Sumburgh


Shetland

A settlement at the southern end of the Mainland of Shetland in the Northern Isles, situated 25 miles (40 km) south of Lerwick, the name Sumburgh derives from Norse - Sunn Borg, meaning 'south broch'. To the north is Sumburgh Airport whose terminal was opened in 1979 to facilitate access to North Sea oil service centres in Shetland. Sumburgh Head Lighthouse was built in 1821 by Robert Stevenson (1772 - 1850) and nearby is the archaeological site at Jarlshof which was occupied for over 3000 years but only rediscovered in 1905 when a violent storm exposed sections of huge stone walls. The substantial Sumburgh Hotel, Shetland's most southerly, was built in 1867 as a grand Baronial mansion for the local Laird's, the Bruces of Sumburgh.


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