SPIGGIE LOCH AND SCOUSBURGH SANDS

On the side road from Quendale to Scousburgh you pass the Loch of Spiggie, an RSPB reserve for wildfowl. In late autumn hundreds of migrating whooper swans and greylag geese from Iceland pass through here, while in summer Arctic terns and great skuas bathe in the shallows. This is one of the richest lochs in Shetland, with good trout fishing. The burn leading down to Spiggie Beach is celebrated for sea trout. Nearby, Scousburgh Sands make a popular and sheltered bathing beach. Midsummer wild flowers bloom on the roadsides and meadows between Scousburgh, Bigton and the sheltered hamlet of Maywick. Bigton overlooks St Ninian's Ayre, the fine tombolo beach linking St Ninian's Isle to the Mainland.