Vasa Loch

Vasa Loch is a brackish lagoon in southwestern Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. This water body has been shown on early maps of the island in a very similar shape and size to its current geometry, separated from the North Sea by a narrow strip of raised beach.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Places of Interest Nearby

Highlights include Shapinsay and Helliar Holm.

Shapinsay

Photo: Purplebaron, Public domain.

Shapinsay is one of the smaller Orkney Islands, a short ferry ride from Mainland Orkney. It measures about 7 miles north-south by 3 miles east-west, with a population in 2011 of 307, and Balfour the only village.

Helliar Holm

Islet

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Helliar Holm is an uninhabited island off the coast of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. It is home to a 42-foot-tall lighthouse, which was built in 1893 and automated in 1967. Helliar Holm is situated 2 miles south of Vasa Loch.

Balfour Castle

Hotel

Photo: Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Balfour Castle is a historic building on the southwest of Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. Though built around an older structure that dates at least from the 18th century, the present castle was built in 1847, commissioned by Colonel David Balfour, and designed by Edinburgh architect David Bryce. Balfour Castle is situated 1¼ miles south of Vasa Loch.

Places in the Area

Nearby places include Balfour and Quholm.

Balfour

Village

Photo: Shirley Grant, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Balfour is a village on the island of Shapinsay, Orkney. The village is situated on Elwick Bay, which was used as an anchorage by Haakon IV of Norway before sailing south to eventual defeat at the Battle of Largs in 1263.