Central Huxter Water Mill including Mill Race and Footbridge, Huxter, Sandness

A group of three horizontal water mills and associated millraces, footbridges and dam, dating to the mid-19th century or earlier. It is located near Sandness on the west coast of Shetland Mainland, overlooking the island of Papa Stour to the north. The mills have drystone rubble walls and each has an upper and lower chamber. They are located on a steep-sided 250m long stream running from Loch of Huxter to the south into the sea.

The northernmost mill, closest to the sea, has been restored with a thatched roof, secured by a fishing net, ropes (simmens) and stone weights (linkstanes). In the east gable a small window has been added to provide extra light above the timber door.

The interior was seen in 2017. The internal mill mechanism has been restored. There is a pair of 70cm millstones and a timber grain hopper in the upper chamber, and timber nine-paddle wheel or 'tirl' in the lower chamber. The concrete tirl currently sits beside the outer north wall of the mill (2018).

The two upper mills to the south are complete to wallhead. The timber roof structure has been replaced and they are not currently thatched (2018). The remains of some mill machinery, including a concrete-centred tirl, can be seen within the lower chamber of the southernmost mill.

Largely intact stone-lined millraces lead into the lower chamber of each of the mills. There are three stone slab footbridges crossing the stream. They are located between each mill at the head of each millrace.

A stone dam with a sluice gate opening is located at the head of the Loch of Huxter, beside the remains of Huxter Broch (scheduled monument SM2076). It consists of a low stone wall across the north end of the loch with a narrow central channel containing the sluice opening. A large stone slab forms a bridge over the channel.