Yell Fetlar and Unst

Yell, the second largest of the Shetland islands, was described rather damningly by Shetland-born writer Eric Linklater as 'dull and dark'. And it's true that the interior is consistently desolate peat moorland. But the coastline is greener and more pleasant and provides an ideal habitat for the island's large otter population. Yell is also home to a rich variety of birds, and offers some good coastal and hill walks, especially around the rugged coastline of The Herra, a peninsula about half way up the west coast.

At Burravoe, about five miles east of the ferry terminal at Ulsta, is the Old Haa Museum, housed in Yell's oldest building which dates from 1672. It contains an interesting display on local flora and fauna and history. Info - Late Apr-Sep Tue-Thu and Sat 1000-1600, Sun 1400-1700. Free. Tel. 722339.

The island's largest village, Mid Yell, has a couple of shops, a pub and a leisure centre with a good swimming pool. About a mile northwest, on the hillside above the main road, are the reputedly haunted ruins of Windhouse, dating from 1707. To the north is the RSPB Lumbister Reserve, where red-throated divers, merlins, great and Arctic skuas and many other bird species come to breed. The reserve is also home to a large number of otters. A pleasant walk leads along the nearby steep and narrow gorge, known as the Daal of Lumbister, filled with many colourful flowers. The area to the north of the reserve provides good walking over remote moorland and coastline. The road continues north past the reserve and around Basta Voe, where you can see otters. North of Gutcher, the ferry port for Unst, is the village of Cullivoe, with some good walks along the attractive coastline.

Sleeping and eating

There's accommodation on Yell at Hillhead, Tel. 722274, in Burravoe; at Pinewood Guest House, Tel. 702427, in South Aywick, between Burravoe and Mid Yell; and at the friendly Post Office, Tel. 744201, in Gutcher. You can also stay at Windhouse Lodge, which is a camping böd below the ruins of haunted Windhouse. It's well-equipped and open Apr-Sep. Eating options are limited to the café in the Old Haa Museum, the Seaview Café in Gutcher, or the Hilltop Restaurant and Bar in Mid Yell.

Transport

There are frequent car and passenger ferries from Toft on North Mainland to Ulsta on the south coast of Yell. It's not essential, but a good idea to book in advance, Tel. 722259. Three buses daily (Mon-Fri; 2 on Sat, 1 on Sun) run between Lerwick and Toft (1 hr). There's a bus service on Yell which runs between Ulsta and Cullivoe and stops at villages in between, Tel. 744214.

===Fetlar=== Phone code: +44 (0)1957

Fetlar is the smallest of the North Isles but the most fertile, and known as 'the garden of Shetland'. Indeed, the name derives from Norse meaning 'fat land', as there is good grazing and croftland and a rich variety of plant and bird life. The whole island is good for birdwatching, but the prime place is the 1,700 acres of North Fetlar RSPB Reserve around Vord Hill (522 ft) in the north of the island. This area has restricted access during the summer months, and visitors should contact the warden at Bealance, Tel. 733246. The warden will also let you know if and when you can see the one or two female Snowy Owls which sometime visit.

The north cliffs of the reserve are home to large colonies of breeding seabirds, including auks, gulls and shags, and you can also see common and grey seals on the beaches in late autumn. Fetlar is home to one of Britain's rarest birds, the red-necked phalarope, which breeds in the loch near Funzie (pronounced 'finnie') in the east of the island. You can watch them from the RSPB hide in the nearby marshes. Red-throated divers and whimbrel also breed here. The island is also good for walking, and a leaflet describing some of the walks is available from the tourist office in Lerwick.

The main settlement on the island is Houbie; on the south coast. Here you'll see a house called Leagarth, which was built by the island's most famous son, Sir William Watson Cheyne, who with Lord Lister pioneered antiseptic surgery. Nearby is the excellent Fetlar Interpretive Centre which presents the island's history and gives information on its bounteous birdlife. Info - May-Sep Tue-Sun 1200-1700. Free.

Sleeping and eating

There's B&B at The Gord, Tel. 733227, in Houbie, and at The Glebe, Tel. 733242, a lovely old house overlooking Papil Water. You can also camp at Gerth's Campsite, Tel. 733227, which overlooks the beach at Tresta and has good facilities.

Transport

There are regular car and passenger ferries between Oddsta in the northwest of the island and Gutcher on Yell and Belmont on Unst. There's a post car service which runs around the island from the ferry once a day on Mon, Wed and Fri, Tel. 733227.

