foula

Like Hirta in the St Kilda group, Foula has towering precipices, an inadequate harbour, its own breed

of sheep, and thousands upon thousands of sea-birds - which is why the Norsemen named it the ''island of fowls''.

Unlike Hirta, its islanders are still there, doggedly determined to overcome the difficulties of living in their wild and beautiful home.

When the last ''Queen of Foula'', Katherine Asmunder, died in the late seventeenth century, the islanders were still unaware of the introduction of Scots law to Shetland. It was about this time that a ship's surgeon named Scott is said to have visited Foula and persuaded the islanders to hand over their Norse title-deeds on the pretext that he would have them registered in Edinburgh. He had them registered - but in his name - and the Scotts of Melby thus became the legal owners of the island. Similar thefts of land by ''carpetbaggers'' from the south were widespread throughout the Northern Isles at that time. Under the Norse feudal system crofters were freemen land-owners, while under Scots feudal law they became tenants and virtual bondsmen subject to the whims of their landlords.

It was not until 1882 that they gained some protection under the Crofting Acts. The one saving grace in Foula's case was that as the islanders were excellent fishermen, and could pay a good rent, they were not ''cleared'' for sheep farming.

Foula's islanders - there are about 40 of them today, although a century ago the population numbered nearly 300 - are an independent lot, with their own distinctive traditions. For instance, they still use the Julian calendar which the rest of Britain discarded in 1753, and celebrate Christmas on the sixth and New Year on the thirteenth of January. Until 1800 they spoke Nom, a form of the Norse language, although it was no longer to be heard anywhere else in Britain and even in 1894 a Faroese linguist was surprised at the close similarity of the island's speech to Faroese.

Foula's ''hardback'' sheep, which were possibly introduced by the Vikings have,

in common with all primitive sheep, exceptionally hairy fleeces. The island has another point of distinction, its own sub-species of field mouse, a charming little creature with big feet.

The land rises from east to west, with a low, broken coastline in the east and precipitous sandstone cliffs rising to a height of 365 metres in the west. These cliffs are unequalled throughout the British Isles in their sheer dramatic impact, even if they just fail (by two metres) to match the height of the awesome St Kildan cliffs: but with five distinct peaks, many rock stacks and vertiginous cliffs, Foula can provide a wealth of excitement for mountaineers.

At one time the menfolk of Foula were almost entirely engaged in fishing, but nowadays crofting has had to take precedence. All the crofts are on the east side which has some of the best arable land in Shetland. About half the population live at Ham near Ham Voe, ''harbour inlet'' in old Norse, where there is a post office, a school (rebuilt at considerable expense), a church and a ''smiddy'' selling local crafts.

In easterlies, great waves come crashing into Ham Voe so the fishing boats have to be beached high above sea-level at the head of the narrow little voe. A monthly mailboat service began in 1879 after the local minister had written to Queen Victoria and received a reply from Disraeli, but ''monthly'' was an optimistic term, as passengers and goods had to be landed on the rocks.

It was not until 1914 that a tiny concrete pier was built which included a step for a wartime gun emplacement. Many years later a power-driven crane and winch were added to allow the mail boat to be lifted out instead of being manhandled onto the pier. The present service from Walls on mainland Shetland is still entirely dependent on the weather and there have been many problems in recent years because officials purchased a new ferry which was not designed to cope with the severe conditions. Even today there are occasions when bad weather can cut off island access for up to six weeks at a time.

l OS Maps: 1:50000 Sheet 4 1:25000 Sheet 18. Admiralty Charts: 1:75000 No. 3283 1:75000 No. 3281 NE part only

lAccess: by mail boat/passenger ferry, May to September, weather permitting, from Walls, twice weekly, or Scalloway alternate Thursdays, tel: 01595-753232, or 01426-986763. Advance booking is essential. Charter flights, weather permitting, tel: 01595-840246

l Hamish Haswell-Smith's book, The Scottish Islands (ISBN 0 86241 579 9), is published by Canongate at #25. Herald readers can obtain it at the special price of #20, including p&p. Telephone with credit card details to 0131 557 5111, or send a cheque, payable to Canongate Books, to

14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE