Whalsay Tourist Information

Whalsay Attractions

The island of Whalsay measures five miles long and two miles wide and is just off to the east of Mainland Shetland. It is one of the most populated islands with a thriving population of around 1,000; largely supported by their fishing fleet of super-trawlers and, to a lesser extent, crofting. The island itself is often referred to locally as the Bonnie Isle due to its fertile land and abundant peat. The name Whalsay originates from Old Norse for "Whale Island". Tourism hasn't played a major role on the island as yet and as such there are limited services for visitors.

Whalsay has a range of easy coastal walks with some magnificent cliff scenery. You can get some great views of the east coast of Mainland Shetland from the highest point of Whalsay island, the Ward of Clett at 393 feet. Just off the Whalsay coast are some of the best places in Shetland to see porpoises, dolphins, minke whales and orcas.

B&B accommodation is sparse but you might find something by asking at the post office. There is a camping bod at Grieve House, the former home of republican poet Christopher Murray Grieve. The Oot Ower Lounge restaurant and pub at Livister is the only place to eat on Whalsay so you'll need to book ahead if you want a full meal at lunch or dinner. Tel: 01806 566658.

The Whalsay Boating Club in Symbister also has a bar that welcomes visitors. Whalsay Boating Club, Strath Haven, Symbister, Whalsay, Shetland ZE2 9AE. Tel: 01806 566627. The island also has a shop and leisure centre with heated swimming pool.

Getting to Whalsay - Scottish Island Hopping

Ferries to Symbister on Whalsay run from Vidlin on North Mainland, particularly in bad weather, but more frequently from Laxo on the Mainland. The services from Laxo are more frequent running six days a week.

The journey across Drury Voe takes just 30 minutes and the fares are reasonable.

Whalsay Ferries Booking Information: Voicebank: 01595 743973 Bookings: 01806 566259. Ferry services general information: 01595 743970. Booking office opening hours: 8.30am-4.45 pm.

You can fly from Tingwall Airstrip on Mainland Shetland to Skaw Airstrip on Whalsay on a request-only basis. Tingwall Airport, Gott, Shetland, ZE2 9XJ. Tel: 0159 584 0306. Fax: 0159 569 4544.

Britain's Most Northerly Golf Course

Whalsay Golf Club's 18 hole course is Britain's most northerly golf course. It is near Skaw Airstrip in the northeast of the island.

Golf was apparently played by the Lairds in the 19th century but this course has only been in existence since the 1970s.

Visitors are welcome, check their website for more information. Whalsay Golf Club, Skaw, Brough, Whalsay, Shetland Isles ZE2 9AW. Tel: 01806 566705

Whalsay Tourist Attractions

The harbour at Symbister is the centre of the island and where visitors arrive by ferry. It is often dominated by one of the huge locally owned pelagic super trawlers that are some of the biggest in Europe. These enable the locally crewed vessels to fish the seas in all weathers. In the inner harbour a variety of traditional and smaller Shetland boats jostle for space and are a sharp contrast to the modern trawlers.

However, Symbister Harbour still retains some of its historic feel evoking a time when Germans of the Hanseatic League sailed to Whalsay's to trade tobacco, seeds, cloth, iron tools and luxury goods for Whalsay's salt fish. Pier House, one of the Hanseatic merchants' stores, today houses a museum telling the trading history of the islands from the medieval times through to the eighteenth century when the German merchants were forced out by import taxes agreed between the English and Scottish. Nearby is the other Hanseatic storehouse, the attractive Harbour View house, restored still with its dock and cargo hoist. As you'd expect from a sea trading island, there was also an underground smuggling trade going on and it is believed a smuggler's tunnel ran under Bremen Strasse - the road outside the booth - to the cellars of the Auld Haa, the former home of Bruce lairds who spent much of their time having acquired Whalsay in oppressing the island's inhabitants over a 300 year period.

Symbister House, the New Haa, is the granite Georgian mansion with Neoclassical portico that stands proudly on the hill overlooking the harbour. This was built in 1830, using forced local labour, at great expense by Robert Bruce almost bankrupting the family. An intentional ploy on Bruce's part as he wanted to deny the family fortune to his heirs! It has been used as a school since the 1940s.

Hugh MacDiarmid Scottish Nationalist Poet

Half a mile east of Symbister is Sodom, an anglicised corruption of Sudheim. This is where Scotland's most influential poet spent nine years of his life and where he produced much of his best poetry at Grieve House.

Hugh MacDiarmid, whose real name was Christopher Murray Grieve, came to Whalsay after serving in the First World War. His literary aims were to revive the Scottish language in poetry in order to assert Scotland's artistic independence from England. Looking to re-invigorate the largely sentimental literature relating to Scotland he sought to reflect Scottish dialects and language through his own work, creating his own version of the Scots literary language known as Lallans.

His republican views brought him into political debate and conflict being a member of both the Scottish National Party and the Communist Party. He was something of a tortured soul divorcing his first wife, marrying his second at which time they moved to Whalsay, where he often struggled with physical and mental health, poverty and drink. However, as many celebrated poets do in darker times, he produced a significant amount of his total works on Whalsay including some of his best. He was regarded by the islanders as being an oddity but he did go out to sea with the fishermen and wrote poems honouring them and their lifestyle. MacDiarmid eventually left the island having been reluctantly conscripted to work in a munitions factory in Glasgow and never returned.