Quendale Beach

At around a mile long Quendale is the longest beach on Shetland. The landscape here is low and open to the back of the beach whilst headlands rise up at either end.

There is nothing here in the way of development (anymore) and the beach is often empty. There was a settlement here up until the late 17th century but apparently the relentless onshore winds eventually buried the village in sand. Today, some of the village has been uncovered by archaeologists.

Quendale also has something of a grim history; in 1845 it was here that 1,540 whales were driven ashore in a whale hunt. Back then whaling was a major part of the island’s economy.

Another dark day in Quendale’s history was In 1969 when the oil tanker MS Braer ran aground nearby releasing 85,000 tons of crude oil. Fortunately the clean up operation and nature have more or less returned the bay to its original beauty.