Old Photograph Crofter Carding Wool Scotland

Old photograph of a Crofter carding wool in a cottage on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. For carding, the wool was put between two flat boards with wire teeth which were scraped together. It was tiring work and the women’s wrists and arms would often ache. In the days before the spinning wheel was introduced, a spindle and whorl were used; merely a rod thrust into a disc of wood. The task was laborious, but being repetitive was often combined with other chores, like the herding of cattle or sheep.



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Old Photograph Scottish Islands Harbour Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of a Scottish Islands Harbour on Shetland, Scotland.

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Old Photographs Lerwick Shetland Islands Scotland

Old photograph of Lerwick, on the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Lerwick is a name with roots in Old Norse and its local descendant, Norn, which was spoken in Shetland until the mid 19th century. The name "Lerwick" means bay of clay. The corresponding Norwegian name is Leirvik, leir meaning clay and vik meaning " bay " or " inlet ". Towns with similar names exist in south western Norway (Leirvik) and on the Faroe Islands as well. Evidence of human settlement in the Lerwick area dates back 3,000 years, centred around the Broch of Clickimin, which was constructed in the first century BC.



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Old Photograph Harbour Lerwick Scotland

Old photograph of fishermen by the harbour at Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland. The crews of Dutch herring boats found the rich fishing grounds off Shetland in the 17th century and gathered each summer in the sheltered waters of Bressay Sound, coming ashore at the bay at Lerwick where initially a seasonal settlement grow up. Fishing in various forms would dominate the life of the community for hundreds of years and today the modern industry is still a cornerstone of the way of life.



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Old Photographs Lerwick Shetland Islands Scotland

Old photograph of Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland. The first settlement to be known as Lerwick was founded in the 17th century as a herring and white fish seaport to trade with the Dutch fishing fleet. This settlement was on the mainland, the west side of Bressay Sound, a natural harbour with south and north entrances between the Shetland mainland and the island of Bressay.



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Old Photograph Knitter Shetland Islands Scotland

Old photograph of a traditional knitter of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. A woman on Shetland carrying peats whilst knitting at the same time.

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Old Photograph Fishing Boat Lerwick Scotland

Old photograph of a fishing boat and fishermen in the harbour in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland. Fishing in various forms would dominate the life of the community in Lerwick for hundreds of years and today the modern industry is still a cornerstone of the way of life.



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Old Photograph Coastal Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of a rock arch and small fishing boat on the coast of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Enormous waves crash into the shores of these islands, wearing away great chunks of rock and creating the massive cliffs, with their caves, rock arches and inlets that are so much a feature of the Shetland coast.



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Old Photograph Peat Turning Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of Peat Turning on the Shetland Islands of Scotland. When the peat turner thinks the peat is ready, then the peat are turned for drying, exposing their wet undersides.

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Old Photograph Muckle Flugga Lighthouse Scotland

Old photograph of Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, north of Unst in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Muckle Flugga, a small rocky island, is home to the Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, built by Thomas and David Stevenson in 1854, originally to protect ships during the Crimean War.

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Tour Scotland Photograph Scousburgh Beach Shetland Islands

Tour Scotland photograph of Scousburgh Beach, Shetland Islands, Scotland. From Scousburgh a road leads up the hill to the site of the former Mossy Hill army base. This road has a connection to Scousburgh Hill the site of the now redundant trans horizon transmission dishes. From there another road leads down to the A970 on the east side of the Hill.



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Tour Scotland Shetland Islands Slideshow

Tour Scotland Shetland Islands Slideshow.

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Shetland is closer to the Arctic Circle than to London and was ruled by Norway for over 800 years, longer than it has been part of Scotland. This guide aims to trace the history, landscape and nature of Shetland. It presents maps, colour photographs and drawings and text to describe this dynamic mix of land, sea, life and legend. Shetland: Island Guide (Colin Baxter Island Guides).

Old Photograph Shetland Knitters Scotland

Old photograph of Knitters on the Shetland Islands, Scotland.



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Old Photographs Up Helly Aa Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of Up Helly Aa procession, Shetland, Scotland. The first Viking galley was burned in 1889. At this festival there is a main guizer who is dubbed the "Jarl". The procession culminates in torches being thrown into a replica Viking longship or galley. The event happens all over Shetland, but it is only the Lerwick galley which is not sent seaward. Everywhere else, the galley is sent seabound, in an echo of legendary Viking sea burials.

Old photograph of Up Helly Aa procession, Shetland, Scotland.

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Old Photograph Walls Scotland

Old photograph of Walls, Shetland, Scotland. A village on the south side of West Mainland, Shetland Islands, at the head of Vaila Sound and sheltered even from southerly storms by the islands of Linga and Vaila.



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Old Photograph Mid Yell Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of Mid Yell, Shetland Islands, Scotland. A coastal settlement on the island of Yell, the second largest of the Shetland Islands. Mid Yell, is the largest settlement on the island of Yell, it is located at the head of Mid Yell Voe.



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Old Photographs Hoswick Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of cottages and people in Hoswick, Shetland Islands, Scotland. A small township in the Shetland Islands, located thirteen miles south of Lerwick in the South Mainland. At Hoswick there is a knitwear factory which also has a small shop. Hoswick also has a visitors' centre and cafe.





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Old Photographs Ulsta Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of houses and harbour in Ulsta, Yell, Shetland Islands, Scotland. A village in the south west of the island of Yell, Shetland, Scotland. The car ferry to Toft on Mainland, Shetland leaves from here.





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Old Photograph Vidlin Shetland Scotland

Old photograph of Vidlin, Shetland Islands, Scotland. This small village is located at the head of Vidlin Voe, and is the modern heart of the old parish of Lunnasting, which centred on the early church at Lunna.



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Old Photograph Fair Isle Scotland

Old photograph of the Fair Isle, Shetland, Scotland. Fair Isle is the most remote inhabited island in the United Kingdom.

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