Fitful Head

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Fitful Head (Old Norse fit-fill), a large bold headland in Dunrossness parish, Shetland, flanking the NW side of Quendale Voe, 6 Miles NW of Sumburgh Head. It rises to a height of 929 feet; is seen at a great distance by vessels approaching from, the SW; and consists chiefly of clay slate. In the Pirate Scott fixes here the abode of the prophetess, Norna.

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Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer