Walls
Walls or Waas (Old Norse Vagar "Sheltered Bays") is a small fishing village on the west Mainland of the Shetland Islands. The main reasons to come are the Neolithic "Temple" and to take the ferry to Foula, or the ferry from West Burrafirth to Papa Stour.
Get in
By bus
Wastbus #9 runs five times M-Sa between Lerwick and Walls via Whiteness and Hellister, taking 50 mins.
By boat
The village is at the head of the bay, with 1 Walls ferry pier half a mile south, for the ferry to Foula. This runs 2 or 3 times a week, foot passengers only, taking 3 hours. A day trip is not possible.
20 miles north of Walls, and even more weary miles from anywhere else, is 2 West Burrafirth, the ferry pier for the crossing to Papa Stour. This ferry runs twice on Weds, Fri & Sat, taking 45 mins, so a day trip is easily possible with five hours on the island. Sunday there's only one sailing.
By plane
Get around
You need wheels to reach the Temple, five miles east of the village, or West Burrafirth for the ferry to Papa Stour.
See
- 1 Stanydale Temple. Large structure dating to 2000-2500 BC, once roofed, now a walled enclosure. The "temple" theory is fanciful but it was obviously an important building.
- 2 Papa Stour is an island to the north with a population of barely 20, reached by ferry from West Burrafirth. Park there and don't bring your car, the island is only about two miles by two miles, in the shape of a crashed seagull. Its main attraction is its rock formations, where the sea has eroded the soft volcanic rock into stacks, arches, caves and "gloups", eg the Kirstan Hole. There's also the remains of the 13th century Duke Hakon's House, and offshore the dangerous Ve Skerries with a lighthouse. There's no accommodation or other visitor facilities on Papa Stour but a day trip will be plenty. As well as the ferry on W F & Sat, on one day a week (Tuesday in 2019) there are two flights from Lerwick, so a day trip is also possible by this route.
- 3 Vaila, but only from a distance. It's a small island south of Walls with a farm but no ferry service. The smaller island (unhabitated) closer to shore, half a mile off Walls is Linga, one of several Shetland islands of that name.
Do
- Walls Agricultural Show was traditionally held first Saturday in August, but it hasn't happened since 2017 and may be defunct.
Buy
The convenience store, next to the bakery, is open M-Sa 09:00-18:00, Su 12:00-16:30.
Eat
Waas Bakery in the village does nice pastries.
Drink
Bring your own. Burrastow House serves alcohol to residents but doesn't have a public bar.
Sleep
- 1 Burrastow House (2 miles southwest of Walls), ☏ +44 1595 809307. 6 room hotel from £50 per person, dinner £35.
- Bo's B&B is close to Burrastow house. Just the one double room, B&B £40 ppn, book on +44 1595 809258.
- There are four self-catering cottages near the village.
Connect
Go next
- On Mainland, see Lerwick, the only town of any size on the islands, and Scalloway the former capital.
- Park up at Walls to take the ferry to the remote island of Foula. You'll have to return the same way.