4 4


A short climb from the southeast corner of the island brings you to level ground where a chasm opens between you and a 50 metre (164 ft) high grass-covered stack. This is the Holm (‘small island’) of Noss, or Cradle Holm. People once risked life and limb going over to this high


rock stack in search of extra sheep grazing or to collect bird eggs for food. For over 200 years, they travelled over to the rock on a ‘cradle’. This was a box that ran on two ropes between Noss and the holm, and which carried sheep or people.


5


Just round the corner from Cradle Holm, you come upon the Noup (‘high headland’) of Noss. These are the highest cliffs on Shetland’s east coast, rising to some 181 metres (592 ft). The sandstone cliffs have been worn away to expose striped layers of red, yellow and grey rock weathered into a honeycomb of crevices and ledges. These tiers of ledges are packed with thousands of


bickering and screaming seabirds. The most numerous birds are the 45,000 guillemots, followed by some 8,000 pairs of gannets, along with smaller numbers of fulmars, razorbills, black guillemots, kittiwakes and puffins.


www.snh.gov.uk


1


The sandstone cliffs of Noss have weathered to produce horizontal ledges and honeycomb holes that are perfect for nesting.


2


Hardy Shetland sheep live on the island all year round.


3


The great skua is a pirate of the seas. It pursues birds as large as gannets to steal a free meal.


4


The Noup of Noss is one of the first, or last, sights for generations of Shetland travellers.


37


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