Features And Coastal Names

Auld Wife o Da Birrier – a high standing stone at the centre of the land bridge

Baa – submerged rock

Basin o Raga Wick – a bight

Blue Stack – stack shaped like a hay dess

Bonga – unlocated cave given the name from the sound of the sea

Brigs or Briggs – common route

Clongers Geo – inlet where briars grow

Crogie Geo – to crug means to shelter

Docken Stack – a rock above sea water where grass and docks grow

Fiski Geo - possibly from fisk (fish)

Feelie Dyke – a dyke made from sods of turf showing the boundary

Fugla Stacks – bird rocks

Giant’s Grave – two boulders near Eigg

Goeneela – eela (inshore fishing) or Slett-even, level

Garsendi Geo – marks the end of Garde’s property, at a dyke end

Gludderings – steep rocky clefts where water runs through

Gullifooster – sea rock combining gal (roar) and fuster (sea foam), there is a patch of grass on the cliff face

Head or Noup – high and perpendicular rocks

Kusens o Dimmance – di meaning two, two rocks

Lee Cro – sheep cro on hill side

Lee of Volister – li (mountain side) ON - lid

Lerwick – leirvik (muddy bay)

Longi Geo – long geo

Mill Burn – the water from the burn was used in turning the mill to grind meal

Mirka – a black cave

Neddertoun – low lying field, possibly at Bouster

Raga Wick – possibly from rakad (a fished - out ground) or rak (jetsam)

Ramna Geo – inlet of the ravens

Russi Geo – possibly ruse (a fish trap) or rusk (trash)

Saatwater Gaet – saltwater was fetched

Skate Boddom – flat, rounded bay towards the sea

Skerries o de Daal – sea rocks at the mouth of the Daal of Lumbister

Ster – most place names ending with ster are on the sea coast

Taing – a narrow piece of land projecting into the sea and bordered by a flat shore

Timber Geo – a place where wreck wood is found

Trink of Clungis Geo – the narrow opening into the geo

Tufficuddi – a basin shaped by rocks below Graveland where tweed was stretched and fastened. The tweed was submerged at high tide so that it became wauked (felted or matted)

Urdi Geos – urd (a heap of stones at the foot of a wall of rock or rock strewn slope)

Water Slap – from the sound of the water on the rocks

Wester Lochs – lochs of Virdi, Mill and Cro

Wick - a name given to an exposed bay

White Heart Baa – the ship White Heart went on the under water rock

Yanis Dyke – a boundry, possibly from the name Jan

Yealsfield - is an area of Graveland

The Barn – o Clungis Geo was where Daniel Scollay built a boat

At Raw Wick there is a fence showing division between the land of Volister and North Yell

Names possibly derived from birds or animals:

fugal – fowl

swina – swine

sig – bird

scarf – cormorant

titlan – sparrow

There are the ruins of buildings at Skarva Taing

It is not possible to locate the following named pieces of land located in the Herra:

Kemelsmark, Skottamark,Haskosismark, Vogsmark and Jolamark are all units of land named after people.

Rimma – a strip of land

de Tuntegs – land manured with seaweed

de Horni – a corner piece of ground or rig

Longa grona – a damp spot where a stream flows

Vatstivla – a place where water in a lake runs out in a stream such as from a mill dam

de Vanlups – a waterfall. There is a waterfall at the West Neap at Millburn Geo and also a small waterfall at Effstigarth

Morena grone – bog