Holsigarth or Halsigarth

[Hals meaning the neck and garth meaning enclosure, the neck of land between the voes of Whalefirth and Mid Yell]

The Hill of Holsigarth has its own sinister tale as it was known as a gallows knowe. To find out if there was any special spot which might have been used for the burning of witches and for hangings we climbed to the summit. We concluded that the natural choice would have been near the top as the view is wide and the summit can be seen by the communities around including North-a-voe. Witnessing the proceedings might have served as a warning. From here you get a wonderful view of the surrounding area.

On the south of the main road lies Setter and directly at the head of the voe are the ruined croft houses of Holsigarth. The 1861 census shows two houses inhabited at Holsigarth. The houses were built facing the voe and because the head of the voe was a busy area with people passing on their way to Mid Yell and North-a-voe there would have been plenty coming and going for the people to see.

The land between Whalefirth and Mid Yell Voe is about three quarters of a mile wide. A minister of the parish gave his opinion on cutting a channel between the voes.

'As the intervening space consists entirely of peat moss resting on a substratum of blue clay, a canal might be cut at a very trifling expense, which the influx and reflux of the sea would in a short time, convert into a channel, through which boats could pass at any time of tide'

At a time when boats were the main means of transport his idea might have been backed by many of the locals. It would have made an easy route between Mid Yell and the Herra for conveying people and goods.

The decade between 1814 and 1823 was a golden age for smugglers. Some casual smuggling of timber continued at the time and it was seized along with other smuggled goods such as spirits, mainly gin, and meal. One seizure was conducted at the head of Whalefirth.

Chas told me that among the rocks at the head of the voe can be found partly formed and broken mill stones so we decided to have a look if any were still to be seen but we were unsuccessful. Census lists give the occupation of one Holsigarth man as making querns. The cliffs at the west banks of the Herra, the West Neaps and Vigon, North Yell, were best for the kind of stone needed for the purpose, mica-schist, or mill grot as it was known was transported throughout the North Isles. Stone was quarried in North Yell, carried from the east side through the Daal of Lumbister then taken by boat to Graveland and to the head of the voe. Querns cost from 3s 6d to 4s. Stone was also transported to Orkney.

As we walked along the shore we noticed several Shetland wrens flitting about among the overhanging braes at the shore. At one time they would not have enjoyed the solitude which is theirs now.

While at the Voe head I asked Chas if he could show me a landing spot named Lik Wick where the dead were taken ashore from boats transporting them on the way to be buried in Mid Yell. Chas showed me that it is just below Windhouse, near the Houb.

While there he mentioned a squid found there in the voe.

Largest squid

According to the ‘Guinness Book of Records 1991’ the largest squid found in British seas was the Architeuthis Monachus found at the head of Whalefirth on October 2, 1959. Its total length measured 7.31 metres (24ft).

A strange story which may have a connection with the squid, was told by the late Mr George Spence of the Scalloway Hotel. Mr Spence remembered that when he attended Mid Yell School two children came from south to the school. They told how they had both seen a big octopus in Whalefirth Voe. The other pupils did not believe them and the two children were given the name 'the Octopus Bairns' and teased in the playground. When the teacher asked about it the children said they had seen one in a museum and knew what they looked like.

Mr Spence wondered if an octopus could have lived all its life in the voe until it was stranded. A spokesperson from the Marine Laboratory suggested that possibly a deep trench could lead from the mouth of the voe out into deep water where possibly the squids could exist. By creeping up the trench in heavy seas it could have found the way to the head of the voe and there perished.

When we were at the pier Chas told me how it had been built.

In early days boats were pulled up on to the shore but in the 1980s the Herra people raised money for building the pier there at the head of Whalefirth at Vat-na-ross. The local people worked together to plan and construct it. The access road used to be the main Ulsta to Gutcher road until it was altered and upgraded.

Vat-na-ross 2005

Instead of travelling along the Herra road Chas and I took the route which would have been used before the road was made. We followed the shore at the head of the voe then took a diagonal line towards Raga. I told Chas I wanted to find the old mill of Filda so we detoured to pass it. The ruined water mill is near the mouth of the Burn of Filda. It is easy to locate. Parts of the mill are still visible and the line of the diverted burn can be traced. This is the mill where Neven had his men attack Williamson.

In the early years of the 20th century two boys, sons of a Windhouse shepherd, apparently tried to set the mill working but in their attempt the mill was wrecked.

We discovered that in the moor at the mouth of the burn, as at the Burn of Windhouse, the roots of trees are still preserved from time when trees grew on the islands. There is a disused cro on the shore.

By this time we were nearing the Herra road. It is single track with passing places. There is little traffic as it is off the main road. The main Yell roads had been constructed some years before.

After 1878 a road had been made on the west side of the island of Yell. The east side had had a road for a time. The North Isles steamer went to Mid Yell and to Westsandwick. People from the Herra had to go to either of these places to receive and ship goods or animals or if they themselves were travelling south.

'As to roads I do think the first in importance for Yell is that connecting the sides of the island from Westsandwick to Mid Yell-1878'

The Herra road was laid in 1895. Early tracks from Mid Yell and North-a-voe would have been more direct and would have followed the shore if the ground was boggy or there was any possibility of the travellers getting lost. It is in the area from the head of the voe to Raga that two Herra women got lost in a blizzard.

I asked Chas if he remembered being told that if lost in fog or snow and came across a burn he should follow the flow and he would probably find himself at the shore. If no burn he should keep beside a fence or dyke if possible. He did remember but now the advice is almost irrelevant. Few people walk the over the hills and most have cell phones.

We approached Raga on the road. A little way along we saw the early tracks made from Raga towards the moors where peats were cut. The tracks were wide enough for horse and cart but were later used by tractors and lorries. Now the centre of the tracks are grown over while the sides, which were eroded by wheels, can still be seen.

Further along the Herra road towards Raga is the junction of the Bouster-Effstigarth road which was constructed during the years 1960-1970. This road crosses another cart-road, made about 1917, which was used by the Gremister people bringing peats home from their banks.

We soon arrived at Raga. Six houses were inhabited in 1861.