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Clickimin Broch's round stone tower on its green mound.
Shetland Islands

Clickimin Broch

An Iron Age broch on the shore of Clickimin Loch at the edge of Lerwick, with a thousand years of settlement around it.

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Welcome

Clickimin Broch stands on a promontory at the edge of Clickimin Loch, on the outskirts of Lerwick, and it is one of the finest brochs in Shetland, its tower still standing to an impressive height inside a stout wall that encloses the whole site.

Brochs are tall, double-walled round towers of the Iron Age, found only in Scotland, and people argue still over whether they were for defence, for storage or for show.

Clickimin shows more than a thousand years of settlement, from around 1000 BC to AD 500: a Bronze Age farmstead, an Iron Age farm, a curious blockhouse that stands in front of the broch, and a later wheelhouse built inside its walls. The loch once surrounded the site as an island, reached by a causeway, and on the causeway is a rare stone carved with a pair of feet, perhaps for the inauguration of kings. In 1886 it became one of the first monuments in Britain protected in court under the Ancient Monuments Act.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
A short drive awayThe Lounge BarA pub on Mounthooly Street in Lerwick, well known for traditional Shetland music, open every day from 11am until 1am.3 min by roadSee itThe Lounge Bar
Before you go

Open all year and free.

On the edge of Lerwick by Clickimin Loch, a walk from the town centre.

Getting there
Edge of Lerwick, by Clickimin Loch.
Open
All year; free.

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Where it is

Clickimin, Lerwick.

Close byIn Lerwick.
  1. Two people on Fjarå's deck in the evening sun, looking over Breiwick Bay to Bressay.Fjarå Café BarA café bar on the rocks of Breiwick Bay in Lerwick, with windows on the sea, from breakfast to cocktails.Under a mile 2 min by road
  2. The yarn wall at Jamieson's of Shetland in Lerwick, balls of Shetland wool in every colour stacked in round clear tubes along the length of the shop.Jamieson's of ShetlandUnder a mile as the crow flies
  3. The Shetland Bookshop1 mile 4 min by road
  4. The cliffs of the Knab above the sea, thrift in flower, Bressay across the Sound.Knab coastal walkThe best way to start a day in Lerwick1 mile 4 min by road
  5. Hay's Dock and the museum below the rooftops of Lerwick, a gull overhead.Shetland MuseumThe islands’ own story, on the restored dock at Hay’s.1 mile 5 min by road
Directions
BarsThe Lounge Bar1.0 miles
CafeMareel1.1 miles
The stone frontage of the Peerie Shop Cafe in Lerwick, with a puffin sign and tables outside.CafePeerie Shop Café1.1 miles
Rows of skeins of Real Shetland Wool in many colours, with Jamieson & Smith labels.ShoppingJamieson and Smith1.1 miles
Three glasses of dessert topped with orange peel on a stone table, No88.RestaurantsNo88 Kitchen and Bar1.1 miles
A cask top set with tasting glasses and three bottles of Lerwick Distillery whisky.AttractionsLerwick Distillery1.1 miles
ActivityShetland Seabird Tours1.1 miles
The bar at The Dowry, with a wooden counter, shelves of bottles behind it and fairy lights overhead.CafeThe Dowry1.2 miles
Modern gabled harbourside building with wooden boats moored beside the quayAttractionsShetland Museum and Archives1.4 miles

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What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in Shetland.

ArticleA Day Ashore in Lerwick, ShetlandArticleA slow guide to ShetlandArticleHow to make the most of seven days in ShetlandCollectionScotland's Best Brochs
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