Ferries sail from Symbister toLaxo andVidlin on theShetland Mainland. When normal service is in operation two ferries run a tandem service between Symbister and Laxo. Departure times from the two terminals are normally around every 35 minutes according to a timetable, with the crossing taking approximately 30 minutes. The two ferries currently in service are theHendra and theLinga. The Vidlin terminal is used when the weather causes the crossing to Laxo to become too rough. The journey between Symbister and Laxo takes around 30 minutes, but can take slightly longer depending on the weather and tides.
The island also has an airstrip,Whalsay Airstrip, at Skaw which is used only for emergencies.
Skaw is home to the most northerly 18 hole golf course in the UK. There is a club house with adequate parking. Other sporting facilities on the isle are the Whalsay Leisure Centre, a snooker club and Harbison Park artificial sports field.
Sailing dinghies and Shetland model boats are popular, with an annual Whalsay Regatta, usually taking place in the last week of July. In recent times, the popularity of sailing has declined, with the number of participating boats decreasing with each passing year.
Whalsay has an amateur football club, as well as hockey and netball teams. These teams participate in Shetland leagues. Whalsay F.C.'s home ground is Harbison Park. In 2005, Whalsay F.C. took part in the Highland Amateur Cup, reaching the fourth knockout round. They beat Halkirk FC 2–0 in the 3rd round, but lost to Pentland Utd 2–1 in the 4th.
Attractions on the island include theNeolithic ruin ofBenie Hoose[9] and the settlement ofSudheim whereHugh MacDiarmid[5][8] lived in the 1930s and early 1940s. Grieve House is now one of Shetland Amenity Trust's Böds which offers economic, self-catering accommodation in a traditional building. Scotland's great poet Hugh MacDiarmid (Christopher Grieve) lived for nine years in this croft house, where he wrote some of his best work.
Whalsay is the location for the 2011 novelDancing with the Ferryman by Frankie Valente and is the main location ofAnn Cleeves's novelRed Bones (Macmillan, 2009), the third of her Shetland quartet.
In 2012, a number of Whalsay fishermen were fined for a 'cynical and sophisticated'[10] fishing scam involving the landing of tens of millions of pounds of illegally caught fish.
^abAnderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893)Orkneyinga Saga. Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint).ISBN0-901824-25-9
