in 1987.
Ulsta is a village in the south-west of the island of Yell, Shetland, Scotland. North Ness Hall is the local community facility. The car ferry to Toft on Mainland, Shetland leaves from here.
Aithsetter is a village on the island of Mainland, in Shetland, Scotland. Aithsetter is in the parish of Dunrossness, towards the north end of the district of Cunningsburgh and formerly of that ancient parish. It is nearly 10 miles from Lerwick.
Breiwick is a village on the island of Mainland in Shetland, Scotland. Breiwick is in the parish of Tingwall, and is 1.6 mi (2.5 km) north-east of Gott. The remains of a broch are located above Corbie Geo at Hawks Ness, near to the settlement. Wildlife in the area includes the knot.
Brettabister is a settlement on the island of Mainland in Shetland, Scotland. It is in the parish of Nesting. St. Ola's parish church lies to the east, near Houstabister. The war memorial for North Nesting parish is at the centre of Brettabister, adjacent to the B9075 road, opposite the junction with the road to Neap.
Brindister is a settlement on the West Mainland of Shetland, Scotland. It is within the parish of Sandsting, and on the western shore of Brindister Voe. The remains of the Broch of Brindister Voe are to the south-east of the settlement.
Timsgarry is a village on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Timsgarry is home to the Baile na Cille Church and the Uig Museum, noted for its giant Chessmen, discovered in the sands in 1831.
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 (around AD 600.
Sandwick is an ancient parish in the Shetland Islands, Scotland that had been merged in 1891, along with Cunningsburgh, into Dunrossness. It is located 13 miles (21 km) south of Lerwick in the South Mainland. It comprises a number of distinct settlements in very close proximity to each other, each remaining distinct through being separated by agricultural land. These settlements within Sandwick include Old Sandwick, Lebitton, Broonies' Taing, Stove, Swinister and Hoswick - the latter of which is almost a village in its own right and is often considered distinct from Sandwick.
Kinneddar is a small settlement on the outskirts of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, near the main entrance to RAF Lossiemouth. Long predating the modern town of Lossiemouth, Kinneddar was a major monastic centre for the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu from the 6th or 7th centuries, and the source of the important collection of Pictish stones called the Drainie Carved Stones. The Kirk of Kinneddar was the cathedral of the Diocese of Moray between 1187 and 1208, and remained an important centre of diocesan administration and residence of the Bishop of Moray through the 13th and 14th centuries.
Prehistoric Shetland refers to a period in the human occupation of the Shetland archipelago of Scotland that was the latter part of these islands' prehistory. The period of prehistory prior to occupation by the genus Homo is part of the geology of Scotland. Although some written records refer to Shetland during the Roman invasions of Scotland, prehistory in Shetland does not end until the later part of the Early Historic Period in Scotland, around AD 900.
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.
The Broch of Cullingsburgh is an Iron Age broch located in the Shetland islands.
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