Neha Patil (Editor)

Fetlar

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Gaelic name
  
Unknown

Meaning of name
  
Unclear

Area rank
  
25

Council area
  
Shetland

Island groups
  
British Isles, Shetland

Norse name
  
Fætilar

OS grid reference
  
HU620919

Area
  
40.78 km²

Lieutenancy area
  
Shetland

Fetlar wwwundiscoveredscotlandcoukfetlarfetlarimage

Highest elevation
  
Vord Hill 158 metres (518 ft)

Fetlar spree 2 jerusalem s ridge


Fetlar is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a usually resident population of 61 at the time of the 2011 census. Its main settlement is Houbie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Fetlar is the fourth largest island of Shetland and has an area of just over 4,000 hectares (15 sq mi).

Contents

Map of Fetlar, Shetland, UK

Fetlar spree 3 winyadepla and hjogravylta


History

One of the strange features of Fetlar is a huge wall that goes across the island known as the Funzie Girt or Finnigirt Dyke. It is thought to date from the Mesolithic period. So sharp was the division between the two halves of the island, that the Norse talked of East and West Isle separately.

Another attraction on the island is the Gothic Brough Lodge, built by Arthur Nicolson in about 1820, and which is undergoing restoration by the Brough Lodge Trust. The Fetlar sheepdog trials take place annually, normally in July. The Fetlar Foy was once very popular with Shetlanders and tourists alike. It took place at midsummer on the Links at Tresta where folk were entertained with music, food and drink.

Its most famous son was Sir William Watson Cheyne Bt FRS FRCS, a close associate of Lord Lister and one of the pioneers of antiseptics. He was professor of surgery at King's College London, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and wrote many books on medical treatments. He was made a baronet for services to medicine in 1908, was an MP first for the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews and then the Combined Scottish Universities in 1917 and 1918. He was Lord Lieutenant of the Shetland Islands from 1919 to 1930. Cheyne died on Fetlar on 19 April 1932.

Fishing and shipwrecks

Fetlar has a long tradition of fishing. According to Guinness World Records, in August 2012 what was then the oldest message in a bottle, released in June 1914, was found by Andrew Leaper, skipper of the Copious, coincidentally the same fishing vessel involved in a previous record recovery in 2006. The bottle, and Mr Leaper's World Record certificate, have been donated to the Fetlar Interpretative Centre. Fetlar also has an international selection of shipwrecks including Danish, Dutch, German, English and Soviet vessels.

Geography and geology

Fetlar has a very complex geology, including gneiss in the west, metamorphosed gabbro and phyllite, and kaolin. There is also antigorite and steatite here. Talc was mined here.

Fetlar is surrounded by a number of small islands, particularly in the sound between it and Unst. These include to the north: Daaey; Haaf Gruney; Sound Gruney; Urie Lingey and Uyea and to the west: Hascosay and Linga

It is separated from Hascosay and Yell by Colgrave Sound. Much further to the south are the Out Skerries and Whalsay.

Etymology

There are three island names in Shetland of unknown and possibly pre-Celtic origin: Fetlar, Unst and Yell. The earliest recorded forms of these three names do carry Norse meanings: Fetlar is the plural of fetill and means "shoulder-straps" Omstr is "corn-stack" and í Ála is from ál meaning "deep furrow". However these descriptions are hardly obvious ones as island names and are probably adaptations of a pre-Norse language. This may have been Pictish but there is no clear evidence for this. Haswell-Smith suggests a meaning of "prosperous land" and that the island's name may mean "two islands strapped together" by the Funzie Girt. It was recorded as "Fötilør" in 1490.

Wildlife

Fetlar's wildlife is as varied as its geology. For example, over two hundred species of wild flower have been identified here.

The northern part of Fetlar is a RSPB reserve, home to several important breeding species including Arctic skuas and whimbrels. The Lamb Hoga peninsula and nearby Haaf Gruney have some of the largest colonies of storm petrel. Of greatest importance though are red-necked phalaropes, for which the Loch of Funzie is the most important breeding site in the United Kingdom, and for a while during the 1990s was the only breeding site in the country. A pair of snowy owls famously bred here in the 1960s and early 1970s, they lasted until the 1980s but are no longer present. The island is known as "The Garden of Shetland," due to its highly fertile soil.

Infrastructure

Ferries sail daily from Hamars Ness on Fetlar to Gutcher on Yell and Belmont on Unst. A new breakwater and berthing facility was added at Hamars Ness and was officially opened on 1 December 2012.

There is a communications tower on Fetlar at: 60°36'5.39"N, 0°55'35.44"W. Fetlar is "Under Evaluation" for superfast broadband according to Digital Scotland.

Community development

Fetlar Developments Ltd (FDL), a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, was set up by the community to counter the depopulation of the island, which had fallen to just 48 in early 2009, when the 2001 total had been 86. The development company continue to work towards securing a sustainable future for the island both socially and economically.

Work to install three wind turbines in a Community wind energy project began in December 2015.

School

Currently there are 7 primary pupils and 2 nursery pupils at Fetlar primary school, situated at Baela near Houbie.

References

Fetlar Wikipedia