Shapinsay

Map of Shapinsay

SHAPINSAY (ON Hjalpandisey, either Helping Island, for ships, or, Shipping Island, or maybe Hjalpandi’s Isle) lies northeast of Kirkwall and less than 30 minutes away by ferry, making it almost part of St. Ola. This highly cultivated island is composed mostly of Rousay flags, with some Eday flags in the southeast, while at Haco's Ness (HY525149) there are volcanic rocks. The whole island is overlain with a layer of boulder clay.

It was one of the first areas of Orkney to be successfully "improved". The regular ten-acre fields are the result of land reform in the 1850s, when the old system of runrigs was rationalised and much new land reclaimed, with the result that production increased dramatically. As in most parts of Orkney, the farms are all owner-occupied nowadays.

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