Out Skerries
| Location | |
|---|---|
 Out Skerries
Out Skerries shown within the Shetland Islands
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| OS grid reference | HU681718 |
| Coordinates | 60°25′N 0°46′W / 60.417°N 0.767°WCoordinates: 60°25′N 0°46′W / 60.417°N 0.767°W |
| Physical geography | |
| Island group | Shetland |
| Area | 400 hectares (990 acres) |
| Highest elevation | Bruray Wart 43 metres (141 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Scotland |
| Council area | Shetland Islands Council |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 76 |
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The Out Skerries are an archipelago in Shetland, Scotland, lying to the east of the main Shetland Island group. Locally, they are usually called Da Skerries or just Skerries.
The Out Skerries lie about four miles north east of Whalsay and Bound Skerry forms the easternmost part of Scotland, lying 320 kilometres (200 mi) from Norway. The main islands are Housay, Bruray and Grunay.
A large number of islets and stacks surround the main group. These include the Hevda Skerries and Wether Holm to the north, the Holm to the south and Lamba Stack and Flat Lamba Stack to the east. Stoura Stack and the Hogg are to the south of Grunay. Bound Skerry, which has a lighthouse, is flanked by Little Bound Skerry and Horn Skerry.
Beyond Mio Ness at the south west tip of Housay are North and South Benelip and the Easter Skerries, as well as Filla, Short & Long Guen (the Guens), Bilia Skerry, and Swaba Stack. In an isolated group between the main Out Skerries and the Mainland, are Little Skerry and the Vongs, and Muckle Skerry is another outlier lying further north.
Most of the Skerries placenames have a Norse origin. The "Out" name derives from one or both of two Old Norse words. Austr means "east" and may have been used to distinguish Out Skerries from Ve Skerries or "west skerries", and utsker means "outer". "Skerry" is from the Old Norse sker and refers to a small rocky island or a rocky reef.
Housay is from the Old Norse Húsey meaning "horse island" although this name is now little used by locals, who prefer "West Isle". Bruray may be from the Norse brú and mean "bridge island" due to its position between West Isle and Grunay, the latter meaning simply "green island". The derivation of Bound Skerry is more problematic but may be from bønn, meaning "forerunner", a reference to this being the first land a ship encounters en route to Shetland from Bergen.
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Wikipedia