Daal of Lumbister

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The Daal of Lumbister is a gorge in the North West of Yell that was created by a Meltwater Channel during the ice age (www.fettes.com, 2007). This happens when water flows under, along or in front of an ice sheet. At the height of the summer, the Daal of Lumbister is covered in a colourful array of wildflowers.

Lumbister is an RSPB bird reserve covering an area of 4000 acres of blanklet bog and heather moorland where birds such as Red Throated Divers, Artic and Great Skuas, Merlins, Golden Plover, Curlew, Snipe, Dunlin, Twite, Whimbrel, Eider Duck and the Red-Breasted Merganser can be seen. A large number of otters breed in this area (www.geo.ed.ac.uk).

Up from the south west corner of the Lumbister Loch lies the ruins of a settlement of crofthouses. Down towards the burn is the remains of a watermill.

Going towards the Daal of Lumbister from the remains of the houses there is sheep pen. To the east of this there is a stone alignment of 3 parallel rows of small boulders, crossed by a row of large boulders.