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Busta House's white-harled front and gable ends above its lawn, Brae.
Shetland Islands

Busta House

A laird's house begun in 1588 on the shore at Brae, now a hotel, with a love story and a drowning from 1748.

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Welcome

Busta House stands on its own shore at Brae, in Delting in the North Mainland, a tall, white-harled laird's house looking over the voe, and it is one of the oldest houses in Shetland still lived in.

The Gifford family built the first part of it in 1588, and the house and the family grew grand in the 1700s, when Thomas Gifford added a three-storey mansion.

Its story is a sad one. In May 1748 the laird's four sons, their tutor and a boatman set out across the voe to visit relatives at Wethersta on a calm evening and never came back. The eldest son, John, had secretly married his cousin Barbara Pitcairn, who was carrying his child; the Giffords raised the boy, Gideon, as their heir, but sent Barbara away to Lerwick. Today Busta House is a hotel, with a restaurant serving Shetland produce from the land and the sea, and a garden above the water.

A short drive awayFrankie's Fish and ChipsThe most northerly chip shop in Britain.4 min by roadSee itFrankie's Fish and Chips
Before you go

A hotel open to guests and diners; book a room or a table ahead.

Busta, by Brae, on the A970 north of Lerwick.

Getting there
The A970 north from Lerwick to Brae.
Open
A hotel; book ahead.
Where it is

Busta, by Brae, ZE2 9QN.

Close byAt Brae.
  1. The Northmavine rocks board on the grass at Mavis Grind, red rock behind it.Mavis GrindThrow a stone from one ocean to the other1 mile3 min by road
  2. Low sun through the Valayre ravine, the burn shining over red stones.The Burn of ValayreAn afternoon following a burn, out of the wind.3 miles6 min by road
  3. Ramnahol, the waterfall on the Burn of Lunklet, falling into a rocky pool below heathery banks.Burn of LunkletA short path beside a moorland burn near Aith to Ramnahol, the pool of the ravens, one of Shetland's best-loved waterfalls.13 miles23 min by road
  4. Red sandstone cliffs curve around a sheltered bay with pink sandEshaness, ShetlandThe cliffs of an ancient volcano in Northmavine, with a lighthouse, blowholes, stacks and the storm beach of the Grind o da Navir.14 miles22 min by road
  5. The road to Kergord past sheep in a field, the woods around the house beyond.Kergord WoodsThe oldest and tallest woods in Shetland, planted round Kergord House in Weisdale from the early 1900s.15 miles25 min by road
Directions
RestaurantsFrankie's Fish and Chips1.3 miles
AttractionsTangwick Haa Museum15 miles
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