Papa Stour

Papa Stour is one of the Shetland Islands in Scotland, with a population of fifteen people, some of whom immigrated after an appeal for residents in the 1970s. Located to the west of mainland Shetland and with an area of 828 hectares (3.2 square miles), Papa Stour is the ninth largest island in Shetland. Erosion of the soft volcanic rocks by the sea has created an extraordinary variety of caves, stacks, arches, blowholes, and cliffs. The island and its surrounding seas harbour diverse populations of wildlife. The west side of the island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and the seas around the island are a Special Area of Conservation.

The island has several Neolithic burial chamber sites, as well as the remains of Duke Hakon's 13th-century house dating from the Norse occupation of the island. The population reached 380 or more in the 19th century, when a fishing station was opened at Crabbaberry in West Voe. Subsequently, there was a steady decline in population.

Today the main settlement on the island is Biggings, just to the east of which is Housa Voe from where the Snolda ferry arrives from its base at West Burrafirth on the Shetland Mainland. Crofting, especially sheep rearing, is the mainstay of island life.

Numerous shipwrecks have occurred around the coast, and the celebrated poem Da Sang o da Papa Men by Vagaland recalls the drama of the days when Papa Stour was a centre for deep-sea fishing.

Papa Stour is located at the south western end of St Magnus Bay. 34 kilometres (21 mi) of rugged coastline is indented by numerous small embayments and four larger 'voes'. Hamna Voe (Old Norse: 'harbour bay') in the south is the most sheltered anchorage and the surrounding cliffs contain a natural rock arch. Housa Voe to the east (Old Norse: 'house bay') is less secluded but is the main harbour for the island and the ferry's embarkation point.

Brei Holm and Maiden Stack guard the harbour entrance to the south. The former is a tidal island and was a leper colony until the 18th century (although it has been suggested that many of the "lepers" there were suffering from a vitamin deficiency rather than leprosy). The latter's name relates to a story from the 14th century. Lord Thorvald Thoresson is said to have constructed the tiny house at its top, whose ruins are still visible, to "preserve" his daughter from men. Unfortunately for his plans, when she left she was found to be pregnant; in another version of the story, she and her fisherman sweetheart successfully eloped. West Voe, the inner part of which is called 'Robies Noust' is the main voe in the north coast, the smaller Culla Voe lying immediately to the west.

The main settlement on the island today is Biggings, which overlooks Housa Voe and is surrounded by in-bye land to the east of the hill dyke (which runs south from West Voe). To the west the island is bisected by a belt of glacial moraine about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) in length. Much of the rest of the area consists of a shallow stony soil that may be derived from glacial till. There is an almost complete absence of peat on the island and due to the volcanic rocks the soils are relatively fertile. The lack of peat led to 'turf scalping' for fuel and the bare areas of rock in the interior.

The highest point on the island is in the north west at Virda Field, which rises to 87 metres (285 feet). Virda is possibly from the Old Norse for 'heap of stones'.