The road junction at Park Hall, just west of Bixter, leads to another delightful corner of the Westside. Legend says sailors from the Spanish Armada built part of St. Mary's, the pre-Reformation chapel at Sand, in thanks for deliverance from shipwreck on the offlying Kirk Holm. Only the chancel arch survives. The Haa of Sand is a fine example of a Shetland laird's house, reputedly built of stones from Scalloway Castle. On the other side of Garderhouse Voe, Reawick has a perfect beach of pink sand. Over the hill in Skeld the old Sail Loft down at the pier holds occasional musical evenings.

The village has a post office, public hall and is home to a smokehouse, producing a wide range of seafood. A couple of miles beyond Skeld are two of the most exquisite bays in Shetland Westerwick and Culswick, each a narrow green valley ending in a pebble beach fringed by sea stacks, cliffs and caves. A track beside the Culswick chapel leads to the remains of the Culswick Brach high on a hill overlooking the entrance to Gruting Voe and Vaila Sound. From Skeld the road to Bridge of Walls passes the tranquil inlets of Grating Voe, Seli Voe, Scutta Voe and the Voe of Browland.

Remains of prehistoric settlements are scattered among modernised croft houses. In early summer the roadside verges display an amazing variety of wild flowers. Just north of Scutta Voe lies the extraordinary Stanydale `temple', reached by the side road from the A971 at Hulma Water. The heel-shaped ruins arc thought to be almost 4,000 years old. Surrounded by the remains of field walls and several oval - shaped houses, this is the largest Stone Age structure in the islands.

The ferry to the island of Papa Stour leaves from the snug fishing harbour of West Burrafirth, set in a landscape of tiny lochs and hummocky hills. A side road to the hamlet of Brindister is the start of a grand walk around the rocky headland of the Neeans. Folklore says a cave here was the hide-out of Da Tief o' da Neean - a notorious sheep-thief who ended his days in a Scalloway prison cell. From Bridge of Walls the road passes the prehistoric site of Brouster, and winds through the hills to Sandness, a crofting township in a spectacular setting overlooking St. Magnus Bay and Papa Stour.

Sandness has Shetland's only wool spinning mill. Visitors are welcome. The district's many archaeological remains include a restored watermill at Huxter and several burial cairns and brochs. Sandness Hill and the coastal walk beyond Huxter have breathtaking views of the wild country on the westernmost point of the Shetland Mainland. The dramatic silhouette of the island of Foula sits out on the Atlantic horizon, while a maze of spectacular coves and sea stacks skirts the beautiful Bay of Deepdale. There is more good walking south to Wars Ness, the Voe of Footabrough and Littlure.