Scalloway by e-bike – Over the Hill to the Old Capital
A few hours, from Shetland Community Bike Project, Lerwick and back.
The route
The road west from Lerwick climbs out of town, crosses the moor and drops to Scalloway, Shetland's ancient capital, with a wide view over the village, its castle and the islands on the way down.
On an electric bike it's an easy 6 miles each way. At the far end are Scalloway Museum, with the story of the Shetland Bus, and lunch in a granite café on Main Street.
Before you go
Book Shetland Community Bike Project: e-bike hire
Ring the Shetland Community Bike Project in Lerwick on 01595 690077 a day or two ahead to book an electric bike for a weekday between May and early October, when Scalloway Museum is open, and ask the price and the deposit; it usually opens 9am to 4pm, so collect the bike by about 10.15am and have it back before 4pm.
Booking a table for lunch at The Cornerstone on Main Street, Scalloway, isn't needed but is recommended: ring 01595 880 346 (open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm).
The day
Scalloway
Over the hill to Shetland's west side and its old capital, with the motor doing the hard work on the climbs.
About four hours
Scalloway Museum
An attraction
Start at the Shetland Community Bike Project on Commercial Road in Lerwick, which usually opens Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm. Ring 01595 690077 a day or two ahead to book an electric bike and to ask the price and the deposit. It's about 38 minutes' ride to Scalloway, 6 miles in all. The first 2.5 miles are a long, steady climb south out of town on the A970, with a pavement beside the steepest part and a couple of stretches of old road to ride beside the main road. Then the B9073 crosses the moor, and from the viewpoint on the hillside Scalloway opens out below you. Scalloway Museum stands beside the ruined castle, which is shut for conservation work, so see it from outside. The museum opens from May to early October, Monday to Friday, 11am to 4pm, at £5 for adults and £1 for children aged 6 to 16 at the time of writing, all on one level. It tells the village's story, from its early days and the boom years to the war and the Shetland Bus, the wartime boats that ran to occupied Norway from here. Allow an hour or so.
About 2 min by bike
The Cornerstone
Lunch
Lunch is a few minutes along Main Street at the Cornerstone, a house of Hildasay granite from the 1880s with a café downstairs, a working fireplace and armchairs. It's open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 4pm, for meals, light lunches and coffee made to order, with wine and beer to go with a meal. Booking isn't needed, but it's recommended for lunch: 01595 880 346. If it's full, the museum's own self-service café does hot drinks. Then it's the ride back the same way, about 37 minutes, up past the viewpoint, with the bike returned before the shop shuts.
If it rains
There's no shelter on the road over the moor, so on a wet day take the number 4 bus from the Viking Bus Station in Lerwick to Scalloway Hall instead (check the times) for the museum and lunch.
Photographs by Scalloway Museum and The Cornerstone via Google