Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Jars of gin botanicals on a wooden shelf in the Saxa Vord Distillery.
Shetland Islands

Saxa Vord Distillery

The most northerly distillery in Britain, on the old RAF site at the top of Unst, where Shetland Reel gin is made.

Visit website
Welcome

Saxa Vord Distillery sits at the northern end of Unst, the most northerly inhabited island in Britain, on the site of the old RAF station at Saxa Vord, and it is the most northerly distillery in the country.

Four people started it: Frank and Debbie Strang, who had turned the old RAF base into a holiday resort, and Stuart and Wilma Nickerson, Stuart a whisky man who had managed distilleries since 1979. The first spirit ran in 2014, the first from a licensed distillery in Shetland.

What it makes is Shetland Reel gin, distilled on site in small batches with botanicals chosen to taste of the place. It began as a gin sold only in Shetland; word spread, and it now goes all over the world. Tours with a tasting run on Wednesdays and Fridays at 2.15pm and on Saturdays at noon, and they can be booked ahead online. Unst is two ferries from the Mainland, by way of Yell.

Round the cornerShetland ReelGin and whisky from Unst, the most northerly distillery in Britain.1 min by roadSee itShetland Reel, Shetland Islands
Before you go

Tours with a tasting on Wednesday and Friday at 2.15pm and Saturday at 12 noon; book ahead online.

At the north end of Unst: two ferries from the Mainland, Toft to Ulsta, then Gutcher to Belmont.

Getting there
Toft to Ulsta, about 20 minutes; Gutcher to Belmont, about 10.
Tours
Wed and Fri 14:15; Sat 12:00.
Booking
Online, in advance.
Where it is

Saxa Vord, Unst, ZE2 9TN.

Close byOn Unst.
  1. Unst Boat HavenA shed full of Shetland boats, and the herring years that filled Baltasound.1 mile2 min by road
  2. Unst Heritage CentreThe story of Britain's northernmost island, and the island's information point.1 mile3 min by road
  3. The SkidbladnerA full-size Viking longship, beached at Haroldswick on Unst.1 mile2 min by road
  4. Edmondston's chickweed, small white flowers among the serpentine stones of the Keen of Hamar.Keen of HamarA landscape that looks like nowhere else3 miles5 min by road
  5. Rocks and a sandy bay on the north coast of Unst, hills behind.Skaw and Norwick BeachesBritain's most northerly sandy beach at Skaw on Unst, over the hill from the bay at Norwick.3 miles11 min by road
Directions
Shetland Reel, Shetland IslandsAttractionsShetland ReelA step away
The cliffs and stacks of Hermaness above a calm blue sea.AttractionsHermaness National Nature Reserve3.5 miles
ShoppingGlansin Glass10 miles
Muness Castle's long wall and round tower above its stone dyke.AttractionsMuness Castle12 miles
A sandy cove at Breckon below green dunes, the sea deep blue beyond.AttractionsSands of Breckon18 miles
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

Every photograph commissioned, every word written by somebody who went. Printed twice a year, made in Scotland.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go.