Day 59: Tingwall to Sullom Voe, Shetland

Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021

4th March 2021: 103.11km walked today taking the total to 6080.70/8868km. 15% of 92 entries submitting 687.43km.

We continue our walk around Shetland today, progressing northwards through Aith, Voe and Brae to reach the Sullom Voe.

Route 19: Shetland

After passing Loch of Asta we come across a 2-metre standing stone beside the road. This is called the Tingwall Stone or Murder Stone. This stone is traditionally said to be the site where the Earl Henry of Orkney killed his cousin Malise Sperra in 1389 in a struggle for power over Shetland. A local legend though says that it is called the Murder Stone because if a person were convicted of murder and could run to it without being caught then they would be pardoned.

Following the road along the edge of Loch of Tingwall we reach Law Ting Holm. This was once the home of Shetland’s earliest parliament. It was once surrounded by water and access to it was by a stone causeway, but it is now just a promontory into the loch, as the level of the water in the loch has fallen.

At Tingwall we pass the second oldest church in Shetland still in use. It opened in 1790 although there has been a church here since the 12th century. The original church was dedicated to St Magnus and part of it can be seen in the grass-covered burial vault beside the existing church. St Magnus was one of 3 churches gifted by 3 Norse sisters to Shetland and was said to be the grandest of them. From 1215 St Magnus Church was the base of the senior church official in Shetland, the Archdeacon of Tingwall, but this church was demolished in 1788. The story of the Murder Stone was also said to apply to St Magnus Church, in that any person convicted of murder that could leave Law Ting Holm and touch St Magnus Church without being caught, would be pardoned.

Leaving Tingwall, we turn left at the next junction and when we reach the A971 we turn left towards Walls. Soon we reach the end of Whiteness Voe where there are fantastic views across to the south and west. The road then passes just west of the Loch of Strom, which is linked to Stromness Voe, a very narrow sea inlet, between the White Ness and Strom Ness peninsulas. Due to its situation, the Loch of Strom is a mix of seawater and fresh water making it a good trout loch. There is a small ruined medieval castle, Holm Castle, on its west shore which can only be reached by a causeway.

At Haggersta we reach Weisdale Voe where there is a war memorial on the hill to our right before we reach Hellister, where we pass by Shetland Jewellery which designs jewellery inspired by local wildlife, Celtic patterns, Scandinavian mythology, and the Northern Lights. Just past here we cross over the Kallie Bridge which crosses a channel that joins Loch of Hellister and Weisdale Voe over a narrow spit of land.

We soon reach the head of Weisdale Voe which is a good place to see wading birds before we carry on up the road to Weisdale. In Weisdale we find the Weisdale Mill which was a meal and barley mill from 1855 until the early 1900s. It then had other uses before becoming derelict in the mid- 20th century. The building was renovated in 1994 and opened as the Bonhoga Gallery. It contains the Mill Cafe where we will stop for a well-earned rest.

John Clunies Ross, who was called the ‘King’ of the Cocos Islands, was born in Weisdale in 1786. The Clunies-Ross family were the original settlers of the Cocos Islands which are in the Indian Ocean. From 1827 to 1978, the family ruled the islands as a private fiefdom with the head of the family being recognised as the resident magistrate and was sometimes styled as the "King of the Cocos Islands" – a title given by the press.

Beyond this is the largest strand of trees in Shetland, Kergord Forest. In reality, there are only small patches of mixed woodland, but they do give a home to woodland birds such as chaffinches. In one of the woods is the secluded farmhouse of Kergord which was once the Special Operations Executive’s HQ for the Shetland Bus operation.

Retracing our steps to the head of Weisdale Voe, we head down the west side before the road climbs towards the Scord of Sound, with great views to the south, before heading down towards Tresta and Tresta Voe.

At Tresta are Lea Gardens which are part of the Scottish Garden Scheme. It was started in the early 1980s and the plant collection is now the largest north of Inverewe Gardens.

We walk past Bixter Voe and Effirth Voe before we turn left towards Stanydale Temple. We pass Loch of Gruting on our left before we reach the path to the temple. This megalithic structure comprises a wall of large stones in an oval shape that would have originally had a timber roof. It was called a temple by the archaeologist who excavated it, but it could actually have been a village hall or a Chieftain’s hall rather than a temple.

Retracing our steps back to the road, we turn right down to Gruting, but before we reach there we turn left and head round Seli Voe and Olas Voe before we reach the Giant’s Grave, a badly ruined chambered cairn. We turn right and head towards Culswick. At the telephone box in Culswick, we follow the sign to Culswick Methodist Chapel. After passing the chapel we reach the Loch of Sotersta with the ruins of Sotersta hamlet visible to the south. We soon see another smaller loch with the remains of the Broch of Culswick up on the hill. The broch is about 2000 years old and stands to a height of about 3 metres with a huge triangular lintel stone over the entrance.

