VisitShetland

Burra and Trondra

Burra and Trondra Isles

At Burland on Trondra the Shetland Croft Trail is a wonderful place for children to see old Shetland breeds of livestock and learn about crofting history and traditional crafts such as boatbuilding.

The Burra Bridge leads to the pretty fishing village of Hamnavoe, with a lovely coastal walk out to the lighthouse on Fugla Ness and along the Sands of Meal, one of Shetland's finest beaches and a favourite picnic spot (with convenient car park).

At the south end of West Burra the roofless kirk of St Laurence at Papil is famous for three early Christian carved stones found in the graveyard. Two of the original stones and a replica of the Monks' Stone are on show at the Shetland Museum in Lerwick. At Duncansclate there's a fine example of an old croft house with a thatched chimney.

A footpath from the car park leads down to the Atlantic storm beach of Banna Minn and on to Kettla Ness, a wild headland with seals and colonies of Arctic Skuas and Arctic terns (please keep to the edge of the nesting grounds - if you disturb these birds they will probably desert their nests).

Lobster Creels, Hamnavoe

On an islet next to the bridge between East and West Burra is the Outdoor Centre, a former school now used as a hostel, ideally situated for Kayaking, walking and nature study holidays. The short turf on Burra's rocky hills and shores makes perfect hiking country. A walk up to the reservoir on East Burra, past a seven-foot-high standing stone, gives one of the best panoramas of the islands. Beyond the hamlet of Houss lies Houss Ness, a promontory with more good walking, rock scenery, seabirds and seals. And, wherever you walk or drive in Burra, there's always that mysterious and dramatic silhouette of the isle of Foula, out on the Atlantic horizon.

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