Getting around Burra

Burra

Burra is the collective name for two islands; East and West Burra, joined together by a short bridge. Borgarey is the Old Norse name for Burra, which means Island of the Broch. There used to be a broch, at a place now called Brough, on West Burra, not far south of the Burra Bridge.

Hamnavoe is the main settlement on Burra and a fishing village named for the sheltered harbour it overlooks – Hamna Voe – meaning safe harbour in Old Norse.

It is sheltered from the North Atlantic by the Hurds (a hurd is a large boulder), on the rocky strip of Fugla Ness https://sobt.co.uk/walk-fugla-ness/ with the lighthouse at its north end.

Burra is an ideal base for a Shetland holiday being fairly central located. It is close to both the main towns of Lerwick and Scalloway and yet definitely away from the hustle and bustle!

Da Crö is a quiet hilltop location at Branchiclate with great coastal views. Branchiclate was originally Brandsiclett. In old Shetland dialect clett meant rock or stone and Brandsi was the name of a person who lived here hundreds of years ago. So this was originally Brandsi’s rock.

The local shop, the pier and marina and some great coast scenery are all within easy walking distance.

The pier has a slipway making it easy to launch a small boat or kayak.

The local fishermen often have seals following their boats in to the pier. The seals know there is the chance of a free fishy feed!

If you go down to the pier you may get up close with the seals.

You can get petrol and diesel from Burra Motor Repairs garage at the Burra bridge.

Coastal walks around Burra

There are some great walks nearby.

A very popular walk is out to the lighthouse. This is just over 0.5 mile from Da Crö. There is no real path and there are clumps of boulders (the Hurds) to get through but it is reasonably straightforward. On your way out to the lighthouse you will pass a clump of stones, marked with a white X on the maps below.

These are the ruins of what was a replica of a Pictish wheelhouse that was built in1964 by the local school. It was used for a re-enactment of a Viking raid played out by the schoolchildren with a local Shetland model boat converted into a Viking galley. The school won a Saltire award for the project and The John W Oliver trophy.

This was also the site of George Cooper's herring station in the 1890's. Sail fishing boats would land herring here to be gutted by teams of women and packed into barrels with salt. Salt herring and tatties was a very common winter meal back then.

Seals will often be lying on the rocks near here and you may see an occasional otter popping it's head out of the water.

From Da Crö to the lighthouse. (approx. 0.5 mile)

The remains of the Pictish wheelhouse.

A suggested walk taking in the lighthouse, Biargar, Urmalie, Peerie sand and Meal sand. (approx. 2.5 miles)

Uninhabited islands and sandy beaches

The islands to the north of the lighthouse, Oxna, Papa, The Cheynies and Hildasay are all uninhabited now but people were still living there until the early 1900’s.

There are 3 lovely beaches very near to Da Crö. A few minutes away from Da Crö is Urmalie, a beach of smooth rounded stones. A short walk further on are two sandy beaches.

You will come to the Peerie (small) sand first and next to it is the Meal sand, a glorious white sand beach with turquoise coloured water.

Meal sand, in particular, is popular with wild swimmers but quite often you will have these beaches all to yourself.

https://www.shetland.org/visit/do/outdoors/walk/hamnavoe-circular

Urmalie

Peerie sand

Meal sand

The Smuggler's cave

Another short walk from Da Crö is to the Smugglers Cave. The rocks can be very slippery inside here, so be careful and wear good non-slip boots. Bring a torch!

https://shetlandwithlaurie.com/the-blog/a-walk-to-the-smugglers-cave

You mustn't miss Minn!

The Minn sand, at the south end of West Burra is another lovely sandy beach. It runs along the shore of Bannaminn, or Bananaminn as the kids have painted it on the Hamnavoe nursery wall.

It's the perfect place for a stroll, a swim or a picnic.

This area has been used before in the Shetland detective series. On the far side of the sand are the ruins of croft houses, some of which were still occupied in the early 1900’s.

Kettla Ness and Houss Ness

South of Minn there is the headland of Kettla Ness. This is an excellent coastal walk with some stunning cliff scenery on the west side.

On East Burra the walk around Houss Ness is also worthwhile.

Stunning view's from Yaa Field.

Half a mile southeast along the road from the Bridge End Outdoor Centre you will come to a junction marked East Hogaland. If you turn here and follow the road another half mile you will come to the bottom of a steep hill. Follow the road to the top. This is Yaa Field, where the old pumping station for Burra's water used to be. You will be rewarded with magnificent views looking out over almost the whole of Burra, south to Fitul Head, out west to Foula and north out over the west mainland and beyond.

Where can I go on Burra?

Some of the places and business you may want to visit on Burra are here.

The Shetland Pony Experience https://www.theshetlandponyexperience.com/ is a family run business based near Minn beach where "you can get up close and personal with the world famous Shetland ponies in Shetland."

Gadda https://www.gaada.org/ is "an artist-led social enterprise which exists to nourish a world-class ecosystem of inclusive artistic activity in Shetland."

The Bridge-End Outdoor Centre https://www.bridgeendoutdoors.com/ is a very scenic location at the small bridge that joins the two islands. It is a popular base for kayakers. It has space for camping and caravans with an adjacent marina.

Burra Bears https://www.burrabears.co.uk/ is a craft shop that makes Shetland teddy bears from old Fair Isle jumpers.

It's said that The Outpost https://www.facebook.com/TheOutpostShetlandIslands/ https://www.shetland.org/blog/wallabies-in-shetland-a-surprising-attraction is East Burra's best kept secret. This family run farm has wallabies, kunekune pigs, emus and a lot more. There is an annual Pigstock Festival "A day-long festival of music, entertainment, games and prizes for the whole family — for free."

Donna Smith designs https://www.donnasmithdesigns.co.uk/ is where you can view some of Donna's amazing knitwear and buy Langsoond 100% Shetland wool. Some of her Shetland wool has come from sheep on our croft!

Moder Dy https://www.moderdy.org/ "We are a not for profit community interest company that works to increase awareness of Shetland's eroding coastal maritime heritage through our co-created community projects.

The ruined St. Laurence church at the Papil cemetery is where the Papil stone and Monks stone were found. The church is built on the site of a much older church believed to date from Pictish times.

A replica of the Papil stone is at the church and the Monks stone is in the Shetland museum. https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20170903011917/http://www.paparproject.org.uk/shetland9.html

Exploring West Burra https://www.shetland.org/blog/local-exploring-west-burra

Northlink Ferries also have this link to Burra here https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/shetland-blog/trondra-and-east-and-west-burra/