Busta House – A Laird's Garden and Supper by the Voe
A few hours.
The route
Busta House is a white laird's house on the shore of Busta Voe, its oldest part built in 1588, and it comes with a ghost story.
Come in the early evening for a wander round its garden by the water, then stay for supper in the bar and lounge, with a long list of single malts for whoever isn't driving.
Before you go
Book a table for supper at Busta House on 01806 522506 before you set off: the kitchen serves non-residents every evening from 5.30pm to 8pm, last orders 7.45pm.
The day
Busta
A turn round an old laird's garden on the shore of Busta Voe in the last of the light, and supper by the water.
About two hours
Busta House garden
Busta House stands on the shore of Busta Voe just south-west of Brae, with parking at the hotel. The Giffords built its oldest part in 1588, and its grounds run down to the water. Come while there's light to walk round the garden before you eat. In it stand gargoyles that a later owner, an MP, saved when they were thrown out of the war-damaged House of Commons. They look out over the voe, or sea inlet, where four Gifford brothers drowned on a calm May evening in 1748. Barbara Pitcairn secretly married the eldest, the story goes, and is said to haunt the house still. From late October to the start of March it's dark by half past five, so the garden is then seen only by the lights of the house.
Busta House
Supper
Supper is in the bar and lounge, where the kitchen cooks for everyone, residents or not, every evening from 5.30pm to 8pm, with last orders at 7.45pm. The menu changes daily and leans on Shetland food, from salmon gravlax cured in the house to locally landed haddock and chips, and there's a children's menu. The Long Room keeps about 260 single malts. Ring 01806 522506 to book a table. If it's full, Frankie's Fish and Chips in Brae, a few minutes along the road, fries until 7pm every day.
If it rains
In rain, skip the garden and go straight in: the bar and lounge and the Long Room are indoors.
Where to eat
Frankie's Fish and Chips, a restaurant in Brae.