Foula Island, Shetland is out in the vast blue of the North Atlantic, some twenty miles west of the Shetland Mainland, lies a remarkable sliver of rock and heather. Foula, whose name means “bird island” in Old Norse, is the most remote permanently inhabited island in the United Kingdom. Windswept, dramatic, and steeped in stories, it is home to towering sea cliffs, wild ponies, ancient legends, and a small but enduring community who have made a life here against all odds.
A visit to Foula, Shetland is not like any other Scottish island trip. This is a place where time stretches out, the land rises sharply from the sea, and the birds fill both sky and silence. It is a journey into a world that feels older, rawer, and more elemental than anywhere else in Britain.
How to get to Foula
To get there, you must be patient and flexible. The ferry leaves from Walls on the west side of Shetland’s Mainland and takes about two and a half hours, but sailings are dependent on the weather and sea state. The sea around the island can be very rough. The harbour is small. So the ferry is hauled out of the harbour when not in use incase of damage during gales.
Alternatively, a small aircraft makes the short hop from Tingwall airstrip near Lerwick, though fog and high winds can cause delays. Either way, the journey itself is part of the story, offering vast views of open sea and the dark outline of the island rising from the horizon.
Foula is home to around thirty people. These islanders live in scattered crofts along the eastern shore, where the land is more sheltered and green. Life here is shaped by the sea and the weather, by community ties, and by a shared resilience. There is a small school, still open despite its low roll, a post office, and even a community hall that hosts local events and visiting musicians. Most people are crofters, keeping sheep and ponies, growing a few vegetables, and doing whatever else is needed to maintain the island’s way of life.
Island of Wool and Sheep
The Shetland sheep on Foula are hardy, small animals with rough wool and alert faces. They graze the steep hillsides and windblown moor, moving freely among the heather and rock. Alongside them, Shetland ponies roam the island, their thick manes and stocky frames perfectly suited to the exposed terrain. These native breeds are not only part of the landscape — they are part of the island’s cultural fabric, passed down through generations.
Foula birds galore
Foula is a paradise for birdwatchers. Its cliffs, moorlands, and freshwater lochs provide breeding grounds for some of the UK’s most iconic seabirds and moorland species. Fulmars nest by the thousands in narrow cliff ledges, while puffins burrow into grassy slopes near the sea. In the shallower lochs and tarns, red-throated divers glide silently, their eerie calls echoing across the hills.
Perhaps most thrilling for many birders are the skuas. Foula is one of the best places in Britain to see both Arctic skuas and great skuas, locally known as bonxies. These powerful birds patrol the skies, chasing gulls and terns, and defending their nests with fearless dives at anything that comes too close — including walkers. There are also black guillemots with their striking white wing patches and whistling calls, often seen bobbing close to the shoreline or flying low over the waves.
Stunning scenery
The cliffs are what first take most visitors’ breath away. Foula boasts the second highest sea cliffs in the United Kingdom, surpassed only by Conachair on St Kilda. The cliffs of Da Kame rise to 376 metres above the sea — nearly vertical walls of ancient rock that drop into the Atlantic with awesome force. Standing at the edge of Da Kame on a clear day, you feel suspended between sea and sky, watching gannets wheel below you, the waves breaking far, far below.
Geologically, Foula is part of the old world. Its rock is some of the oldest in Shetland — Precambrian and Silurian layers twisted and tilted over time. The landscape bears the marks of ancient upheaval, its jagged ridges and coastal stacks shaped by millions of years of wind, ice, and sea. As you walk across the moor, stepping from peat to stone to sheep-cropped grass, you are quite literally walking across history.
There are several excellent walks on Foula. A favourite is the climb to the top of Da Kame itself. The route winds up through heather and over rough ground, but the effort is rewarded with some of the most staggering views in the UK. On a clear day, you can see out to the Atlantic horizon, and on a misty one, you are enveloped in a shifting world of fog and seabird cries. Another good route leads to the dramatic cliffs of Da Sneck Ida Smaalie, where storm waves funnel through a narrow cleft in the rock with explosive force. You can also explore the glen between the island’s five rounded hills — known as the Five Peat Hills — or visit the freshwater loch that sits above the crofts and reflects the sky on still days.
Human History on Foula
Foula’s human history is long and layered. Norse place names dominate the map, and the island was part of the Norse kingdom of Shetland until the 15th century. Traditions here remained strong even as other parts of Shetland changed. The islanders followed the Julian calendar until the 20th century, celebrating Christmas and New Year thirteen days later than the rest of Britain. Their dialect, though dwindling, still contains words and expressions not heard elsewhere.
The sea has always been both a friend and a foe. Fishing was once the main source of income, but it was also perilous. Over the centuries, Foula Island Shetland has been the site of many shipwrecks, and its coastline tells stories of vessels lost to rocks and fog. One of the most well-known tragedies occurred in 1914, when the RMS Oceanic — a White Star Line ship and sister to Titanic — struck the Shaalds of Foula in fog and was wrecked on the reef. Remarkably, all 634 people on board were rescued, but the ship was a total loss. Today, her rusting bones lie beneath the waves, and stories of the wreck are still told in island kitchens.
Foula has moved with the times and now you can see a solar bank outside the school, which doubles as the community hall.
Peat cutting on Foula
Peat cutting remains a living tradition on Foula, where islanders still harvest peat from the blanket bogs for fuel. Stripped from the moor in neatly sliced blocks using a special spade called a tushkar, the peat is stacked to dry in the wind before being brought home and stored for the winter. On an island without trees and with limited access to imported fuels, peat has long been a vital resource—providing heat for homes and crofts in the dark months. The rhythmic process of cutting, turning, and stacking is often done with quiet pride, linking today’s islanders to generations past.
Why Foula?
Visiting Foula Island Shetalnd is not for those seeking convenience. There are no cafés or shops, and accommodation is limited. Most visitors stay in the few guesthouses or book simple self-catering cottages. You’ll need to bring your own supplies and be prepared for sudden changes in weather and plans. But those who make the effort are richly rewarded.
You’ll walk paths where sheep outnumber people fifty to one, see birds so close you can hear the wind through their wings, and stand on cliffs so high that the sea seems impossibly distant. You’ll meet a community that lives with courage and care, where children still learn in a tiny schoolroom, and where each boat and plane is a link to the outside world.
In a world where remoteness is rare, Foula Island Shetland remains defiantly itself — wild, weathered, and wonderful. It is not a place for ticking boxes or rushing through. It is a place to linger, to look, and to listen. In the silence between seabird cries and the rustle of wind in heather, you may just hear something deeper: the hum of an island that continues to endure, to welcome, and to inspire.
