Geography
The nearby south-facing sandy beach at Meal is a popular place on a warm day. At the south end of West Burra is Kettla Ness, with impressive cliff scenery; it is linked to the main island by a shingle and sand tombolo which also provides another attractive sandy beach. At Duncansclett, a traditional thatched cottage has recently been restored for use by the local history group; the building featured in the BBC television series, 'Restoration'.
West Burra is linked to the Shetland Mainland via Trondra by a series of bridges.
Settlements
Hamnavoe (an extremely common Shetland name) is the main settlement, and there is also Bridge End, so called because it is near the bridge to East Burra.
History
The form used in the Orkneyinga saga is "Barrey". [5] Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland suggests that Burra is a corruption of Borgarey meaning "island of the broch". [6] The place name Brough lends some support to this case and a nearby hillock may have been a broch from which stones were removed to build the pier at Scalloway. [7]
The name Papil in the south of West Burra is a Norse reference to the Papar . This name can be found in the form Papyli in several locations in Iceland. However, it is not just Papil's etymology that suggests the site of an early church, confirmation has been found in the form of the "Monk's Stone", which was dug up in Papil and which is now in the Shetland Museum. [6]
The main village of Hamnavoe in the north of West Burra is unique among villages in Shetland, in having been planned and laid out by the factors of the estate, in much the same way as many estate villages created by 'improving' landlords in Scotland; another parallel, albeit on a larger scale, is Ullapool, created by the British Fisheries Society. The original plan form is still clearly visible, despite the accretion of later development. Hamnavoe was once an important fishing centre. Today, none of the larger Shetland fishing boats is likely to be seen here but smaller vessels catch shellfish. Although full-time fishermen still live in the area, the fishing tradition is nowadays more evident in fish farming; there are several mussel and salmon farms around Burra.
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
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.
Bressay is a populated island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland.
Mousa is a small island in Shetland, Scotland, uninhabited since the nineteenth century. The island is known for the Broch of Mousa, an Iron Age round tower, and is designated as a Special Protection Area for storm-petrel breeding colonies.
East Burra is one of the Scalloway Islands, a subgroup of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It is connected by a bridge to West Burra.
Wyre is one of the Orkney Islands, lying south-east of Rousay. It is 311 hectares (1.20 sq mi) and 32 metres (105 ft) at its highest point. It is one of the smallest inhabited islands in the archipelago.
The Northern Isles are a chain of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The climate is cool and temperate and highly influenced by the surrounding seas. There are two main island groups: Shetland and Orkney. There are a total of 36 inhabited islands, with the fertile agricultural islands of Orkney contrasting with the more rugged Shetland islands to the north, where the economy is more dependent on fishing and the oil wealth of the surrounding seas. Both archipelagos have a developing renewable energy industry. They share a common Pictish and Norse history, and were part of the Kingdom of Norway before being absorbed into the Kingdom of Scotland in the 15th century. The islands played a significant naval role during the world wars of the 20th century.
Muckle Roe is an island in Shetland, Scotland, in St. Magnus Bay, to the west of Mainland. It has a population of around 130 people, who mainly croft and live in the south east of the island.
Vaila is an island in Shetland, Scotland, lying south of the Westland peninsula of the Shetland Mainland. It has an area of 327 hectares, and is 95 metres (312 ft) at its highest point.
Trondra is one of the Scalloway Islands, a subgroup of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It shelters the harbour of Scalloway and has an area of 275 hectares (1.06 sq mi).
South Havra, formerly Hevera, is an uninhabited island in the Scalloway Islands, Shetland, Scotland.
Birsay is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancient monuments in the parish.
Oxna is one of the Scalloway Islands, lying north west of Burra in Shetland, Scotland. Oxna has an area of 68 hectares.
Scalloway is the largest settlement on the west coast of the Mainland, the largest island of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The village had a population of roughly 900, at the 2011 census. Now a fishing port, until 1708 it was the capital of the Shetland Islands.
Burra is the collective name for two of the Shetland Islands, West and East Burra, which are connected by bridge to one another, and to the Shetland Mainland via Trondra.
The Scalloway Islands are in Shetland opposite Scalloway on south west of the Mainland. They form a mini-archipelago and include:
The Broch of West Burrafirth is an Iron Age broch located on the west side of Mainland, Shetland.
Papa is an uninhabited island in the Scalloway Islands, Shetland, Scotland.
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