"Brae" is also the Lowland Scots language word for the slope or brow of a hill

Hill

A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...

.

Brae (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

: Breiðeið, meaning "the wide isthmus") is a settlement on the mainland of the Shetland Islands

Shetland Islands

Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is located at the northeast end of Busta Voe

Busta Voe

Busta Voe, , in the north central Mainland, lies between the village of Brae and the island of Muckle Roe. At the head of the voe is the Delting Marina and Boating Club....

, on the narrow isthmus

Isthmus

An isthmus is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas usually with waterforms on either side.Canals are often built through isthmuses where they may be particularly advantageous to create a shortcut for marine transportation...

 that separates the mainland from Northmavine

Northmavine

Northmavine is a peninsula of Shetland in Scotland. It is in the north west of the island, and contains the villages of Hillswick, Ollaberry, and North Roe...

. Traditionally a fishing village, with the construction of the nearby Sullom Voe Oil Terminal in the 1970s Brae grew rapidly, merging with the nearby village of Northbrae. The village also stages its own Up Helly Aa.

The village is also responsible for supplying the Islands' successful football team with eight players.

The A970 which connects Lerwick

Lerwick

Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...

 to Northmavine forms the main street of Brae. Brae's police and fire stations, schools, and NHS clinic service much of the northern part of the mainland.

Etymology

Brae is the Lowland Scots word for the slope or brow of a hill. The word 'Brae' in Shetland dialect has a different meaning; it may come from the Old Norse word breiðr meaning broad. The village may take its name from the broad isthmus between Sullom Voe and Busta Voe as opposed to the narrower one a little further north at Mavis Grind

Mavis Grind

Mavis Grind is a narrow isthmus joining the Northmavine peninsula to the rest of the island of Shetland Mainland in the Shetland Islands, UK. It is just wide at its narrowest point...

. Alternatively the name may mean "a slope to the sea".

External links

• Brae article at Undiscovered Scotland
• Photo of the Brae area
• Brae Hotel