Shetland - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 394

great expense by the laird Robert Bruce, reputedly not because he wanted to live on
Whalsay but because he wanted to deprive his heirs of his fortune. Since 1960, it has
served as the local school, though you can still see the old doocot behind the house,
and various outbuildings in the Midden Court, one of which houses a heritage centre
on the history of the island.

Grieve House
About half a mile east of Symbister at the hamlet of SODOM - an anglicized
version of Sudheim, meaning “South House” - is Grieve House (now a camping
böd; see below), the modest former home of celebrated Scots poet, writer and
Communist Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978), born Christopher Grieve in the
Borders town of Langholm. He stayed here from 1933 until 1942, writing about
half of his output, including much of his best work: lonely, contemplative poems
honouring fishing and fishermen, with whom he sometimes went out to sea. At
first, he seems to have fallen in love with the islands, but poor physical and mental
health, exacerbated by chronic poverty, dogged him. Eventually, unwillingly
conscripted to work in a Glasgow munitions factory, he left with his new wife and
young son, never to return.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE WHALSAY

By plane There are also request-only flights from Tingwall
(Mon, Wed & Thurs; T 01595 840246, W directflight.co
.uk); day-trips are only possible on Thursdays.
By ferry Car ferries run regularly to Whalsay from Laxo on

the Mainland ( T 01806 566259; 30min) - book ahead to
take a car. In bad weather, especially southeasterly gales,
the service operates from Vidlin instead. Laxo-Symbister
(every 45min; 30min). 8

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Grieve House T 01595 694688, W camping-bods.com.
The only accommodation on Whalsay is this camping böd
in Sodom, on the edge of Symbister. The house has lovely
views overlooking Linga Sound, but is hidden from the
road to the Loch of Huxter, so ask for dire ctions. No electri-
city, but a solid fuel stove. April-Oct. £8 /person

Oot Ower Lounge & Campsite T 01595 566658.
A family-run pub overlooking the Loch of Huxter - this is
pretty much the only place to eat and drink on the
island (phone ahead to check they're open and serving
food), with fish a nd chips for £10, and somewhere you're
welcome to camp. £5 /person

SHOPPING
Shoard (no phone or website). The country's remotest
charity shop is in Brough, halfway between Symbister
and the golf course; it has limited opening hours, but is a

must if you're in the area. Shetland's take on Aladdin's Cave.
Wed, Thurs & Sat 2-4pm.

Out Skerries
Four miles out to sea, of the northeast tip of Whalsay, the Out Skerries (“Oot Skerries”
or plain “Skerries” as the locals call them), consist of three tiny low-lying rocky islands,
Housay, Bruray and Grunay, the first two linked by a bridge, with a population of
around seventy. That people live here at all is remarkable, and that it is one of
Shetland's most dynamic communities is astonishing, its affluence based on fishing
from a superb, small natural harbour and on salmon farming in a nearby inlet. There
are good, if short, walks, with a few prehistoric remains, but the majority of visitors are
divers exploring the wreck-strewn coastline, and ornithologists who come here when
the wind is in the east, hoping to catch a glimpse of rare migrants.
The Skerries' jetty and airstrip are both on the middle island of Bruray , which also
boasts the Skerries' highest point, Bruray Wart (173ft), an easy climb, and one which
brings you up close to the islands' ingenious spiral-channel collection system for
rainwater, which can become scarce in summer. The largest of the Skerries' trio,