A wild Westside brown trout Otters are plentiful but shy Westside The Wild West A walk on Shetland’s Westside brings Westside The sunny side of Shetland you face to face with nature in all its amazing variety. You’ll have good views of seals, seabirds, skuas, and moorland species such as Skylark, Curlew and Golden Plover. The long, Some Useful Information winding tideline teems with wildlife, Accommodation: VisitShetland, Lerwick, with everything from rock pools full of Tel: 08701 999440 hermit crabs and sea anemones to Ferry Booking Offices: Papa Stour, Tel: 01595 810460 Field Gentian sheltered, sandy shores with razor Foula, Tel: 01595 753254 shells and cockles. Neighbourhood The geology of the west side is equally fascinating – Information Point: Baker’s Rest, Waas, Tel 01595 809308 displaying outcrops of granite and volcanic rocks in a Shops: Bixter, Aith, Waas heavily glaciated Old Red Sandstone. Fuel: Bixter, Aith, Waas Public Toilets: Bixter, Skeld, West Burrafirth, Waas, Wild flowers abound in a landscape Sandness where traditional crofting methods have Places to Eat: Waas preserved many plants and habitats fast Post Offices: Bixter, Aith, Reawick, Skeld, disappearing on mainland Britain. Sandness, Waas In Shetland’s West Mainland you’ll find Public Telephones: Sandsound, Tresta, Bixter, Aith, beauty and peace – and we can promise Clousta, Sand, Garderhouse, Skeld, you a beach, a cliff-top or a loch in the Reawick, Culswick, Stanydale, West Burrafirth, Brig o Waas, Sandness, Dale, hills all to yourself. Arctic Skua Lera Voe, Waas, Vadlure Swimming Pool: Waas, Tel: 01595 809324 Churches: Tresta, Aith, Sand, Reawick, Skeld, One of the scenic beaches West Burrafirth, Sandness, Waas Health Centres: Bixter, Tel: 01595 810202, Waas, Tel: 01595 809352 Police Station: Scalloway, Tel: 01595 880222 Contents copyright protected - please contact Shetland Amenity Trust for details. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the contents are accurate, the funding partners do not accept responsibility for any errors in this leaflet. During the summer, several village halls offer Sunday teas – terrific value with home-baking and a chance to meet local people. Most villages have a shop, post office and fuel pumps. The Westside even boasts its own A croft at the Dale o Waas heated swimming pool, bakery, Tranquil Tresta Voe spinning mill, garages and a veterinary practice. Welcome to the Sunny Side of Shetland This is a classic “drowned coastline”, flooded by the Accommodation comprises cosy bed-and-breakfast houses and two “West is best”. It’s true – many a day when sea at the end of the Ice Age, some 12,000 years ago. The shorescape varies from the dramatic cliffs of camping barns, or böds. There are Walls and District the east coast of Shetland is smothered in Agricultural Show the outer coast to long voes (sea inlets), which extend also many idyllic spots to pitch a held during August sea fog, the Westside is gloriously sunny. far into the heathery hills and green croftland. tent – but please ask permission It happens particularly in summer, when Whatever the wind direction, you can always find a from local landholders and remember to follow the south-easterly winds pick up moisture sheltered beach. Countryside Code. from the North Sea: as the clammy air An Ancient Landscape passes over the hills of Shetland it warms A Crofting Tradition A network of well-maintained side roads leads the and dries, clearing away the mist. The Westside is a largely unspoilt corner of Shetland, only indirectly affected by the oil developments of visitor to dozens of quiet corners and some of the the past 20 years. Very much a traditional crofting most beautiful and peaceful landscapes anywhere. community, this is also one of the main centres Every bend of the road reveals new facets of an The West Mainland offers many miles of hill and of the seafood industry, with many fish farms and ancient landscape which has been inhabited for coastal walks, excellent birding, seal-watching and mussel rafts, some small, inshore fishing boats and, at least 5,000 years. Two to three thousand years otter-spotting, great angling and some fascinating at Skeld, a large fish processing plant. As well as ago the climate was much warmer and drier. historical and archaeological sites. sheltering salmon and sea trout cages, the voes of Crops could grow on what is now barren moorland. There are hundreds of freshwater lochs, most of the Westside are ideal for yachting and canoeing. Traces of ancient farmsteads and field systems are them in hollows carved by glaciers out of the granite Natural harbours shelter modern marinas at Waas everywhere. Excavated habitation sites at the Scord and sandstone rocks. The lochs and the burns (Walls), Skeld and Aith – where berths are reserved of Brouster