Trondra

Trondra (Scots: Trondra) is one of the Scalloway Islands, a subgroup of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It shelters the harbour of Scalloway and has an area of 275 hectares (1.06 sq mi).

Trondra
Scots nameTrondra
Location
Trondra
Trondra shown within Shetland
OS grid referenceHU398371
Coordinates60.12°N 01.28°W / 60.12; -01.28
Physical geography
Island groupShetland
Area275 hectares (1.06 sq mi)
Area rank90= [1]
Highest elevation60 metres (197 ft)
Administration
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
CountryScotland
Council areaShetland Islands
Demographics
Population135[2]
Population rank42 [1]
Population density49 people/km2[2][3]
References[3][4][5]

History

Trondra was becoming rapidly depopulated until 1970, when road bridges were built to neighbouring Burra (West and East) and to the southern peninsula of the Shetland Mainland.[5] Since then the population has recovered from a low of 20 in 1961.[3]

A local community hall was opened in 1986.

Composition

Settlements on the island include:

  • Burland - Burland houses one of Shetland's most popular tourist attractions - the Burland Croft Trail.
  • Cauldhame
  • Cutts
  • Glendale
  • Scarfataing
Bridge linking Trondra with the Mainland of Shetland

Geology

Trondra is made up of steeply inclined dalradian rocks; mainly quartz and mica rich schists but with some crystalline limestone in the north which provide fertile soils around Cauldhame and Cutts. The hills are covered in grass and heather, with trees being few and far between, much like the rest of the Shetland Islands.

Wildlife

Trondra supports a number of seabirds including many gulls and black guillemots.[3]

There are many fields of sheep and a few of Shetland ponies throughout the island. There is a variety of other wildlife present on and around the isle, such as hedgehogs, sparrows, starlings, seals and porpoises.

Leisure activities

Trondra has 2 rowing teams, male and female, which compete in the summertime rowing regattas around Shetland and the annual 'Round Trondra Race'.

"Da Peerie Neep" ("The Wee Turnip") is a recently founded annual event which takes place in the Trondra hall and involves various neep related events such as "Toss the Neep".

Trondra usually enters a male and female squad in the Scalloway Fire Festival, which takes place in early January each year.

Footnotes
  1. Area and population ranks: there are c. 300 islands over 20 ha in extent and 93 permanently inhabited islands were listed in the 2011 census.
  2. National Records of Scotland (15 August 2013). "Appendix 2: Population and households on Scotland's Inhabited Islands" (PDF). Statistical Bulletin: 2011 Census: First Results on Population and Household Estimates for Scotland Release 1C (Part Two) (PDF) (Report). SG/2013/126. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  3. Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004). The Scottish Islands. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84195-454-7.
  4. Ordnance Survey. OS Maps Online (Map). 1:25,000. Leisure.
  5. Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.


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