Clickimin Broch – An Iron Age Tower and Lunch by the Sea
A few hours, from Market Cross, Lerwick and back.
The route
Clickimin Broch, an Iron Age tower, has stood beside its loch for around 2,000 years, and today it sits on the edge of Lerwick, an easy walk from the town centre.
You can still squeeze through its narrow entrance passage and climb the stone stair inside its wall, then walk on to Fjarå, a café on its own little point above the sea, for lunch with the bay outside the windows.
Before you go
Book a table at Fjarå on its website or on 01595 697388 for about noon: it's open Tuesday to Saturday from 8am and on Sundays from 9am to 5pm, and shut on Mondays.
The day
Lerwick
A short walk out of the town centre, an hour among the stones of an Iron Age tower, and a long, warm lunch looking out over the bay.
About three hours
Clickimin Broch
An attraction
It's 26 minutes' walk south-west from the Market Cross to Clickimin Broch, on the south shore of the Loch of Clickimin at the edge of the town. The broch is an Iron Age tower around 2,000 years old, and until 1874 the only way to it was along a causeway. By the entrance, look for a stone with footprints carved into it, where new chiefs were said to stand. Then duck through the narrow passage, climb the stone stair inside the wall and look out over the loch. It's free and open all year, with no gate or staff and no toilets, and the steps are slippery when wet. In winter you may see whooper swans on the water.
10 min on foot
Fjarå Café Bar
Lunch
Lunch is 10 minutes' walk on at Fjarå Café Bar, on its own small point above Breiwick Bay, with big windows over the water, where seals are often seen. Lunch runs from sandwiches and soup to bistro dishes, and families are very welcome. It's open Tuesday to Saturday from 8am and Sundays 9am to 5pm, and shut on Mondays; book online or on 01595 697388. If it's full, the Peerie Shop Café on the Esplanade serves soup until 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Then it's 22 minutes' walk back.
If it rains
The broch is open to the sky and its stair is slippery in the wet, so in heavy rain keep the visit short and go straight on to Fjarå, where the weather stays on the other side of the windows.
Where to eat
Fjarå Café Bar, a café.