The island was one of the last places where the Norn language was spoken (although it is claimed that Walter Sutherland of Skaw on Unst was the last speaker), and the local dialect is strongly influenced by Old Norse.
Sands also spent time on the remote Scottish islands of Vaila, Papa Stour and Foula in Shetland, and also lived on Tiree in the Inner Hebrides and the Faroe Islands.
Foula |
Her early years were spent in Sandwick, on the Shetland mainland, her teenage years in the island of Foula.