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The long thatched Crofthouse Museum and its stone dykes under a blue sky.
Shetland Islands

Crofthouse Museum

A thatched croft house of the 1870s at Boddam in the South Mainland, with its peat fire and box beds; free, and open in summer.

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Welcome

The Crofthouse Museum at Boddam, in Dunrossness in the South Mainland, is a thatched croft house of the 19th century, restored with traditional materials and furnished as it would have been in the 1870s.

It is a long, low stone building with the dwelling, the byre and the barn all under one roof, looking out over the fields to the sea.

Step inside and the peat fire is burning, and you can smell it. There are box beds, a kitchen full of the family's things, and a traditional Shetland mousetrap to try to set, and the custodians tell stories of how a crofting family lived and made a living from the land. There is a pretty garden too, and a watermill a short walk away. It opens from May to early October, Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm, and entry is free, with donations welcome. The track down is steep and the doorways low, so it is not suitable for wheelchairs.

A short drive awayQuendale MillA restored watermill, and the milling every district once depended on.11 min by roadSee itQuendale Mill's stone buildings and water wheel round a gravel yard.
Before you go

Open from May to early October, Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm; closed Monday.

Free; donations welcome. At Boddam, Dunrossness, reachable by bus.

Getting there
Boddam, Dunrossness; buses from Lerwick.
Season
1 May to 4 Oct; Tue to Sun.
Hours
10:00 to 13:00, 14:00 to 16:00.

Opening hours

Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10am–1pm, 2pm–4pm
Wednesday
10am–1pm, 2pm–4pm
Thursday
10am–1pm, 2pm–4pm
Friday
10am–1pm, 2pm–4pm
Saturday
10am–1pm, 2pm–4pm
Sunday
10am–1pm, 2pm–4pm
Where it is

Boddam, Dunrossness, ZE2 9JG.

Close byIn the South Mainland.
  1. The sweep of sand round the Bay of Quendale beyond a green field.Quendale BeachShetland's longest beach, a mile of sand below dunes in the Bay of Quendale, with a clean wave for surfers.3 miles11 min by road
  2. Visitor walks among stone walls and hearth of an Iron Age broch settlementScatness BrochAn Iron Age village, dug and explained3 miles6 min by road
  3. A reconstructed Iron Age house at Old Scatness, its turf roof and doorway, a cooking pot outside.Old ScatnessAn Iron Age village found by accident while building the airport road.3 miles6 min by road
  4. The stone walls and low passage of the Ness of Burgi blockhouse on its grassy headland.Ness of BurgiAn Iron Age block fort on a narrow headland4 miles7 min by road
  5. The round walls of a wheelhouse below the laird's house, Jarlshof.JarlshofFour thousand years of settlement at Shetland’s southern tip, one layer on another.4 miles7 min by road
Directions
Quendale Mill's stone buildings and water wheel round a gravel yard.AttractionsQuendale Mill2.8 miles
Grey seals hauled out on the pale sand at Rerwick, the sea at the edge.AttractionsRerwick and Scousburgh Sands3.6 miles
The pale sand and breaking waves of Levenwick bay, green headlands on either side.AttractionsLevenwick4.9 miles
The white sand tombolo curving out to St Ninian's Isle, the sea on both sides.AttractionsSt Ninian’s Isle5.6 miles
Geese flying over Sumburgh Head, the lighthouse on the skyline.AttractionsSumburgh Head Lighthouse5.8 miles
Red foghorn atop a white lighthouse building overlooking the seaAttractionsSumburgh Head5.8 miles
High cliffs rising from a deep blue sea across the bay from Maywick.AttractionsMaywick7.7 miles
The blue and white front of the Hoswick Visitor Centre on the village street.AttractionsHoswick Visitor Centre9.5 miles
Mousa Broch across the sound, seen from the water on the way over from Sandsayre.AttractionsSandsayre Interpretive Centre10 miles
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