Out Stack or Ootsta is an island in Shetland, and the northernmost point of Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles.

Out Stack
Location
Out Stack is located in Scotland
Out Stack
Out Stack
Out Stack shown within Scotland
OS grid referenceHP612202
Coordinates60°51′37″N 0°52′27″W / 60.8603°N 0.8741°W / 60.8603; -0.8741
Physical geography
Island groupShetland
Highest elevation27 m (89 ft)
Administration
Council areaShetland Islands
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Demographics
Population0
Lymphad

It lies 600 m (2,000 ft) northeast of Muckle Flugga and 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north of the island of Unst.

It is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands and lies within the Hermaness National Nature Reserve.

It is uninhabited and there is no landfall directly to the north.

Description

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Out Stack is little more than a rocky outcrop, and is uninhabited. It has been described as "the full stop at the end of Britain".[1] Travellers would not encounter any further land masses between Out Stack and the North Pole if heading directly north.

Jane Franklin

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Jane Franklin, the wife of the Arctic explorer John Franklin, landed on Out Stack after John Rae's reports of the fate of the Franklin expedition had reached Stromness, Orkney, where she lived, in 1853/54.[2]

Hermaness National Nature Reserve

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The Hermaness National Nature Reserve covers the Muckle Flugga rocks and Out Stack, as well as the seabird cliffs and moorland of Hermaness.

References

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  1. ^ "BBC Scotland - Grand Tours of the Scottish Islands, Series 3, Northern Exposure: The North Isles and Out Stack, the former home of Britain's most northerly lighthouse keepers".
  2. ^ "Lady Jane Franklin, the Woman Who Fueled 19th-Century Polar Exploration". Atlas Obscura. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
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View towards Muckle Flugga and Out Stack from Saxa Vord. Out Stack is the one in the centre (the white shape on right is a ship).
 
View from Out Stack towards Muckle Flugga.

60°51′37″N 0°52′27″W / 60.8603°N 0.8741°W / 60.8603; -0.8741