FAIR ISLE, THE BRITISH HELIGOLAND 43 



loo to close upon 600 feet in height. At intervals this 

 lofty coastline juts out into remarkable peninsulas and 

 bluff headlands ; and its face has been scooped out to 

 form great picturesque geos and innumerable caverns ; 

 while many natural arches, detached pillars of rock, lofty 

 stacks, and skerries add much to the grandeur and 

 interest of the coast scenery. This great belt of natural 

 precipice — the resort of hosts of sea-fowl in the summer 

 — is highest on the west side ; and though the cliffs on 

 the east are not so lofty, yet here they are graced by the 

 picturesque " Sheep Craig" — a noble mass of rock rising 

 almost perpendicularly from the sea to a height of some 

 500 feet, which is one of the greatest resorts of sea-fowl 

 in the island, and formerly afforded a fitting home for 

 the Sea Eagle. 



Seen from the south harbour, the appearance of the 

 isle is decidedly picturesque and "fair." In the centre 

 of the foreground are the crofts, about 200 to 300 

 acres in extent, and all golden and green at harvest time. 

 These are flanked on either side by high grass-clad 

 ground, and a fine skyline is formed by the singularly 

 irregular outline of the cliffs, and the undulating contour 

 of the high ground on the north. 



The northern two-thirds of the island are mostly 

 barren, being either carpeted with stunted heather, 

 grass, and a creeping species of juniper, or bare and 

 stony, the turf having been torn off for fuel. The 

 ground here is high, especially on the west, and 

 culminates in the Ward Hill (712 feet), the highest 

 point in the island. On the lower ground there is an 

 extensive wet area known as " Sukka Moor," with a 

 number of small lochans, and traversed by a little burn. 

 This portion of the island would seem to be well suited 



