:''"Brae" is also the Lowland Scots language word for the slope or brow of a

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

.'' Brae (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Breiðeið'', meaning "the wide isthmus") is a village on the island of

Mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or demogr ...

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 ...

, Scotland, United Kingdom. In it had a population of .

Description

Brae was historically a fishing village, but with the construction of the nearby

Sullom Voe Oil Terminal The Sullom Voe Terminal is an oil and gas terminal at Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It handles production from oilfields in the North Sea Oil, North Sea and East Shetland Basin and stores oil before it is transported by tanke ...

in the 1970s it grew rapidly, merging with the nearby village of Northbrae. It is located at the northern end of

Busta Voe Busta Voe, (HU665350), in the north central Mainland, Shetland, Mainland, Shetland, Scotland, is a sea inlet lying between the village of Brae and the island of Muckle Roe. At the head of the voe is the Delting Marina and Boating Club. During th ...

, on the narrow

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

that joins

Northmavine Northmavine or Northmaven (from Old Norse , "north of the narrow isthmus") is a peninsula in Shetland forming the northernmost part of Mainland. The peninsula has historically formed a civil parish of the same name. The modern Northmavine comm ...

to the rest of the Mainland. The village stages its own

Up Helly Aa Up Helly Aa ( ; literally "Up Holy ">ay/nowiki> All") is a type of fire festival held annually from January to March in various communities in Shetland, Scotland, to mark the end of the Yule season. Each festival involves a torchlit processio ...

. The A970 which connects

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

to Northmavine forms the main street of Brae. Brae's police and fire stations, schools, and NHS clinic service much of the northern part of the Mainland. Brae is also home to one of two secondary schools in Shetland that serve all 6 years of Scottish secondary education, the other being in

. There are two pubs in Brae.

Etymology

''Brae'' is the Lowland Scots word for the slope or brow of a hill. The word 'Brae' in Shetland dialect has a different meaning; it may come from the Old Norse word ''breiðr'' meaning broad. The village may take its name from the broad isthmus between Sullom Voe and Busta Voe as opposed to the narrower one a little further west at

Mavis Grind Mavis Grind ( or ', meaning "gate of the narrow isthmus") is a narrow isthmus joining the Northmavine peninsula to the rest of the island of Mainland in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is just over 90 metres (295 ft) at its narrowest point. ...

. Alternatively the name may mean "a slope to the sea".

Notable people

Jonathan Sutherland Jonathan Sutherland (born 1977) is a Scotland, Scottish television presenter, television and radio presenter and producer, currently the main presenter of BBC Scotland's Sunday night ''Sportscene'' on BBC One Scotland. He occasionally hosts the ...

, television and radio broadcaster and main anchor of

Sportscene ''Sportscene'' is the name of a range of Scottish sports television programmes produced by BBC Scotland. History ''Sportscenes predecessors were ''Sports Special from Scotland'' and ''Sportsreel'', which was broadcast every Saturday at around ...

, is from Brae. Erraid Davies is a member of the

Delting Delting is a civil parish and List of community council areas in Scotland#Shetland, community council area on Mainland, Shetland, Mainland, Shetland, Scotland. It includes the Sullom Voe oil terminal and its main settlements are Brae, Mossbank, ...

Dolphins swimming club based in Brae, which claims to be "the most northerly active swimming club in the UK".

References

External links

Scotland - BraeCanmore - Brae Whaling Station and Jetty site recordCanmore - Busta Standing Stone site record
Villages in Mainland, Shetland Portages {{Shetland-geo-stub