Soft opening for Fair Isle Bird Observatory with first guests set to arrive

THE REBORN Fair Isle Bird Observatory will welcome its first guests across the door this week, six years after a fire destroyed the former observatory building.

Friends of Fair Isle – people who donated to the effort to rebuild the observatory – were given first priority to book accommodation.

They will be the first to get a taste of the new observatory from today (Monday).

However the weather might put paid to any visits today, with hospitality manager Jonnie Fisk saying there was “thick fog” on Fair Isle after a weekend of sunshine.

Flights into Fair Isle were put on hold on Monday morning due to the fog.

The bird observatory will open to the public in a fortnight’s time, on Monday 26 May, with people now able to book their stays at the building.

Fisk said there had already been a “huge amount of interest, especially during the summer months”.

“We’re almost really booked in for a lot of this year,” he added.

The observatory is open from late May until the end of October, with room for up to 48 guests and staff.

As well as en-suite bedrooms, the bird observatory offers a bar, lounge and hot meals for guests.

Day visitors, and those staying elsewhere on the island, are welcome to make use of the observatory facilities.

Fisk said there would be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the observatory in early June when the trust’s board members meet for their annual general meeting.

It marks the end of a long road of fundraising and rebuilding following the loss of the former building to a huge fire in 2019, which devastated the community and people across Shetland.

An international crowdfunding appeal helped to raise £650,000, before a funding boost of £2.35 million from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Government.

People can book a stay at the observatory by following this link.