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Places to visit
in Shetland.

It’s 20:05 in Shetland.
Shetland Islands

Brochs, bonxies and the simmer dim.

Shetland is a long way north, and it rewards the trip with sea, sky and very old stone. In the South Mainland you can climb inside the broch on Mousa, walk through four thousand years of settlement at Sumburgh and cross the white sand to St Ninian's Isle. Lerwick has its museum on Hay's Dock and the boat out to the gannets of Noss. Further north come the volcanic cliffs of Eshaness, then Yell, Fetlar and Unst, where puffins nest at Hermaness and a Viking longship sits at Haroldswick. Pack for wind and rain, and check the inter-island ferries before you set off.

CastlesBeachesDistilleriesMuseumsLighthousesStanding stonesWalks
Place of the day19 hours ago

Meal Beach.

A crescent of pale sand on West Burra, sheltered and easy to reach.

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Shetland Islands19 hours ago

In Shetland, as we found it.

From our own archive. Photograph by Laurie Goodlad.

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Did you know19 hours agoWritten byLaurie GoodladRead Laurie’s piece

The Snap, a natural arch on the Shetland island of Fetlar, is one of the best in the islands and one of the least visited.

‘Shetland’s coastline is wondrous and, most visitors will head towards the northwest corner at Eshaness to see the impressive cliffs, stacks and the natural arch of the offshore Dore Holm. Yet, perhaps one of the best examples of a natural arch that is seldom explored is the Snap in Fetlar. Fetlar is the smallest of Shetland’s trio of North Isles and a two-ferry hop from the mainland. The Snap walk takes hikers over several miles of stunning coastline with dramatic cliffs and abundant wildlife towards the dominating natural arch that stands proudly from the high cliffs, deftly defying gravity.’

Written byLaurie GoodladRead Laurie’s piecePhotograph: Laurie GoodladSee The Snap, Fetlar · Shetland Islands
Did you know18 hours ago

A bus shelter near Baltasound, on the Shetland island of Unst, has a sofa and a television, and gets a new theme almost every year.

In 1996 the council planned to take the old shelter away. Bobby Macaulay, then seven years old, wrote asking them to keep it, because it was where he left his bike while he caught the school bus. The council agreed, local volunteers furnished and decorated it, and it has been known as Bobby's Bus Shelter ever since. Over the years it has been dressed for a Golden Jubilee, for puffins, for sheep and, in 2010, for the World Cup, after Bobby's own trip to South Africa to watch it. Shetland Islands Council looks after it, and this year's theme is Alice in Wonderland.

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Places to visit18 hours ago

Scalloway Castle.

Earl Patrick Stewart's tower house of 1599 above Scalloway harbour, closed for now for conservation work.

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From our guide18 hours ago

Knab coastal walk.

The best way to begin a day in Lerwick is on foot, round the Knab. From the waterfront the road runs south past the Lodberries, old stone stores built right onto the water, which fans of the television series Shetland will know as Jimmy Perez's home. A path then follows the coast round the headland, past wartime defences, with wide views over Bressay Sound. Clickimin Broch is a short step from the end, and the way back passes the museum at Hay's Dock. The loop is about six kilometres on pavements and good paths, and takes two hours.

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Places to visit18 hours ago

Shetland Reel.

Gin and whisky from Unst, the most northerly distillery in Britain.

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From the magazine17 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 03Issue 03Winter 2021

Shetland became part of Scotland in 1469, yet the islands kept the law book they had followed since Viking times until an Act of Parliament banned it in 1611.

The book was the Law Book of Magnus Lawmender, and since Viking and Norse times it had been the law of the islands. Joining Scotland did not change that. Shetland simply carried on using its old law book, and it went on doing so for more than 140 years. Only in 1611, when an Act of Parliament abolished the Law Book, did Shetland come under Scottish law for the first time in its history.

Read the full story in Issue 03
Did you know17 hours agoWritten byLaurie GoodladMore from Laurie

The lodberries, old buildings on the shore of Lerwick in Shetland, take their name from the Old Norse for a landing place.

‘These were trading booths, built with their foundations in the sea, with piers and winches to quickly unload boats before the customs men came along. Legal goods were sold from street-side shops, and the illegal goods, where the real profit lay, were taken into a maze of underground tunnels that ran under the street and the very feet of the customs men.’

Written byLaurie GoodladMore from LaurieRead the full story
Quiz17 hours ago

In Shetland, what is a voe?

From Issue 2 of Hidden Scotland magazineIssue 217 hours ago

Far Out, Yet Still So Close

Nine days on Fair Isle, halfway between Orkney and Shetland, meeting the islanders with photographer Xiomara. The writer first heard of the island through a job advert.

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From our guide16 hours ago

Shetland Museum and Archives.

Start your trip here, on the restored harbour of Hay's Dock in Lerwick. Built for the job and opened in 2007, the museum takes you through five thousand years of people living on these islands. Boats hang high in the tall boat hall, and the old lens from Bressay Lighthouse is on show. Exhibitions change through the year, and the archives welcome anyone tracing a family or a place. Entry to the museum is free. There is a café looking out over the dock, so allow a good few hours and make a morning of it.

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