📌 Baltasound, Isle of Unst, Shetland Isles
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This unusual site is clearly signposted from the A968 between Baltasound and Haroldswick. Hagdale Horse Mill was built for the washing of iron chromate, with horses harnessed to a central axle walking around to turn the millstone. Water drawn from the minor burn flowing towards the nearby Wick of Hagdale then flushed away the lighter other rocks, leaving behind the heavier, crushed chromite. Sources differ regarding the mill’s construction date, but the nearby chromite quarry (Britain’s largest) was operational from approximately 1830 to 1940. Chromite was used to make paints and dyes, though the importation of better quality ore from elsewhere forced the quarry’s closure in the 1940s.
🌍 Location
📌 Off the A968 1.5 mi northeast of Baltasound, Isle of Unst
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: HP 641103
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 60.770330,-0.826060
🚌 Infrequent bus stops on A968 just south of mill turnoff
🚗 Car park at Balta Light pub, 🧭 HP 641103 / 🛰️ 60.770212,-0.833823
📝 Key info
⌚ Always viewable
🎫 Free
💬 From the car park it’s a 10-min walk (each way) to the mill on a clear track – many cows around on our visit
