Walls, known locally as Waas (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

: ''Vagar'' = "Sheltered Bays" (voes) - the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

added the "ll" as they thought it was a corruption of "walls". Cf Vágar and

Vágur Vágur meaning ''Bay'' ( da, Våg) is a town on the island of Suðuroy, part of the Faroe Islands It is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and was founded in the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the ...

in the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

), is a settlement on the south side of

West Mainland The West Mainland of the Shetland Islands is the part of the Shetland Mainland lying west of Aith (1° 23′ W). Geography Points of interest include: *Aith * Twatt *Sandness * Walls *Easter Skeld * Reawick *Wester Skeld Wester can refer to: ...

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The settlement is at the head of Vaila Sound and sheltered even from southerly storms by the islands of

Linga A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional ...

and Vaila. Walls is within the parish of Walls and

Sandness Sandness (the "d" is not pronounced locally) is a headland and district in the west of Shetland Mainland, Scotland. Sandness was a civil parish, which also included the island of Papa Stour some 1600 metres northwest across ''Papa Sound'' ...

History

One of its old names is "

Vagaland Vagaland (6 March 1909 – 30 December 1973), was a Scottish poet from Shetland. Biography Born Thomas Alexander Robertson at Westerwick at the southern tip of the parish of Sandsting, his mother's home. He was the second son of Andrina Joh ...

", hence the name of the local poet. A pier was built at Walls in the 18th century, and from 1838, it was a center for fish curing. Walls itself is a quieter place than once it was. The large houses of Bayhall, now converted into flats, and Voe House are signs of past wealth, as are the three churches visible around the head of the sound. Two are still in use, while the third bears a sign showing its later conversion to a bakery. Waas was the childhood home of two fine poets,

and Christine de Luca, and in 1884 was the birthplace of both

Peter Fraser (1884-1966) Peter Fraser (; 28 August 1884 – 12 December 1950) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 24th prime minister of New Zealand from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. Considered a major figure in the history of the New Zealand L ...

, musician and founder member of the

Shetland Fiddlers' Society The Shetland Fiddlers' Society is a group of fiddlers from Shetland that play regularly for Shetland Folk Dance and perform at events such as Shetland's Folk Festival and Accordion and Fiddle Festival. The society had its origin in May 1960, whe ...

, and William Moffatt, the author.

Community

A little to the east of the centre of the village is the marina, making this a popular base for leisure sailors. The fishing vessels that are still based in Walls tend to use the pier a few hundred yards along the west side of Vaila Sound. This is also the terminus for the ferry service to the island of Foula which lies west, out into the Atlantic. Today it is home to the dialect children's writer Iris Sandison, also secretary to the local history group. Waas has long been famed for its annual Agricultural Show. A short film of 'da Waas Show' in the early 1960s, by the late Dr. Albert Hunter, is available at the link below.

References

External links

map''Waas Show'' - early 60s film by Dr. Albert Hunter
Villages in Mainland, Shetland {{Shetland-geo-stub