Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
27.4km²
Area
50km
Coastline
226m
Highest point
368
People
13°C
Warmest sea
August
338km
To the mainland
When to go to Bressay
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (13 °C) and coolest in March (7 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Populated island in the Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK
Bressay is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Shetland Islands. It covers 27.4 km², with 50 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 226 m. About 368 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 338 km away.
Getting there
- Sumburgh Airport (LSI)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 32 km in a straight lineCar hire at KOI airport (Kirkwall, Orkney Islands)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesLerwick - Out Skerries
- 338 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Bressay.
- 1viewpointsBeginning section 1
- 1lighthousesBressay Lighthouse
- 3ferry terminalsBressay Ferry Terminal
- 9named peaksWard of Bressay, South Hill, West Hill and 6 more
- 17ruins and archaeological sitesNoss Sound, Broch, Stane o' Cruester, Cruester burnt mound reconstruction and 14 more
- 2waymarked walking routesNoss, Bressay
- 1campsitesBressay Marina & Caravan Park
- 2hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 1restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Bressay in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Bressay, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
12.9°C
Geo of Ovluss
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 49 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 61 %0–50 m
- 39 %50–200 m
- <1 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Sea (°C) | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 127 | 93 | 87 | 58 | 61 | 65 | 79 | 94 | 97 | 121 | 114 | 116 |
| Wet days | 22 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 21 | 22 | 22 |
| Sun h/day | 0.0 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 6.8 | 6.2 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 37 | 34 | 32 | 28 | 24 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 28 | 33 | 36 | 36 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.2 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.1 | −0.4 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.4 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.9 |
| 2023 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.2 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +1.5 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +1.3 | +1.5 | +0.6 | +1.5 | +0.7 | +1.5 | +1.7 | +1.4 | +0.9 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Mainland
United Kingdom948 km²450 m21 km away
WhalsayUnited Kingdom19 km²119 m24 km away
Muckle RoeUnited Kingdom17 km²172 m31 km away
YellUnited Kingdom210 km²205 m53 km away
FetlarUnited Kingdom40 km²158 m51 km away
FoulaUnited Kingdom13 km²418 m54 km away
UnstUnited Kingdom119 km²284 m68 km away
Fair IsleUnited Kingdom8.1 km²271 m75 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q565640) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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