West Sandwick is a settlement on the Isle of Yell, Shetland Islands

Shetland Islands

Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...

. It is one of the few settlements in the west of the island.

West Sandwick contains one of the major recreational beaches in Yell.

The area south of Southladie Flo is an important feeding area for locally breeding Red-throated Diver

Red-throated Diver

The Red-throated Loon or Red-throated Diver is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. It breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. It is the most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family. Ranging from in length, the Red-throated...

s. The rare Curved Sedge (Carex Maritima) grows beside an exit stream on West Sandwick beach.

The bay contains a distinctive shingle spit

Spit (landform)

A spit or sandspit is a deposition landform found off coasts. At one end, spits connect to land, and extend into the sea. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs, such as at cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift...

known as the Urabug.