Bressay
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| OS Name: | Bressay |
|---|---|
| Shetland Name: | Bressay |
 | |
| UK Grid Reference: | HU510410 |
| Area (ha): | 2805 ha |
| Population: | 400 approx. |
| Community Council: | |
| Ferry Services: | Leirna Ro-Ro service from Lerwick |
| Notes: | |
Bressay (From Old Norse Breiðey or Brús(a)ey meaning either 'Broad Island' or 'Brusi's Island'), is an island with a population of around 400 people, the main density of population being on its west coast. The island is separated from Mainland Shetland, by Bressay Sound, on the west side of which lies Lerwick, the capital of Shetland.
Bressay Sound, with its north entrance, Da Nort Mooth, and its south entrance, Da Sooth Mooth, forms Lerwick Harbour.
Bressay is served by a ro-ro ferry between Lerwick and Maryfield. Plans have been formulated for a bridge to replace the ferry, but opposition to the plan by the Lerwick Port Authority, which would prefer a tunnel, has meant that the fixed link has become bogged down in political debate.
Bressay's highest point, the Ward of Bressay, (226m) has an antenna array which carries the transmitter antenna for the TV and public broadcast radio services for Shetland, as well as mobile phone, and other communication systems.
During the Hanseatic times there were several references of Hanseatic settlements at Brusa Sound, Brassa Sund or similar. A Dutch map from the 17th century (a copy now kept in the Maritime Museum at Bremerhaven) shows a settlement called Arentsburgh, probably a settlement of Danish fishermen on the north coast of Bressay (the then (German) Earls of Rantzau were nobilities to the Danish Crown (Chancellors of Denmark etc.) and had their residence at Ahrensburg, a castle and town near Hamburg/Germany.
Attractions on the island includes Bressay Heritage Centre and the old laird's mansion Gardie House, built in 1724, in Maryfield, Bressay Lighthouse built in 1858 by Thomas and David Stevenson, sea caves and arches, and gun emplacements dating from World War I and World War II to guard ships in Bressay Sound. The guns on Bard Head, at the tip of the Bard were serviced from barges floating below, ammunition was landed using the gallows still visible on the cliff top.
Bressay is home to the poet and author Stella Sutherland and Dr Jonathan Wills, who has written a brief guide to the isle.
During the summer months, there is a passenger ferry service across the narrow Noss Sound that links the east coast of Bressay to Gungstie on the uninhabited island of Noss which is a National Nature Reserve.
Businesses
See also
External links
- Visit Shetland - Tourist Information - Bressay
- Northern Lighthouse Board - Bressay Lighthouse
- Bressay History Group
