There’s
one weekend a year when all roads lead to North Roe. That’s
the third weekend in August when the community hall and surrounding
area become the focus for the mirth and jollification of the Big
Bannock fund raising event. Anarchy rules and keen competition
comes to the fore with the Merry Tiller Grand Prix. Domestic skills
are celebrated as hundreds share an enormous bannock after it’s
been baked and spread with fresh butter newly
churned by two rival teams. There’s music and beer and silly
games and the fun of the day raises many thousands of pounds.
That success is dependent on the hard work of local folk as well
as the fertile imagination of the organisers from all over Northmavine
who come up with wacky original ideas every year.
It’s a blessing that North Roe has this grand event –
it’s a healthy happening for a small community on the edge
of Northmavine.
It may be years since I lived there but my heart still lifts
every time when I come over the hill at Skelberry. North Roe was
an exciting place to grow up, an adventure playground by itself.
Let’s take a circular tour, starting from the North East
tip. There’s Fedeland, full of stories of the days of the
haaf fishing and in the banks a great rockface of soapstone where
people carved their names over generations. Come Southwards and
speculate about the ancient buildings out on the Kame of Isbister.
Perhaps Vikings came ashore there.
At the back of the hill at Burravoe deep clefts related to the
Great Glen Fault allow flowers to bloom safe from grazing. Come
by Oot Toon and down among the rock pools and the sea anemones.
At the North Haa, try the steps in front of
the former shop building down to the sea, a curiosity from bygone
days. Walk past the war memorial on your way South, noting how
many lives were lost in both World Wars from such a small place.
Past the modern pier, there was once an old fishing station and
beyond the ayre, there’s the Vadil which was such a safe
place to play with toy boats.
Over the burn-mouth below the Ness of Houlland we gathered shell
sand for the hens. Down the coast from there, you come to Brei
Geo where we collected the rare grottie buckie shells. Leaving
the East coast now, head West to explore the rocky hills of the
Beorgs where trows and giants used to live (and may still thrive
unseen). The lochs between there and the waterfalls at the West
Banks are full of trout and the heather ripe with berries to purple
the mouth of any bairn. Uyea fascinated me as a bairn, but I especially
liked the “Stone Age Factory” as we called it, where
ancient axes were manufactured. Then it’s round the hilly
coast to Roermill where the sea monster Shoopiltie tormented the
folk and from Turvy Hill step down to Sandvoe, a place to gather
razor shells when the tide’s out.
We walked, we swam, we cycled, we explored and we helped with
hay and peats.
The places where we roamed and played in our school holidays
are just as rich today. Tourists and visitors from hameaboot will
find North Roe fascinating. It’s got geology, archaeology,
history, folk-lore, nature, fishing and beach-combing.
The
folk who do stay there have a beautiful place to call home but
most of them have to drive South every day to go to work. You
can’t make a living from a view. There’s definitely
hope for the future though as the foundations are laid for new
homes, old houses are given a new lease of life and the fight
goes on to keep the school open. But oh, wouldn’t it be
fine if there were public toilets !
Mary Blance
North Roe Primary School has its own website www.northroe.shetland.sch.uk
which is full of interesting information, photos, movies and a
whole lot more!
Christmas Concert 2006 - The Match Seller's Christmas
There’s
one weekend a year when all roads lead to North Roe. That’s
the third weekend in August when the community hall and surrounding
area become the focus for the mirth and jollification of the Big
Bannock fund raising event. Anarchy rules and keen competition
comes to the fore with the Merry Tiller Grand Prix. Domestic skills
are celebrated as hundreds share an enormous bannock after it’s
been baked and spread with fresh butter 
newly
churned by two rival teams. There’s music and beer and silly
games and the fun of the day raises many thousands of pounds.
That success is dependent on the hard work of local folk as well
as the fertile imagination of the organisers from all over Northmavine
who come up with wacky original ideas every year.
of
the former shop building down to the sea, a curiosity from bygone
days. Walk past the war memorial on your way South, noting how
many lives were lost in both World Wars from such a small place.
Past the modern pier, there was once an old fishing station and
beyond the ayre, there’s the Vadil which was such a safe
place to play with toy boats.
The
folk who do stay there have a beautiful place to call home but
most of them have to drive South every day to go to work. You
can’t make a living from a view. There’s definitely
hope for the future though as the foundations are laid for new
homes, old houses are given a new lease of life and the fight
goes on to keep the school open. But oh, wouldn’t it be
fine if there were public toilets !