Vementry
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in Shetland, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, on the north side of the West Mainland, lying south of Muckle Roe
Muckle Roe
Muckle Roe is an island in Shetland, Scotland, in Saint Magnus Bay, to the west of Mainland, Shetland. It has a population of around 100 people, who mainly croft and live in the south east of the island...
.
The island is known for its well-preserved chambered cairn
Chambered cairn
A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a cairn of stones inside which a sizeable chamber was constructed. Some chambered cairns are also passage-graves....
, and the two First World War gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
emplacements which overlook the narrow entrance into the former naval anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
age of Busta Voe
Busta Voe
Busta Voe, , in the north central Mainland, lies between the village of Brae and the island of Muckle Roe. At the head of the voe is the Delting Marina and Boating Club....
.
The island was last inhabited in the 1840s, and is now the largest uninhabited island of Shetland.
Vementry is also the name of a small farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
on Mainland, Shetland, immediately south of the island. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the "Isle of Vementry". There is no ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service to the island, although the shepherd on the mainland farm occasionally makes the short trip to work with stock on the island.
The Isle of Vementry is separated from the mainland Vementry by a narrow channel or "sound
Sound (geography)
In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....
", consisting of Uyea Sound to the east and Cribba Sound to the west. Cribba Sound is famed for the quality of mussels produced at the mussel farms located there.