Whalsay

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Scottish island

Whalsay (Template:Langx or Hvals-øy, meaning 'Whale Island')<ref name=Anderson/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is the sixth largest of the Shetland Islands in the north of Scotland.

GeographyEdit

File:Whalsay road from Symbister to Isbister.jpg

Road between Symbister and Isbister

Whalsay, also known as "The Bonnie Isle",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a peat-covered island in the Shetland Islands. It is situated east of the Shetland Mainland and has an area of Template:Convert. The main settlement is Symbister,<ref name=Smith454>Haswell-Smith (2004) pp. 454–55</ref> where the fishing fleet is based. The fleet is composed of both pelagic and demersal vessels. Other main settlements include Clate, Isbister, Sandwick, Saltness, Huxter, Challister, Marrister, North Park and furthest north is Skaw.

The island is fertile and fairly densely populated, with crofting taking second place to fishing as the main local industries.

TransportEdit

Ferries sail from Symbister to Laxo and Vidlin on the Shetland Mainland. When normal service is in operation two ferries run a tandem service between Symbister and Laxo. Departure times from the two terminals are normally around every 35 minutes according to a timetable, with the crossing taking approximately 30 minutes. The two ferries currently in service are the Hendra and the Linga. The Vidlin terminal is used when the weather causes the crossing to Laxo to become too rough. The journey between Symbister and Laxo takes around 30 minutes, but can take slightly longer depending on the weather and tides.

The island also has an airstrip, Whalsay Airstrip, at Skaw which is used only for emergencies.

RecreationEdit

Skaw is home to the most northerly 18 hole golf course in the UK. There is a club house with adequate parking. Other sporting facilities on the isle are the Whalsay Leisure Centre, a snooker club and Harbison Park artificial sports field.

Sailing dinghies and Shetland model boats are popular, with an annual Whalsay Regatta, usually taking place in the last week of July. In recent times, the popularity of sailing has declined, with the number of participating boats decreasing with each passing year.

Whalsay has an amateur football club, as well as hockey and netball teams. These teams participate in Shetland leagues. Whalsay F.C.'s home ground is Harbison Park. In 2005, Whalsay F.C. took part in the Highland Amateur Cup, reaching the fourth knockout round. They beat Halkirk FC 2–0 in the 3rd round, but lost to Pentland Utd 2–1 in the 4th.

AttractionsEdit

Attractions on the island include the Neolithic ruin of Benie Hoose<ref>Calder, Charles C. (1960–61) "Excavations in Whalsay, Shetland 1954–5" (pdf) PSAS. Retrieved 12 August 2008.</ref> and the settlement of Sudheim where Hugh MacDiarmid<ref name=OS/><ref name=Smith454/> lived in the 1930s and early 1940s. Grieve House is now one of Shetland Amenity Trust's Böds which offers economic, self-catering accommodation in a traditional building. Scotland's great poet Hugh MacDiarmid (Christopher Grieve) lived for nine years in this croft house, where he wrote some of his best work.

Media and the artsEdit

Whalsay is the location for the 2011 novel Dancing with the Ferryman by Frankie Valente and is the main location of Ann Cleeves's novel Red Bones (Macmillan, 2009), the third of her Shetland quartet.

'Black fish' scandalEdit

In 2012, a number of Whalsay fishermen were fined for a 'cynical and sophisticated'<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> fishing scam involving the landing of tens of millions of pounds of illegally caught fish.