===Unst=== Phone code: +44 (0)1957

Unst is the most northerly inhabited island in Britain, but there is more to the island than its many 'most northerly' attractions. It is scenically one of the most varied of the Shetland islands, with spectacular cliffs, sea stacks, sheltered inlets, sandy beaches, heather-clad hills, fertile farmland, freshwater lochs and even a sub-arctic desert. Such a variety of habitats supports over 400 plant species and a rich variety of wildlife. Unst is a major breeding site for gannets, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, shags, Arctic and great skuas and whimbrels, amongst others, and in the surrounding waters you can see seals, porpoises, otters and even killer whales.

In the east of the island, north of Baltasound, is the Keen of Hamar National Nature Reserve, 74 acres of serpentine rock which breaks into tiny fragments known as 'debris', giving the landscape a strange, lunar-like appearance. This bleak 'desert' is actually home to some of the rarest plants in Britain. Baltasound is the island's main settlement, with an airport, hotel, pub, post office, leisure centre with pool and Britain's most northerly brewery, the Valhalla Brewery which can be visited by appointment, Tel. 711348.

To the north of here is the village of Haroldswick, home of Britain's most northerly post office, where your postcards are sent with a special stamp to inform everyone of this fact. Here also is Unst Boat Haven, where you can see a beautifully presented collection of traditional boats and fishing artefacts. Info - May-Sep daily 1400-1700. Free. A little way further north is the Unst Heritage Centre, which has a museum of local history and island life. Info - Same opening hours as Boat Haven and also free. Nearby is an RAF radar-tracking station at Saxa Vord. The road ends at Skaw, where there's a lovely beach and Britain's most northerly house. The road northwest from Haroldswick leads to the head of Burra Firth, a sea inlet flanked by high cliffs, and site of Britain's most northerly golf course.

To the west of Burra Firth is the remote Hermaness National Nature Reserve, 2,422 acres of dramatic coastal scenery and wild moorland which is home to over 100,000 nesting seabirds including gannets, and the largest number of puffins and great skuas (or 'bonxies') in Shetland. There's an excellent visitor centre in the former lighthouse keeper's shore station, where you can pick up a leaflet which shows the marked route into the reserve, and see the artistic efforts of many of Unst's children. Whilst in the reserve, make sure you keep to the marked paths to avoid being attacked by bonxies: they are highly protective and rest assured that they will attack if they think that their territory is being threatened. Info - 0830-1800. Tel. 711278 daily late Apr to mid-Sep.

The views from Hermaness are wonderful, out to the offshore stacks and skerries including Muckle Flugga, and then to the wide open north Atlantic ocean. Muckle Flugga is the site of the most northerly lighthouse in Britain, built in 1857-58 by Thomas Stevenson, father of Robert Louis Stevenson. The writer visited the island in 1869, and the illustrated map in his novel Treasure Island bears a striking similarity to the outline of Unst. Beyond the lighthouse is Out Stack, which marks the most northerly point on the British Isles. With nothing between you and the North Pole but water, this is the place to sit and contemplate what it feels like to be at the end of the world.

Sleeping and eating

There's a decent selection of accommodation on Unst. Top choice has to be Buness House, Tel. 711315, Buness House a lovely old 17th-century Haa in Baltasound. Staying here is a bizarre and rather surreal experience, given that you are on the most northerly island in Britain. The house is crammed full of Indian Raj relics, and the stuffed eagle, tiger and leopard skins hanging in the hallway are a wildlife close-up almost as impressive, though considerably more unsettling and un-'PC', as the Hermaness Nature Reserve in the north of the island that the family own. The food is excellent and the accommodation comfortable. Another good place is Prestegaard, Tel. 755234, a Victorian house at Uyeasound on the south coast near the ferry. Also in Baltasound are the Cligera Guest House, Tel. 711579; and the independent Gardiesfauld Hostel, Tel. 755259; open Apr-Sep, which also hires bikes.

There's also B&B in Haroldswick at Gerratoun, Tel. 711323. Eating options are limited, though all the B&Bs serve evening meals on request. The Baltasound Hotel, Tel. 711334, serves meals and drinks to non-residents.

Transport

There are regular car and passenger ferries to Belmont from Gutcher on Yell. Booking is advised, Tel. 722259. There's an island bus service which runs a few times daily (except Sun) between Baltasound, Belmont and Haroldswick, Tel. 711666.

Yell Fetlar and Unst

Contents