📌 West Burra, Shetland Isles
★★★
Fugla Ness is the only land guarding Hamnavoe village from the full might of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s tenuously joined to the the rest of West Burra by an exceptionally rough causeway – comparing it to the infamous Chalamain Gap in the Cairngorms is no exaggeration. On a calm, sunny day the coastline between here and the tropical-looking Sand of Meal gives a beautiful clifftop walk; westerly gales bring their own wild appeal.
📷 Chronological photo guide
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at Sand of Meal, minor road 0.5 mi east of Hamnavoe, West Burra
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: HU 377355
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 60.102202,-1.323442
🚌 Bus to Hamnavoe, at a slightly different point on the route
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 5 km / 3 mi | ▲ 160 m | ⌛ 1.5-2 hr
Features: 🏠 Hamnavoe; 🏖️ Sand of Meal; 🌊 Fugla Ness
⬤ Tough | Good path to beach, then intermittent coastal paths. Access to Fugla Ness is over a long causeway covered with boulders, slippery when wet and not far above the high tide mark (omitting this lowers walk grade to ⬤ Moderate). Minor road return.
Download file for GPS➡️ Clockwise circuit: start – Sand of Meal – Lu Ness – Pundsar – Fugla Ness – Hamnavoe – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Shetland ponies, sheep; oystercatchers and other seabirds.
Weather: Cold and windy with low cloud and a little rain.
May 2014
