Fair Isle Gap

Fair Isle lies between Orkney and Shetland, in the gap where the North Sea meets the Atlantic. Its rocky shores stand amid rich fishing waters and a passage exposed to wind and weather. In 1588 the Spanish Armada's Gran Grifón was wrecked in a cove on the island. Some three hundred sailors came ashore and remained for weeks among the islanders, an extraordinary burden for a small community and a reminder of the dangers of the northern seas.