Shetland - The Rough Guide to Scotland - page 573

ARRIVAL AND GETTING AROUND FETLAR

By ferry Ferries to Fetlar (Mon-Sat 7-9 daily; 25-40min)
depart regularly from both Gutcher (Yell) and Belmont (Unst),
and dock at Hamar's Ness, three miles northwest of Houbie.
By bus There's a Funzie to Fetlar ferry service (Mon-Sat 3
daily), and a dial-a-ride electric minibus service - to use it

you must book your journey the day before ( T 01595
745745).
By car If you do have your own vehicle, bear in mind that
there's no petrol station on Fetlar, so fill up before you come
across.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Aithbank Böd T 01595 694688, W camping-bods
.com. A cosy wood-panelled cottage, a mile east of
Houbie, with two rooms, sleeping a total o f se ven. Hot
water, kitchen, solid fuel stove. March-Oct. £10 /person
Fetlar Café T 01957 733227. The island's only café lives
inside the island shop/post o ce in Houbie. Cooked
breakfasts (Fridays only), soup and a few light snacks is all
you can hope for. Mon-Sat 11am-4pm.

Garths Campsite T 01957 733227. A simple camping field
just to the west of Houbie and a stone's throw fro m t he Sand of
Tresta, with toilets, showers and drying facilities. £7 /pitch
Gord T 01957 733227, E [e-mail].
The modern house attached to the island shop in Houbie is
also a B&B with great sea views from all the rooms. All
guests are full board onl y, and they do meals for non-
residents by arrangement. £100

Unst
While much of Unst is rolling grassland, the coast is more dramatic: a fringe of cliffs
relieved by some beautiful sandy beaches. As Britain's most northerly inhabited island,
there is a surfeit of “most northerly” sights. Most visitors head straight for Hermaness
to see the sea birds and look out over Muckle Flugga and the northernmost tip of
Britain, to the North Pole beyond.

16

Muness Castle
On the south coast of the island, not far from UYEASOUND , lie the ruins of Muness
Castle , a diminutive defensive structure, with matching bulging bastions and corbelled
turrets at opposite corners. he castle was built in 1598 by the Scots incomer, Laurence
Bruce, stepbrother and chief bullyboy of the infamous Earl Robert Stewart. he
inscription above the entrance asks visitors “not to hurt this vark aluayis”, but the castle
was sacked by Danish pirates in 1627 and never really re-roofed.

Baltasound
Unst's main settlement is BALTASOUND , five miles north of Uyeasound; its herring
industry used to boost the local population to around 10,000 during the fishing
season. As you leave Baltasound, heading north, take a look at Bobby's bus shelter
( W unstbusshelter.shetland.co.uk), an eccentric, fully furnished, award-winning
Shetland bus shelter on the edge of the town.

Keen of Hamar
he Keen of Hamar , east of Baltasound and clearly signposted from the main road, is
one of the largest expanses of serpentine debris in Europe and home to an
extraordinary array of plantlife. It's worth taking a walk on this barren, exposed, almost
lunar landscape that's thought to resemble what most of northern Europe looked like at
the end of the last ice age. Armed with an SNH leaflet (kept in a box by the stile), you
can identify some of the area's numerous rare and minuscule plants, including
Norwegian sandwort, frog orchid, moonwort and the mouse-eared Edmondston's
chickweed, which flowers in June and July and is found nowhere else in the world.

Haroldswick
Near the shore, at HAROLDSWICK , you'll find the Unst Boat Haven (May-Sept daily
11am-5pm; T 01957 711809; £3), displaying a beautifully presented collection of
historic boats along with many tools of the trade and information on fishing. If you