Bruray
Bruray is one of the Out Skerries, a small cluster of islands that lie at the far northeastern edge of Shetland, and among the most remote permanently inhabited places in the United Kingdom. The Out Skerries consist primarily of three islands — Housay (the largest), Bruray, and the uninhabited Grunay — connected by a bridge between Housay and Bruray that was built in 1957. Bruray itself is a small, windswept island of considerable character, home to a tight-knit community whose way of life has been shaped entirely by the sea and the extraordinary isolation of their surroundings. It is notable not only for its sheer remoteness but for the resilience and warmth of the community that has endured here for centuries, and for the raw, elemental beauty of its seascape.
The Out Skerries have been inhabited since at least Norse times, and the name itself derives from the Old Norse word "sker," meaning a rocky reef or skerry, which perfectly describes the jagged, low-lying character of these islands. The Norse influence is deeply embedded in Shetland as a whole, and the Skerries were historically significant as a waypoint and shelter for fishing vessels navigating the treacherous waters between Norway and the British Isles. The waters surrounding Bruray and the Out Skerries have claimed many ships over the centuries, and the islands have a rich tradition of salvage and connection to the maritime world. The community has historically depended on fishing, particularly for herring and white fish, and the resilience of Skerries folk became something of a byword in Shetland culture.
Physically, Bruray is a place of stark and compelling beauty. The island is low and rocky, its surfaces covered in rough grass, heather, and wildflowers that cling on despite the relentless Atlantic winds. The coastline is a dramatic interplay of sharp skerries, pale sand, and deep turquoise water of extraordinary clarity — the sea here is famously clear, given the absence of significant river run-off and the constant movement of the open ocean. Standing on Bruray, the soundscape is dominated by the wind, the breaking of waves on rock, and the cries of seabirds, including fulmars, gannets, and various species of auks that nest on the surrounding skerries and cliffs.
The landscape around Bruray is oceanic in every sense. The views from the island on a clear day extend across a vast expanse of sea to other parts of Shetland on the horizon, and on exceptional days even farther. The waters around the Out Skerries are some of the best for diving in the United Kingdom, with a number of historic shipwrecks lying in relatively accessible depths, including vessels lost during wartime and earlier maritime disasters. The surrounding sea teems with marine life, and grey seals are a common and almost nonchalant presence along the shoreline. The birdlife, particularly during spring and autumn migration, is exceptional, and the Out Skerries have become a notable destination for birdwatchers hoping to catch rare migrants blown off course on their journeys between continents.
The community on the Out Skerries, spread across Housay and Bruray, numbers only in the tens of people, making it one of the smallest permanently inhabited island communities in Scotland. Despite this, the islands support a primary school, and the community has shown remarkable tenacity in maintaining a viable way of life. Fishing remains important, and the Skerries have at times had one of the highest per capita incomes of any community in Shetland, reflecting the success of local fishing enterprises. The bridge connecting Bruray to Housay is an important piece of social infrastructure, allowing the two island communities to function as one.
Getting to Bruray requires either a ferry from Lerwick or Vidlin on the Shetland mainland, operated by Shetland Islands Council, or a small passenger flight from Tingwall Airport near Lerwick. The ferry journey from Lerwick takes around two and a half hours and is a scenic crossing in its own right. The community is welcoming to visitors, though numbers are small and facilities are limited — this is not a destination for those expecting tourist infrastructure, but rather for travellers who appreciate the profound quiet and natural richness of a genuinely off-the-beaten-path place. The best time to visit is late spring through early autumn, when the weather is most manageable and the long Shetland summer days allow for extended exploration of the coastline and birdwatching.
One of the more remarkable aspects of Bruray and the Out Skerries is how the community has maintained its identity and population against enormous odds. The islands have no pub, no shop in the conventional sense, and limited shelter from storms that can roll in from the North Atlantic with tremendous force. Yet the people who live here have chosen to remain, drawn by ties of family, the sea, and a way of life that has almost entirely disappeared from the rest of Britain. For the visitor willing to make the journey, Bruray offers something genuinely rare: an encounter with a living community at the very edge of the inhabited world, surrounded by some of the most magnificent and untamed seascape in Europe.