Out Stack

Last updated

Out Stack
Out Stack from the sea - geograph.org.uk - 5522166.jpg
Location
Scotland relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Out Stack
Out Stack shown within Scotland
OS grid reference HP612202
Coordinates 60°51′37″N0°52′27″W / 60.8603°N 0.8741°W / 60.8603; -0.8741
Physical geography
Island group Shetland
Highest elevation27 m (89 ft)
Administration
Council area Shetland Islands
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Demographics
Population0
Lymphad3.svg

Out Stack or Ootsta is an island in Shetland, and the northernmost point of Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles.

Contents

It lies 600 m (2,000 ft) northeast of Muckle Flugga and 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north of the island of Unst.

It is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands and lies within the Hermaness National Nature Reserve.

It is uninhabited and there is no landfall directly to the north.

Description

Out Stack is little more than a rocky outcrop, and is uninhabited. It has been described as "the full stop at the end of Britain". [1] Travellers would not encounter any further land masses between Out Stack and the North Pole if heading directly north.

Jane Franklin

Jane Franklin, the wife of the Arctic explorer John Franklin, landed on Out Stack after John Rae's reports of the fate of the Franklin expedition had reached Stromness, Orkney, where she lived, in 1853/54. [2]

Hermaness National Nature Reserve

The Hermaness National Nature Reserve covers the Muckle Flugga rocks and Out Stack, as well as the seabird cliffs and moorland of Hermaness.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unst</span> Northernmost Shetland Island, Scotland

Unst is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of 46 sq mi (120 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mousa</span> Small island in Shetland, Scotland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Isles</span>

The North Isles are the northern islands of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The main islands in the group are Yell, Unst and Fetlar. Sometimes the islands in Yell Sound are included in this group.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vementry</span>

Vementry is an uninhabited Scottish island in Shetland on the north side of the West Mainland, lying south of Muckle Roe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papa Little</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muckle Flugga Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in the Shetland Islands

Muckle Flugga lighthouse punctuates the rocky stack of Muckle Flugga, in Shetland, Scotland. Originally called North Unst Lighthouse, it was renamed in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muckle Flugga</span> Small Shetland island

Muckle Flugga is a small rocky island north of Unst in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is often described as the northernmost point of the British Isles, but the smaller islet of Out Stack is actually further north. It used to be the northernmost inhabited island, but forfeited that accolade to Unst when Muckle Flugga Lighthouse was automated in 1995 and the last residents moved out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermaness</span>

Hermaness is the northernmost headland of Unst, the most northerly inhabited island of Shetland, Scotland. It consists of huge sea cliffs and moorland, making it an ideal habitat for a variety of birds. Hermaness was designated a national nature reserve (NNR) in 1955. The NNR extends over 965 hectares, including the whole of the Hermaness peninsula and the outlying Muckle Flugga and Out Stack. The reserve has a path and boardwalk that extends out onto the moorland. The reserve is managed by NatureScot, though it remains in private ownership, with most being owned by the Buness Estate, although the stacks and skerries around Muckle Flugga are owned by the Northern Lighthouse Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Mainland</span>

The North Mainland of the Shetland Islands, Scotland is the part of the Mainland lying north of Voe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esha Ness</span> Scottish peninsula

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.

Linga is a small, uninhabited island, 1 km (0.62 mi) east of Muckle Roe in the Shetland Islands. The island is roughly circular in shape and its highest elevation is 69 metres (226 ft). Its area is 70 hectares (0.27 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uyea, Northmavine</span> Uninhabited tidal island located to the northwest of Mainland, Shetland

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Magnus Bay</span> Bay in Northwest of Mainland, Shetland

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.

Muckle may refer to:

References

  1. "BBC Scotland - Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands, Series 3, Northern Exposure: The North Isles and Out Stack, the former home of Britain's most northerly lighthouse keepers".
  2. "Lady Jane Franklin, the Woman Who Fueled 19th-Century Polar Exploration". Atlas Obscura. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
View towards Muckle Flugga and Out Stack from Saxa Vord. Out Stack is the one in the centre (the white shape on right is a ship). Haroldswick, view towards Muckle Flugga and Out Stack from Saxa Vord - geograph.org.uk - 2632639.jpg
View towards Muckle Flugga and Out Stack from Saxa Vord. Out Stack is the one in the centre (the white shape on right is a ship).
View from Out Stack towards Muckle Flugga. Out Stack - Scotland's most northerly point and the full stop of the U.K. - geograph.org.uk - 1462941.jpg
View from Out Stack towards Muckle Flugga.

60°51′37″N0°52′27″W / 60.8603°N 0.8741°W / 60.8603; -0.8741