Fetlar Island in the Shetland Island Group

Fetlar is the fourth largest of the Shetland Isles in the north of Scotland and is approximately seven miles long by four miles wide. The island has a population of about 100 which is rather low in comparison with the other Shetland islands. The ro-ro ferry crosses frequently from Gutcher, in Yell, and daily from Belmont in Unst; the trip takes 25 minutes. For bookings contact Burravoe 722259. Remember you cannot buy petrol on Fetlar but there is a well-stocked shop where you can also have a cup of tea. The Fetlar community site is a good resource of information about the island.

Although Fetlar lies on roughly the same latitude as Seward in Alaska, the southern tip of Greenland, St. Petersburg, Russia, and the Central Siberian Plateau, the climate is not nearly as bad as you might think. Mild winters usually have very little frost and snow, the summers are not overly hot, they can be very pleasantly warm. There is one element Fetlar gets rather a lot of however - wind! In winter, calm days can be quite rare.

And for a place lying just north of 60 degrees latitude north, Fetlar is remarkably fertile. Fetlar has been called The Garden of Shetland due to its fine growing soil; everything grows just a little bit better on Fetlar.

S.O.L.I. (Society of a Lady of the Isles) is the most northerly religious community in Britain and was started by Sister Agnes, an Anglican Franciscan, in 1984 at Aith Ness. Sister Agnes (now Mother Mary Agnes) was ordained a deacon in 1997 and then ordained as priest in 1998. There is now a sister from S.O.L.I. living in Rousay, Orkney.

There are more natural arches, per mile of coastline, than anywhere else in Shetland. Three hundred species of flowering plant grow on the island; some of the rarest, in Shetland terms, are members of the sedge family, with water sedge at Papil Water. Common and grey seals can be seen along the coast, and otters haunt the shoreline between Brough Lodge and Urie. There are unusual sandy yellow coloured specimens among the island's rabbit population. The Shetland Wildlife Tour to the island is a great way to see the more wild residents of the island.

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