and Stanydale date from this period and linking them to the sea are home to trout, ducks, for visiting sailors. The annual regattas at Waas, Aith show that crops could grow on what is now barren wading birds and plants such as Bogbean and white and Skeld are major events in the social calendar. moorland. The Westside also has several ruined Water Lily. Like the Skeld Sheepdog Trials and the Waas Show brochs – fortified circular stone towers dating from (the longest-running agricultural show in Shetland), around the time of Christ. these community gatherings include concerts and dances where visitors are always welcome. Broch of Culswick Water Lilies blossom in July-August Skeld marina with the camping böd behind it Vee Skerries Olnafirth Your first view of the Westside Touring the Westside Papa Stour Traditionally, the Westside begins at the top Guns Gonfirth of the hill dividing Weisdale from Aithsting Papa Vementry Little and Sandsting. Just below the summit, the road leading down to the leafy gardens of Vementry und Neeans Tresta crosses a fault in the Earth’s crust. Papa So Melby East Holm Burrafirth A short walk up the Burn of Tactigill reveals Brindister Melby Clousta Shetland’s largest deposit of china clay. The Sandness Bousta Noonsbrough Burn of Lunklet Huxter Snarraness Watermills fault runs south to emerge at the charming, Spinning Michaelswood Mill West Burrafirth secluded pebble beach of Sandsound, a Aith favourite picnic place. Sandness West Mainland Deepdale Hill Leisure Centre Bixter to Aith Twatt Park Dale Galtafirth is one of Shetland’s most sheltered voes and Stourbrough Hulma Water Hall Hill a winter favourite with birdwatchers – particularly for Scord of Brouster Effirth Bixter Tresta Burn of Tactigill sea ducks, divers, grebes and Ga Brig o lta Tresta waders. Seals often haul out Waas fir Voe th along the shoreline of Bixter and Watsness Mid Waas Waas Stanydale West (Walls) Swimming Pool e Effirth Voes. The village of Bixter Footabrough Vo Mainland has a shop and a children’s play Voe House Scutta Gruting e park nearby. Here the road Littlure Sandsound Vo Va oe ila e ale Linga Seliv d branches north to Aith – a large Vo oe Burrastow So is V Sand u ing ut e township in a scenic setting. nd Gr We The Aith lifeboat Aith has a shop, leisure centre, St Mary’s Chapel services Shetland’s Ferry to Foula Vaila erhous the Westside’s secondary school, d western coastline ar a charity shop and a fine marina. G Main roads Trout fishing One of Britain’s most modern RNLI lifeboats, Skeld Minor roads Birds Culswick Reawick Kirk a 17-metre, long-range, ‘Severn’ Holm Wester class boat, is stationed at the Aith Track Seals Ferry routes Whales & dolphins Skeld Pier. Take time to stop at Westerwick Nature reserve Otters Michaelswood, a small woodland Beach Ponies Silwick with a picnic area, wildlife pond and Cliffs Viewpoint bird hide. Just north of Aith is the Historic building Site of interest hamlet of East Burrafirth, where a Museum Telephone path leads up the Burn of Lunklet to Toilet Air the waterfall and on to some Broch Leisure Centre exhilarating hill-walking with Information Point Böd wonderful views of the Westside’s The waterfall at Lunklet Scale - miles lochs, hills, islands and voes. 0 1 2 3 4 Driving north along the west side of Aith Voe you come to Vementry House and a view of the uninhabited island of Vementry. The isle has ruins of ancient homesteads and burial cairns and, on the west side, A couple of miles beyond Skeld are two of the most Waas (Walls) and Sandness derelict Royal Navy gun exquisite bays in Shetland – Westerwick and Culswick, From Brig o Waas the road passes the prehistoric site emplacements from the First each a narrow green valley ending in a pebble beach of Brouster, and winds through the hills to Sandness, World War. fringed by sea stacks, cliffs and caves. A track beside a crofting township in a spectacular setting the Culswick chapel leads to the remains of the An interesting walk leads from overlooking St. Magnus Bay and Papa Stour. Vementry House to Clousta and Culswick Broch high on a hill overlooking the entrance Noonsbrough. This was once a to Gruting Voe and Vaila Sound. Sandness has Shetland’s only wool spinning mill where visitors are welcome. The district’s many quiet backwater but now the sound From Skeld the road to Brig o Waas (Bridge of Walls) archaeological remains include watermills at Huxter and voes are busy with workboats passes the tranquil inlets of Gruting Voe, Selivoe, and several burial cairns and brochs. Vementry House and fish farms – a major source of Scutta Voe and the Voe of Browland. Remains of jobs for local people. The road prehistoric settlements are scattered among Sandness Hill and the coastal walk leads from Clousta back to Bixter through the crofting modernised croft houses.