VisitShetland

Exploring Fetlar

Exploring 'The Garden'

At 15 square miles (38km²) Fetlar is surprisingly big - Shetland's fourth largest island after Mainland, Yell and Unst, so you can't begin to explore it all in a day. Some people have been taking vacations here for years and have still not seen everything!

There's a choice of good places to stay in Fetlar, whether B&B or self-catering - details from Visit Shetland.

Here are a few of highlights for your visit to 'The Garden of Shetland':

• The Fetlar Interpretive Centre and museum at the Beach of Houbie is an essential part of a visit to the island. Admission is free and it's open daily from May to the end of September, Mon-Fri 11am-3pm, Sat & Sun 1pm-4pm. Here visitors can enjoy informative displays and multi-media presentations on the birds and other wildlife, wild flowers and the island's geology, archaeology and history. Visitors can browse albums of old photographs, listen to recordings of local history, folklore and music, and see film of the island dating back to the 1930s. Information is also available in French, German and Italian. The centre includes displays on Brough Lodge and Leagarth House.
• Brough Lodge was built around 1820 for the Nicolson family of lairds. Close to the house (and sitting prominently on the site of an Iron Age broch!) is a rare Shetland example of a Victorian folly. At one time Sir Arthur Nicolson used the tower as an astronomical observatory. He built another folly in Fetlar - the Round House at Gruting.
• Leagarth House was built in 1900 by Sir William Watson Cheyne, a Fetlar man who became Lord Lister's assistant in his pioneering work on antiseptic surgery in the late l9th century, and later a prominent surgeon in his own right.
• Aithbank is a more modest dwelling, the former home of the late Jamesie Laurenson, a crofter of prodigious strength and an amazing fund of local lore and history. Most of his voluminous unpublished papers have been lost but many of his folk tales were recorded and preserved by his friend the late Bobby Tulloch of Mid Yell - including Jamesie's dramatic version of a famous legend of 'The Eagle and the Baby'.
• Finnigert Dyke is probably Fetlar's oldest surviving man made structure - a large stone wall dating from the Bronze Age. It runs north-south and divides the island in two. Large sections are still clearly visible, although much is in ruins.
• Da Haltadans, close by, is an ancient ring of stones. Legend has it that the two rocks in the middle are a fiddler and his wife - they were entertaining a group of trows (trolls) dancing in a circle when the sun came up and turned them all to stone.
• The Giant's Grave, just off the road to Aith, was recently confirmed by the Time Team TV show as a Viking boat burial. It's one of the most remarkable recent archaeological finds in Shetland and the outline of the boat is clearly visible.
• Not far away, a standing stone known as the Stone of the Ripples can be seen if you look down into Leagarth Gardens from the road between Houbie and the Community Hall.
• Tresta Beach on the west side of the island is a noted beauty spot - a glorious stretch of sand which you'll probably have all to yourself.
• Lambhoga is the great headland to the south of Tresta, where islanders once worked their peats and carted them home by pack ponies. It's a longish but quite wonderful walk - with thousands of Puffins nesting between late April and early August.
• Urie on the north-east coast has the ruins of a 17th century laird's house and pier and is a good place to see seals and Otters.
• Da Clett is a magnificent sea stack on the north coast where, from a boat, you can get a fine view of 'wheel' flights by thousands of Puffins'.
• Nearby, 'Da Blue Banks' have fine exposures of soapstone and serpentine above boulder beaches where the Grey Seals give birth to their pups in early winter.
• Gruting in the north-east has grand cliffs and sandy, secluded beaches.
• There are more good beaches near Brough Lodge on the west coast near the ferry terminal and at Funzie on the east.

Advertising Feature

2008 Wildlife Holidays In Shetland

Shetland offers the best wildlife-watching in Scotland - FACT.

Over a million breeding seabirds, the highest density of Otters in Europe, regular sightings of Killer Whales and superb displays of rare sub-arctic flora. Our award-winning holidays offer everything from fully guided wildlife weeks and long weekends, dedicated birdwatching holidays plus photographic, walking and insight holidays.

Visit our extensive website www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk or call Shetland Wildlife on 01950 422483 for a choice of over 30 holidays!

Feature

Swan Trips 2008

Enjoy a trip on the Swan this summer and experience the world of a resilient vessel restored to glory. Join a crew who love the sea, and be part of a learning experience!

Find out more

Sunday Times article

Feature

Focus on Wildlife - Spring 2008

Fair Isle is famous in spring for its huge seabird colonies and rare migrants. Shetland birder Hugh Harrop is your expert guide on the ‘Mecca’ of British birding…

Read more

Feature

White Nights

'White Nights', Ann Cleeves' sequel to her award-winning 'Raven Black', has now been published.  Don't miss a reading and signing from Ann in the Lerwick tourist office, Market Cross at 11.30am on Saturday 17th May.

Feature

21st Century Shetland Travelogue

'Between Weathers', the new Shetland Travelogue will be launched in Lerwick on 6th June 2008... 

 

 

Read more

News

Shetland's First Ever Festival of Nature

Organisers of Shetland’s first ever Festival of Nature, to be piloted from 4th to 12th July 2008, are calling on local businesses...

Read full Press Release (pdf)

More information

View all news stories