Shetland - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 378

Trondra
Southwest of Scalloway - and connected to the Mainland by a bridge since 1971 - is
the island of Trondra , where you can visit a working crofthouse. Pick up a leaflet and a
bucket of feed for the hens from the barn, and head of along the Croft Trail , which
takes you to see the ducks, down to the shore (a good picnic spot), over to a restored
watermill and then through a field of orchids and other wild flowers.

Burra
Burra Bridge connects Trondra with the twin islands of East and West Burra , which
have some beautiful beaches and some fairly gentle coastal walks.

West Burra
West Burra has the largest settlement in the area, HAMNAVOE , unique in having been
planned by the local landlord as a fishing port. Just south of Hamnavoe, a small
path leads down from the road to the white sandy beach at Meal . At the southern
end of West Burra, at Banna Minn , is another fine beach, with excellent walking
nearby on the cliffs of Kettla Ness, linked to the rest of West Burra only by a sliver
of tombolo.

East Burra
East Burra , joined to West Burra at the middle like a Siamese twin, ends at the hamlet
of HOUSS , distinguished by the tall, ruined laird's house or haa. From the turning place
outside the cattle-grid, continue walking southwards, following the track to the left,
down the hill and across the beach, and after about a mile you'll reach the deserted
settlement of Symbister , inhabited until the 1940s. You can now see ancient field
boundaries and, just south of the ruins, a burnt mound . Half a mile further south,
the island ends in cliffs, caves and wheeling fulmars.

8

Tingwall and around
TINGWALL , the name for the loch-studded, fertile valley north of Scalloway, takes its
name from the Lawting or Althing (from thing , the Old Norse for “parliament”), in
existence from the eleventh to the sixteenth century, where local people and officials
gathered to make or amend laws and discuss evidence. The Lawting was situated at
Law Ting Holm , the small peninsula at the northern end of the Loch of Tingwall that
was once an island linked to the shore by a causeway. Structures on the holm have
long since vanished, but an information board helps in visualizing the scene. At the
southwest corner of the loch, a 7ft standing stone by the roadside is said to mark the
spot where, after a dispute at the Lawting in 1389, Earl Henry Sinclair killed his cousin
and rival, Marise Sperra, together with seven of his followers.

Tingwall Kirk
Just north of the Loch of Tingwall is Tingwall Kirk , unexceptional from the outside,
but preserving its simple late eighteenth-century interior. In the burial ground, a dank,
turf-covered burial aisle survives from the medieval church demolished in 1788. Inside
are several very old gravestones, including one to a local official called a Foud - a
representative of the king - who died in 1603.

Weisdale Mill
Tues-Sat 10.30am-4.30pm, Sun noon-4.30pm • Free • T 01595 745750, W shetlandarts.org
The parish of WEISDALE , five miles northwest of Tingwall, is notable primarily for
Weisdale Mill , situated up the B9075 from the head of Weisdale Voe. Built for milling
grain in 1855, this is now an attractively converted arts centre, housing the small,