Papa Stour

Papa Stour

Norse name	Papey Stóra
Meaning of name	Norse for 'big island of the papar (priests)
Location
Papa Stour Papa Stour shown within Shetland
OS grid reference	HU169607
Coordinates	60°20′N 1°41′W / 60.33°N 1.68°W / 60.33; -1.68
Physical geography
Island group	Shetland
Area	828 hectares (3.20 sq mi)
Area rank	52
Highest elevation	Virda Field 87 metres (285 ft)
Administration
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Council area	Shetland Islands
Demographics
Population	15
Population rank	66
Population density	1.8 people/km2
Largest settlement	Biggings
References

Papa Stour is one of the Shetland Islands in Scotland, with a population of under twenty 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 eighth 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 nineteenth century, when a fishing station was opened at Crabbaberry in West Voe. Subsequently, there was a steady decline in population, although the numbers have increased from a low of 16 in the 1970s.

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.