From the broch, there are views of the stacks and islands in between here and Vaila. We head south along the coast until we have views of the Burga Stacks. It is said that a monk lived on one of these stacks and received his supplies by hauling them up in a bucket. We then return to the small lochan we passed earlier and then follow the track back to Culswick.

We retrace our steps past Lunga Water, but go straight on at the next junction past Gossa Water to reach Easter Skeld with its marina in Skelda Voe.

We go around the hill called Ward of Reawick until we reach the next junction, where we walk south to the beach at Reawick. The beach here is of red granite sand and is a great place to swim in the clear, but very cold, water. This area is great for birdwatchers and we should be able to see fulmars, gannets, and oystercatchers. We might also be able to spot other animals such as otters, harbour and grey seals, as well as orcas.

Walking back north, we follow the east coast of this peninsula along Garderhouse Voe, past Loch of Semblister until we reach the A971 where we turn right and head back towards Weisdale, before turning left to go north again. The minor road we follow now crosses moorland before we reach Aith which sits at the head of Aith Voe. This modern village occupies an area originally called Aithsting when Shetland was occupied by the Norse. Just before we reach Aith, we pass a sheepskin workshop where we discover how they prepare the sheepskins that they sell.

The village of Aith has a marina which was built in the early 1990s and a pier which has a lifeboat station, the most northerly lifeboat station in Britain. This may seem a bit odd since Aith is a bit away from the open sea, but the lifeboat has been here since 1933 providing protection for sailors in the Atlantic. Aith has a small fishing fleet but also has local fish farming which is important for the area’s economy. Even though Aith is not very large it is the location for the local primary and secondary schools.

Leaving Aith, we continue to follow the road north. When we reach East Burra Firth, we should be able to see the remains of a broch on an island. Following the road round we reach the Burn of Lunklet where we take the path up the side of the burn to have a look at the waterfall.

From the Burn of Lunklet, we take ‘the Alps’ road which climbs over West Hill of Burrafirth before going downhill to Gonfirth. Here we pass the old Methodist church at the head of Gon Firth where we have another climb over the moorland beside the hill, Fielnadringa, before we have a long descent from Loch of Gonfirth to Voe at Olnafirth. Voe has a distinctly Norwegian appearance with a newly rebuilt pier and marina.

Leaving Voe, we head uphill before soon arriving at the junction with the A970 at the freshwater loch, Loch of Voe, where we turn left to go to Brae. The road follows Olnafirth before cutting over to Busta Voe which we follow until we reach Brae. Brae lies at the northern end of Busta Voe but only a short way to the north is the southern end of Sullom Voe. The first settlement here was on the west side of Busta Voe and in 1588 Busta House was built. It was originally 2 storeys but in 1714 the Laird, Thomas Gifford, added a three-storey mansion to celebrate his marriage. At this time, he also built a harbour below the house. However, tragedy struck the family as Thomas Gifford’s 4 sons were drowned when rowing back from Wethersta. The eldest son had secretly married against his mother’s wishes and she is said to haunt the house. Due to this marriage, there was a disputed inheritance which eventually bankrupted the estate. Busta House is now a hotel.

In the mid-1800s Brae had developed on the east shore of Busta Voe. Its growth coincided with the development of a road through and by 1894 it had a weekly steamer service. It was still very small though until the oil terminal was built at Sullom Voe in the 1970s which caused Brae to expand.

From Brae we continue along the A970 to head to Mavis Grind. This is where mainland Shetland is almost divided into two with just a narrow neck of land at this point (33 metres wide) separating the Atlantic and the North Sea and joining Northmavine to the rest of the mainland. In fact, Mavis Grind in Old Norse means ‘gate of the narrow isthmus’ and as it is so narrow it was an important portage point, being a shortcut between the 2 coasts.

At Mavis Grind there is a geology wall. This wall has been built to demonstrate the geodiversity of rocks in Northmavine. All 3 major rock types are shown: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, including rocks of different colours and textures.

From Mavis Grind, we retrace our steps to Brae, where we walk along the B9076 on the south side of Sullom Voe. Sullom Voe is the longest and most sheltered voe in the islands and, even though there is a huge oil terminal handling around 40 million tonnes of oil each year, there are strict environmental controls imposed by Shetland Islands Council and BP, and so is still a great place for birdwatching.