Fetlar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Scottish Island of
Fetlar |
|
|---|---|
| Location | |
| OS grid reference: | HU620919 |
| Names | |
| Gaelic or Celtic name: | Unknown |
| Norse name: | Fetlar |
| Meaning of name: | 'propserous land' |
| Area and Summit | |
| Area: | 4,078 ha |
| Area rank if >40 ha: | 25 |
| Highest elevation: | Vord Hill 158 m |
| Population | |
| Population: | 86 |
| Population rank: | 46 out of 89 |
| Main settlement: | Houbie |
| Groupings | |
| Island Group: | Shetland |
| Local Authority: | Shetland Islands |
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| References: | [1][2][3] |
Fetlar is one of the North Isles of Shetland, Scotland, with a population of about 60 people. Its main settlement is Hubie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Fetlar is the fourth largest island of the Shetlands and has an area of sixteen square miles.
The northern part of Fetlar is a RSPB reserve, home to several important breeding species including Arctic Skuas and Whimbrels. 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, they lasted until the 1980s but are no longer present.
Another attraction on the island is Brough Lodge, built by Arthur Nicolson in the 1840s.
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 Kings College London, President of the Royal College of Surgeons 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.
Ferries sail from Hamars Ness on Fetlar to Gutcher on Yell and Belmont on Unst.
[edit] References
- ^ 2001 UK Census per List of islands of Scotland
- ^ Haswell-Smith, Hamish. (2004) The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh. Canongate.
- ^ Ordnance Survey
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