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Unst
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 Shetland Mainland, Mainland and Yell (island), Yell. It has an area of . Unst is largely grassland, with coastal cliffs. Its main village is Baltasound, formerly the second-largest herring fishing port after Lerwick and now the location of a leisure centre and the Unst Airport, island's airport. Other settlements include Uyeasound, home to Greenwell's Booth (a Hanseatic League, Hanseatic warehouse) and Muness Castle (built in 1598 and sacked by pirates in 1627); and Haroldswick, location of a boat museum and a heritage centre. Etymology There are three island names in Shetland of unknown and possibly pre-Celtic origin: Unst, Fetlar and Yell, Shetland, Yell. The earliest recorded forms of these three names do carry Norse meanings: is the plural of and means 'shoulder-straps', is 'corn-stack' and is fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belmont, Shetland
Belmont is a settlement and ferry terminal in southern Unst in the Shetland Islands. The ferry crosses Bluemull Sound from here to Gutcher in Yell and to Hamars Ness in Fetlar. Belmont House, a Georgian mansion built in 1775 by Thomas Mouat, was restored by Historic Scotland amongst others, and opened to the public in 2011. Archaeological sites There are over 90 scheduled monuments on Unst. Eleven of these are in this south-western corner of the island near Belmont, and are shown on the map. Hoga Ness broch is an iron-age broch (defensive hollow-walled structure), standing on the sea cliffs to the west of Belmont. Dated to the iron age period, 500BC to 200AD, it has two chambers visible within a large grass-covered mound. An entrance passage is on the south side, and there is evidence of outer defensive earthworks. It was first scheduled in 1934 and is one of 130 brochs on Shetland. A Norse house and field system was excavated just east of Belmont in 1995 as part of the 'V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shetland Islands
Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ... lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the northeast of Orkney, from mainland Scotland and west of Norway. They form part of the border between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The island's area is and the population totalled in . The islands comprise the Shetland (Scottish Parliament constituency), Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament. The islands' administrative centre, largest settlement and only burgh is Lerwick, which has been the capital of Shetland since 1708, before which time the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shetland
Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the northeast of Orkney, from mainland Scotland and west of Norway. They form part of the border between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The island's area is and the population totalled in . The islands comprise the Shetland (Scottish Parliament constituency), Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament. The islands' administrative centre, largest settlement and only burgh is Lerwick, which has been the capital of Shetland since 1708, before which time the capital was Scalloway. Due to its location it is accessible only by ferry or flight with an airport located in Sumburgh as well as a port and emergency airstrip in Lerwick. The archipelago has an oceanic climate, complex geology, rugged coastline, and m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baltasound
Baltasound (or Baltasund) is the largest settlement on the island of Unst in Shetland, Scotland. It comes from the Old Norse man's name Balti (Baltisund). Unst is the most northerly inhabited island in the United Kingdom. The village lies halfway along the island's east coast on a sheltered bay called Balta Sound. Baltasound was formerly the most important herring port in Shetland. In 1902 its catch exceeded that of the Shetland capital Lerwick. The herring trade declined rapidly after 1905 but the physical remains of the herring boom remained long after. Baltasound was the home of the noted Victorian botanist Thomas Edmondston, who was born at Buness House where his uncle, also called Thomas, was the laird. A memorial stone erected outside the house by the elder Thomas Edmondston commemorates scientific studies undertaken there by the French physicist Jean-Baptiste Biot. Baltasound can also lay claim to the most northerly "wood" in the British Isles, although it is not very ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unst Airport
Unst Airport also called Baltasound Airport is an unlicensed airfield near Baltasound, on the island of Unst, Shetland Islands, Scotland. The airfield has effectively been mothballed since 1996 and is now only used by the emergency services. Unst Airport is the most northerly airfield in the United Kingdom. History Unst Airport opened in August 1968 although its official opening happened in 1970. The airport was built by the 15 Field Squadron (Search) RE of the Royal Engineers. Mothballing In 1996 the oil rig operators decided to concentrate their resources at Scatsta Airport on the Shetland Mainland. The last scheduled flights to the airport were withdrawn on March 29, 1996, and the airport was mothballed. After the airport was mothballed the airport's control tower and terminal building were subsequently demolished. Current Use Currently Unst Airport is only used by the emergency services for occasional Air Ambulance Air medical services are the use of aircraft, includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yell (island)
