The United Kingdom (officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) includes England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, the kingdom of Scotland has shared its monarch with England since 1603 and has been part of the United Kingdom since 1707. The coastline of the country is deeply cut by inlets, and there are more than 790 islands. The country has a long and distingushed maritime history; many of the most famous British captains and navigators have been Scots. Shetland is a former county, now one of Scotland's 32 unitary council areas, occupying an archipelago lying about 160 km (100 mi) northeast of the Scottish mainland. There are at least 100 islands, of which 16 are inhabited. Shetland was the Norse colony of Hjaltland during medieval times, becoming part of Scotland in 1472. The islands are accessible by air and by NorthLink ferries from Aberdeen. The population is about 23,000. The Northern Lighthouse Board is responsible for building and maintaining the lighthouses in these northern islands. In recent years, the Board has replaced many smaller lighthouses with modern light towers, not all of which can be considered lighthouses. On the other hand, increasing ship traffic in the area has caused the Board to construct a series of new towers in Yell Sound and along the western edge of the islands. In Shetland place names, a ness is a cape or headland, a voe is a narrow bay, a holm is a small rounded island, and the ending -ay (from the Norse ey) means "island." Muckle is Scottish for "large." ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from Volume A of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 114.
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![]() Ness of Sound Light, Ulsta, June 2006 photo copyright Anna Jenšíková; used by permission |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining page: South: Orkney
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Posted September 22, 2004. Checked and revised August 12, 2024. Lighthouses: 32. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.