Shetland - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 393

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING NORTHMAVINE

Drongs, serving soup, sandwiches and toasties, plus home-
made cakes and scones; phone to check opening times.
The campsite is pretty exposed but you can always book
one of the four wooden wigwams if the wind gets too
much. Food served Mon-T hurs & Sun 10 am -5pm, Fri &
Sat 10am-8pm. Wigwams £40 ; camping £5 /pitch
Johnnie Notions Böd T 01595 694688, W camping
-bods.com. One of the few places to stay in Esha Ness,
this tiny böd - the birthplace of a pioneer in smallpox
inoculation - is in a remote hamlet of Hamnavoe, north
of Braewick. Ther e's no electricity, but there is a solid-fuel
stove. April-Oct. £8 /person

HILLSWICK AND AROUND
Almara Urafirth T 01806 503261, W almara.shetland
.co.uk. This is without a doubt the best B&B in North-
mavine, serving up a friendly fam ily welcome, good food,
free wi-fi and excellent views. £70
Da Böd T 01806 503348, W shetlandwildlifesanctuary
.com. This eccentric, weekend-only café occupies a rambling,
ancient building and the proceeds go to the nearby wildlife
sanctuary. April-Sept Sat & Sun 11am-5pm.

ESHA NESS
Braewick café and campsite T 01806 503345,
W eshaness.moonfruit.com. Café with great views of the

Whalsay
The island of Whalsay , known in Shetland as the “Bonnie Isle”, is in a world of its own,
with a friendly community of over a thousand, devoted almost entirely to fishing, and
a dialect even other Shetlanders struggle to fathom. The islands' fishing crews operate a
very successful pelagic fleet of immense super-trawlers which can fish far afield in all
weathers catching a wide range of species. The island is also extremely fertile, but
crofting takes second place to fishing here; there are also plentiful supplies of peat,
which can be seen in spring and summer, stacked neatly to dry out above huge peat
banks, ready to be bagged for the winter.
Although the majority of folk live in or around Symbister, the rest of Whalsay
- which measures roughly two miles by eight - is quite evenly and fairly densely
populated. Of the prehistoric remains, the most notable are the two Bronze Age houses
on the northeastern coast of the island, half a mile south of Skaw, known respectively
as the “Benie Hoose” and “Yoxie Biggins”. The latter is also known as the “Standing
Stones of Yoxie”, due to the use of megaliths to form large sections of the walls, many
of which still stand.

8

Symbister
Ferries from the Mainland arrive at SYMBISTER in the southwest, whose harbour is
usually dominated by the presence of several of the island's sophisticated, multi-
million-pound purse-netters, some over 180ft long; you'll also see smaller fishing boats
and probably a few “fourareens”, which the locals race regularly in the summer months.

Pier House
Mon-Sat 9am-1pm & 2-5pm, Sun 2-4pm • Free
Across the busy harbour from the ferry berth stands the tiny grey-granite Pier House ,
the key for which resides in the shop opposite. This picturesque little building, with a
hoist built into one side, is thought to have been a Hanseatic merchants' store, and
contains a good display on how the Germans traded salt, tobacco, spirits and cloth for
Whalsay's salted, dried fish from medieval times until the eighteenth century; close by
is the Harbour View house, thought to have been a Hanseatic storehouse or booth.

Symbister House
Heritage Centre May-Sept Wed & Fri-Sun 2-5pm; Oct-May Wed 7-9pm • Free • T 01806 566397, W whalsayheritage.co.uk
On a hill overlooking the town is the imposing Georgian mansion of Symbister House ,
built in grey granite and boasting a Neoclassical portico. It was built in the 1830s at