Vaila
Vaila | |
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The island of Vaila seen from Mainland, with the Muckle Flaes in between | |
Waters | Atlantic Ocean |
Archipelago | Shetland Islands |
Geographical location | 60 ° 12 '12 " N , 1 ° 35' 2" W |
length | 2.5 km |
width | 2 km |
surface | 3.27 km² |
Highest elevation | East Ward 95 m |
Residents | 2 (2011) <1 inh / km² |
The small Shetland island of Vaila, which belongs to Scotland, is only a few hundred meters from the western part of the main island of Mainland and is separated from it and the small harbor town of Walls by the narrow Vaila Sound . There are no public ferry connections. The distance to the main town of Lerwick is around 22 km.
The hilly and treeless island has a maximum extension of 2.5 × 2 km and an area of 327 hectares and with the East Ward has a height of up to 95 meters.
Numerous seabirds breed on the island, which is rarely used for agriculture, except for extensive sheep breeding, especially on the cliffs. Vaila has a rare flora and fauna.
The main attraction of the island, which is rarely visited by tourists due to its difficult accessibility, is Vaila Hall . In the 1890s, a wealthy spinning mill owner who built a sheep farm on the island converted an already much older homestead into this castle-like manor house .
After the island was temporarily uninhabited in the 1980s, it has two inhabitants again today (as of 2011).