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 ,Penrith, James & Deborah (2007) ''Orkney & Shetland'' (part of ''The Scottish Islands'' series). Richmond. Crimson Publishing. and is the third most populous in the archipelago (fifteenth out of the islands in Scotland), after the Mainland and Whalsay. The island's bedrock is largely composed of Moine schist with a north–south grain, which was uplifted during the Caledonian mountain building period. Peat covers two-thirds of the island to an average depth of . Yell has been inhabited since the Neolithic times, and a dozen broch sites have been identified from the pre-Norse period. Norse rule lasted from the 9th to 14th centuries until Scottish control was asserted. The modern economy of the island is based on crofting, fishing, transport and tourism. The island claims to be the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yell, Shetland
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 ,Penrith, James & Deborah (2007) ''Orkney & Shetland'' (part of ''The Scottish Islands'' series). Richmond. Crimson Publishing. and is the third most populous in the archipelago (fifteenth out of the islands in Scotland), after the Mainland and Whalsay. The island's bedrock is largely composed of Moine schist with a north–south grain, which was uplifted during the Caledonian mountain building period. Peat covers two-thirds of the island to an average depth of . Yell has been inhabited since the Neolithic times, and a dozen broch sites have been identified from the pre-Norse period. Norse rule lasted from the 9th to 14th centuries until Scottish control was asserted. The modern economy of the island is based on crofting, fishing, transport and tourism. The island claims to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Isles
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. Importance They are a significant group, since Yell and Unst are the second and third largest islands in the archipelago, and also the third and fourth most populous ( Whalsay, which is not in the group, is the second most populous). Combined, their total land area is far larger than the rest of the Shetland Islands (excluding Mainland) combined. Extreme points The group also contains the most northerly land of the United Kingdom and Shetland at Out Stack near Muckle Flugga, and its most northerly settlement Skaw on Unst. These also happen to be the most northerly British territorial claims currently in existence, since Canadian independence. In similar fashion, Britain's most northerly maritime claims are also based on these islands, having great effect on its fishing a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SaxaVord Spaceport
SaxaVord Spaceport, previously known as Shetland Space Centre, is a UK spaceport located on the Lamba Ness peninsula on Unst, the most northerly of the inhabited Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland. The site is near the RAF Saxa Vord radar station and the settlement of Skaw. History A report from the UK Space Agency initially identified the site as offering clear northbound trajectories for polar and sun-synchronous orbits, with the highest potential payload of any location in the UK. Lockheed Martin initially expressed interest in flying their UK Pathfinder satellite launch system from the proposed spaceport. The proposed launch vehicle under this programme is the RS1 from ABL Space Systems, a US-based company developing 27 m tall rockets capable of carrying payloads up to 1000 kg into a sun-synchronous orbit. The UK Pathfinder Launch programme is supported by £23.5 million of UK Space Agency grants. The launch site is also planned to be used by HyImpulse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haroldswick
Haroldswick or Harold's Wick (Old Norse: ''Haraldsvík'', 'Harald's bay'), is on Unst, Shetland Islands, Scotland, and is one of the most northerly settlements in the British Isles. History The wick takes its name from the Viking King Harald I Fairhair, and is reputed to be the first landing point for the Vikings in the Shetland Islands. A Viking grave, attributed to Harold, has been found on the nearby Setter's Hill, overlooking the landing point. Geography It sits at the end of a small bay in a crescent moon shape with a hill on either side, with steep cliffs and rough waters with good mackerel fishing grounds underneath. The beach is rocky until it comes to an old ruin of a pier, then it has huge boulders blocking traveller's way. Lining the beach are little cottages with their only barrier against the winds from the sea being a small wall on the other side of the road. A small maritime museum dedicated to the traditional small boats of Shetland, the Unst Boat Haven, is locat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fetlar
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. Other settlements include Aith, Funzie, Herra and Tresta. Fetlar is the fourth-largest island of Shetland and has an area of just over . 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.Gammeltoft (2010) pp. 19–20 This may have been Pictish but there is no clear evidence for this.Gammeltoft (2010) p. 9 Haswell-Smith suggests a meaning of "prosperous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
