Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
210km²
Area
180km
Coastline
205m
Highest point
966
People
13°C
Warmest sea
August
322km
To the mainland
When to go to Yell
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (13 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK
Yell is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Shetland Islands. It covers 210 km², with 180 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 205 m. About 966 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 322 km away.
Getting there
- Sumburgh Airport (LSI)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 83 km in a straight lineCar hire at KOI airport (Kirkwall, Orkney Islands)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries2 ferry terminals on the island
- 322 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Yell.
- 17beachesBreckon Beach, Gossabrough Beach, Ayre of Vatswick and 14 more
- 2lighthousesWhitehill Lighthouse
- 2ferry terminalsUlsta, Gutcher
- 4marinas
- 62named peaksHill of Arisdale, Ward of Otterswick, South Ward of Reafirth and 59 more
- 37ruins and archaeological sitesRemains of Catalina Z 2148 Crashed 1942, The Brough, Burgi Geos, promontory fort site and 34 more
- 11waymarked walking routesBrekon Coastal, Gloup Coastal, Cullivoe to Basta Voe and 8 more
- 1campsitesBurravoe Pier Trust Campsite
- 2hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 1restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Yell in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Yell, each with its own numbers.
4lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
0.46km²
Gossa Water
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
15.5°C
Loch of Vatsetter
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
4 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Gossa Water0.46km²
- Evra Loch0.22km²
- Loch of Vatsetter0.22km²
- Loch of Littlester0.19km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 60 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 43 %0–50 m
- 57 %50–200 m
- <1 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 |
| Night low (°C) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Sea (°C) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 136 | 100 | 98 | 65 | 66 | 69 | 86 | 101 | 105 | 124 | 122 | 126 |
| Wet days | 22 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.0 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 37 | 35 | 32 | 28 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 28 | 32 | 35 | 36 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | ±0.0 | −0.4 | +0.1 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.4 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.3 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +1.2 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2024 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +1.3 | +0.2 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +1.3 | +1.6 | +0.7 | +1.6 | +0.7 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +0.9 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Unst
United Kingdom119 km²284 m18 km away
FetlarUnited Kingdom40 km²158 m13 km away
MainlandUnited Kingdom948 km²450 m38 km away
WhalsayUnited Kingdom19 km²119 m30 km away
Muckle RoeUnited Kingdom17 km²172 m34 km away
BressayUnited Kingdom27 km²226 m53 km away
FoulaUnited Kingdom13 km²418 m76 km away
Fair IsleUnited Kingdom8.1 km²271 m125 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q376068) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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