Tradespeople in Hamnavoe, Shetland

About Hamnavoe

Hamnavoe is the main settlement on the island of Burra, which lies off the west coast of Mainland Shetland and is connected to it by a series of bridges via the island of Trondra.

Burra has a population of around 800 people, and Hamnavoe sits on a sheltered harbour on the west side of the island, with a strong tradition of fishing and crofting.

The island has a primary school, a community hall, and a shop, and the bridge connection to Mainland means residents can commute to Lerwick or Scalloway while retaining island life.

The coastline around Burra is dramatic, with cliffs, beaches, and sea caves, and the island offers excellent walking with views across to Foula and the western horizon.

Nearby: Cunningsburgh, Lerwick, Sandwick, Scalloway

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About Shetland

Shetland is an archipelago of around 100 islands — 16 of them inhabited — lying roughly 110 miles north of the Scottish mainland and 210 miles west of Norway, making it the most northerly part of the United Kingdom.

Lerwick is the capital and only town of any size, a compact and characterful harbour settlement that serves as the administrative, commercial, and cultural centre of the islands. Around 7,000 of Shetland’s 23,000 residents live in and around the town.

Shetland’s economy has been shaped by the sea for centuries: fishing remains a major industry, and the arrival of North Sea oil at the Sullom Voe terminal in the 1970s brought prosperity that was carefully managed through a charitable trust that continues to fund services and infrastructure across the islands.

The landscape is treeless, wind-scoured, and dramatic — sea cliffs, voes (narrow inlets), tombolo beaches, and open moorland define the character of the islands, and nowhere in Shetland is more than three miles from the sea.

Shetland has a distinct cultural identity that draws on both Scottish and Norse heritage — the annual Up Helly Aa fire festival, the Shetland dialect, and the fiddle music tradition are central to island life, and the sense of community across the islands is strong and self-reliant.

Nearby: Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire