| Old Norse name | Fætilar[1] |
|---|---|
| Meaning of name | Unclear |
 | |
| Location | |
  Fetlar Fetlar shown within Shetland | |
| OS grid reference | HU620919 |
| Coordinates | 60°36′N0°52′W / 60.60°N 0.87°W /60.60; -0.87 |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Shetland |
| Area | 4,078 ha (15+3⁄4 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 25 [2] |
| Highest elevation | Vord Hill 158 m (518 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Council area | Shetland Islands |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 66[3] |
| Population rank | 50 [2] |
| Population density | 1.6/km2 (4.1/sq mi)[3][4] |
| Largest settlement | Houbie |
 | |
| References | [4][5] |
Fetlar is one of theNorth Isles ofShetland,Scotland, with a usually resident population of 61 at the time of the 2011 census[6] and 66 in 2022.[3] Its main settlement isHoubie on the south coast, home to the Fetlar Interpretive Centre. Other settlements includeAith,Funzie,Herra andTresta. Fetlar is the fourth-largest island of Shetland and has an area of just over 4,000 ha (9,900 acres).
There are three island names inShetland of unknown and possibly pre-Celtic origin: Fetlar, Unst and Yell. The earliest recorded forms of these three names do carry Norse meanings:Fetlar is the plural offetill and means "shoulder-straps",Omstr is "corn-stack", andí Ála is fromál meaning "deep furrow". However, these descriptions are hardly obvious ones as island names, and are probably adaptations of a pre-Norse language.[7][8] This may have beenPictish but there is no clear evidence for this.[9][10] Haswell-Smith suggests a meaning of "prosperous land"[4] and that the island's name may mean "two islands strapped together" by the Funzie Girt. It was recorded as "Fötilør" in 1490,[11] and as "Pheodor Oy" in 1654.[12]
One of the strange features of Fetlar is a huge wall that goes across the island known as theFunzie Girt or Finnigirt Dyke.[13] It is thought to date from theMesolithic period. So sharp was the division between the two halves of the island that the Norse talked of East and West Isle separately.[4]
Another attraction on the island is the GothicBrough Lodge, built by Arthur Nicolson in about 1820, and which is undergoing restoration by the Brough Lodge Trust.[14] The Fetlarsheepdog trials take place annually, normally in July. The Fetlar Foy, once very popular with Shetlanders and tourists alike, took place at midsummer on the Links at Tresta where folk were entertained with music, food and drink.[15]
Its most famous son wasSir William Watson Cheyne Bt FRS FRCS, a close associate ofLord Lister and one of the pioneers ofantiseptics. He was professor of surgery atKing's College London, President of theRoyal College of Surgeons of England and wrote many books on medical treatments. He was made a baronet for services to medicine in 1908, and later was an MP—first for theUniversities of Edinburgh and St Andrews, and then for theCombined Scottish Universities—between 1917 and 1922. He was lord-lieutenant of the Shetland Islands from 1919 to 1930. Cheyne died on 19 April 1932.
Fetlar was home to theSociety of Our Lady of the Isles, an Anglican religious order for women, until it moved toUnst in 2015.
The island has a long tradition of fishing. According toGuinness World Records, in August 2012 what was then the oldestmessage in a bottle, released in June 1914, was found by Andrew Leaper, skipper of theCopious, coincidentally the same fishing vessel involved in a previous record recovery in 2006. The bottle, and Mr Leaper's World Record certificate, have been donated to the Fetlar Interpretative Centre.[16] Fetlar also has an international selection of shipwrecks includingDanish,Dutch,German,English andSoviet vessels.[4]
Fetlar has a very complex geology, includinggneiss in the west,metamorphosedgabbro andphyllite, andkaolin. There is alsoantigorite andsteatite here.Talc was mined here.[4] The east of the island is part of the Shetlandophiolite complex (a section of the Earth'soceanic crust and the underlyingupper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed above sea level).
Fetlar is surrounded by a number of small islands, particularly in the sound between it and Unst. These include to the north:Daaey,Haaf Gruney,Sound Gruney,Urie Lingey andUyea; and to the west:Hascosay andLinga.
It is separated from Hascosay andYell byColgrave Sound. Much further to the south are theOut Skerries andWhalsay.
Fetlar's wildlife is as varied as its geology. For example, over two hundred species of wild flower have been identified here.[4] The island is known as "The Garden of Shetland", due to its highly fertile soil.[11]
The northern part of Fetlar is aRSPB reserve, home to several important breeding species includingArctic skuas andEurasian whimbrels. The Lamb Hoga peninsula and nearby Haaf Gruney have some of the largest colonies ofEuropean storm petrel.[4] In total the island supports 20,000 individual seabirds, including nationally important populations ofArctic skua,Northern fulmar,great skua,Arctic tern andred-necked phalarope.[17] Of greatest importance are red-necked phalaropes, for which theLoch of Funzie is the most important breeding site in theUnited Kingdom, and for a while during the 1990s was the only breeding site in the country. A pair ofsnowy owls famously bred here in the 1960s and early 1970s.[18] They lasted until the 1980s before disappearing. However, a snowy owl was spotted on Fetlar in October 2018.[19] Most of the island, with some adjacent islets, has been designated anImportant Bird Area (IBA) byBirdLife International.[20]
Fetlar, and the seas around it, hold several overlappingconservation designations:
Ferries sail daily fromHamars Ness on Fetlar toGutcher on Yell, and toBelmont on Unst. A new breakwater and berthing facility was added at Hamars Ness, and was officially opened on 1 December 2012.[24]
There is a communications tower on Fetlar at: 60°36'5.39"N, 0°55'35.44"W. Fetlar is "Under Evaluation" for superfast broadband according to Digital Scotland.[25]
Fetlar has a smallairstrip with a gravel runway. There are no longer scheduled air services to the island.[26]
Fetlar Developments Ltd (FDL), a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, was set up by the community to counter the depopulation of the island, which had fallen to just 48 in early 2009, when the 2001 total had been 86.[27] The development company continue to work towards securing a sustainable future for the island both socially and economically.
Work to install three wind turbines in aCommunity wind energy project began in December 2015.[28]
In the 2022 census, 63.6% of Fetlar's residents were recorded as born in England, higher than any other area in Shetland.[29] 77.2% of residents were recorded as aged 50 or above.[30][31]
In 2009 there were 3 primary pupils and 1 nursery pupil at Fetlar primary school, situated at Baela near Houbie.[32]
The school was reported as having been mothballed in 2022 after its last student left and no new students were expected to join in the following academic year.[33]
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