Whome | |
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![]() Whome telephone box in 2007, looking down to the village. | |
Location within Orkney | |
Population | 30 |
OS grid reference | ND352938 |
Civil parish | |
Council area | |
Lieutenancy area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | STROMNESS |
Postcode district | KW16 |
Dialling code | 01856 |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
UK Parliament | |
Scottish Parliament | |
Whome is the largest settlement on the Orkney island of Flotta, Scotland. [1] The village is situated on the B9046, the main road across Flotta. [2] [3] [4] Views from Whome look across Pan Hope, to the Flotta oil terminal across the bay. [5] [6] The B9046 on the outskirts of Whome adjoins to the B9045, leading down to the Flotta ferry terminal. [7]
Much of Whome was developed during the 1970-80s, built as council housing, however the settlement takes its name from the nearby centuries-old Whome Farm, the kiln and barn of which became a Category C listed building in 2002. [8] [9] It grew following the North Sea oil boom in the 1970s, and much of the social housing in Whome accommodated workers at the Flotta oil terminal during the 1980s. [10]
Flotta Community School is located in Whome. The school was mothballed in 2010 due to lack of pupils, but has since reopened. [11] [12] The Flotta Community Centre is also located in Whome, [13] which accommodates a cafe, as well as a pub every Saturday night. [14]
The village also has a doctor's surgery. Flotta had its own resident GP, until Dr George Drever died in 2003. [15] Today, a GP travels over to the island every Tuesday and Friday from the Stromness surgery on the Mainland, and a resident practitioner nurse still offers 24 hour medical care on Flotta. [16] The Flotta Heritage Centre is located in Whome, [17] next door to the shop and post office. The shop stopped stocking general groceries on 1 June 2022. [18]
Whome has a playpark, a telephone box, and the Flotta Fire Station, until its closure on 25 October 2012. [19] [20]