Foula
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| OS Name: | Foula |
|---|---|
| Shetland Name: | Foula |
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| UK Grid Reference: | HT960390 |
| Area (ha): | 1265 ha |
| Population: | 40 |
| Community Council: | |
| Ferry Services: | From Walls |
| Notes: | |
Foula, (Old Norse :Fuglaey = Birds Island ) is the most westerly of the Shetland islands. The island lies approximately 22km west of Walls, in the west Mainland, and makes a spectacular scene on the horizon as it rises from the sea in steep cliffs, on it's western side, the highest of these being Da Kame, at 370m, with the highest point on the island being Da Sneug, at 418m.
Foula is the UK's most remote permanently inhabited island and has been owned since the turn of the 20th Century by the Holbourn family. Previousle it was part of Vaila and Melby estates. The bleak, yet spectacular island lies on the same latitude as Saint Petersburg: Latitude 60° 08'N Longitude 02° 04'W.
The nearest settlement to Foula, on the Shetland Mainland, is Walls from where the ferry service operates. This ferry service is subject to frequent cancellations due to weather, especially in winter, and it is not uncommon for the island to be without a ferry for several weeks. However a regular air service operates from Tingwall Airport.
Simon Martin who stayed on the Isle of Foula for five years during his prolonged claim upon the wrecked Oceanic describes the island as follows:
"Foula, or Ultima Thule, as it was known as far back as the Roman times, rises impurely out of the water, and from the Shetland Isles mainland its five peaks, the Noup, Hamnafield, the Sneug, Kame and Soberlie stand out starkly and characteristically. The cliffs on the west side vie with those of St Kilda as the highest sheer cliffs in Britain, 1,200 foot of solid rock towering from the sea".
"Foula, or Fughley as it was once also known, means literally ‘Bird Island’, with an estimated half million birds of various breeds sharing the rock with the inhabitants. The island’s surface largely consisting of a peat bog on rock".
Foula remained on the Julian calendar when the rest of the United Kingdom adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752. Foula adhered to the Julian calendar by keeping 1800 as a leap year, but did not observe a leap year in 1900. As a result, Foula is now one day ahead of the Julian calendar and twelve days behind the Gregorian, observing Christmas Day on January 6 Gregorian and New Year on January 13 Gregorian.
The island was one of the last places in Shetland where Norn was used as a language, and the local dialect has a strong Norse influence. It was one of the significant sources for Dr. Jakob Jakobsen's dictionary of Shetland Norn.
Lying as it does some fifteen miles west of the Shetland Mainland, the island of Foula poses a major threat to shipping, as nearby is a hidden reef, the ‘Hoevdi Grund’ or the terrible Shaalds of Foula, a reef that comes to within a few feet of the surface, but which in calm weather gives no warning sign to the unwary mariner. The Shaalds lies just over two miles east of Foula between the island and the Mainland of Shetland. A lighthouse was built at the southern tip of the island in 1986 [1]. Originally powered by acetylene gas, it has been converted to solar and wind power.
Professor Ian B. S. Holbourn mentions in his book on the Isle of Foula the disaster of 25th August 1914, when RMS Oceanic collided with the Shaalds of Foula causing this great liner to become a wreck within two weeks. Holbourn's remarkable luck with steamship travel held through the following May, when he embarked upon the RMS Lusitania. The Holbourns of Foula are descended from John of Westby (Westbie), Lincolnshire who was the father John of Westby, Churchwarden of that village. The Professor's grandson Robert Holbourn, otherwise qualified in Naval Architecture (shipwright) acted as the island’s ‘Peet Marshal’ for many years. This valuable resource for heat and fuel has to be conserved. Peat cutting in Shetland requires a certain skill, taking several years to master, resources are not available to be wasted. Those most able islanders to become known as the ‘Cutters’ and in the spirit of a long standing Foula tradition all able bodied men are now and then ‘bid to the banks’ of women who ‘didn't have a cutter in the house.’ Today, the writer Isobel Holbourn continues the family link with the island, where she is secretary of Foula Heritage (see link below) and one of the island rangers.
Previously the Marec had grounded and wrecked on the 'Hoevdi Grund' on May 29th 1907. The Sampson was wrecked on the isle in November 1786, the Stag went aground on January 21st 1852, and the Teal Duck was wrecked at South Ness on the isle on March 5th 1899.
A number of vessels have also wrecked in Ham Voe on the isle, a list of which can be found on that page.
Ferries from the island sail from the main settlement of Ham to Walls and Scalloway on the Mainland, and flights head from Foula's airstrip to Tingwall. The island's main industries are sheep farming and tourism. In recent years 'rangers' have been appointed during the main tourist season to enhance the visitor experience by conducting guided tours of the island and its attractions.
See also
References
The Isle of Foula: A Series of Articles on Britain's Loneliest Inhabited Isle, Ian B. S. Holbourn (ISBN 1841581615)
Foula: Island West of the Sun, Sheila Gear
