Fair Isle

island at the south of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK

Key facts

Old norse name: Friðarøy /Friðarey
Meaning of name: in English misunderstood as "fair island" or possibly "far-off isle" or "sheep isle". The Norse origin Friðarey means literally "calm/peaceful isle" or "island ( ey ) of tranquility ( frið(u)r )".
Os grid reference: HZ209717
Island group: Shetland
Area: 768 ha (1,900 acres)
Highest elevation: Ward Hill 217 m (712 ft)
Council area: Shetland Islands Council
Country: Scotland
Sovereign state: United Kingdom
Population density: 5.7/km (15/sq mi)
Largest settlement: Stonybreck
Coordinates: 59°33′08″N 1°36′34″W / 59.552142°N 1.609519°W / 59.552142; -1.609519
Designed by: David Alan Stevenson , Charles Alexander Stevenson
Construction: masonry tower
Height: 14 m (46 ft)
Shape: cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings: white tower, black lantern, ochre trim
Operator: Northern Lighthouse Board

via Wikipedia infobox

Official website

Fair Isle | National Trust for Scotland

The most remote inhabited island in the UK, famed for its seabirds and fabulous knitwear

nts.org.uk →

Link to the official site · 14,060 chars · not written by Vinony

~20 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Fair Isle (/ˌfɛər ˈaɪl/ fair EYEL; Old Norse: Friðarey) is the southernmost of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is situated at the approximate midpoint between the southern tip of Mainland, Shetland; and North Ronaldsay, the northernmost of the Orkney Islands; in an area bordering the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean known as the Fair Isle Gap.

As the most remote inhabited island in the United Kingdom, Fair Isle is known for its wild bird observatory, historic shipwrecks, Scottish and Shetland-style traditional music, and its traditional style of knitting, also called "Fair Isle". The island has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1954.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Fair Isle” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.