Shetland Islands

Mainland is the main island in the group, with most of the population. To avoid ambiguity, on this and related pages the term Mainland, cap "M", refers to this island, while the landmass of Great Britain to the south is referred to as the Scottish mainland, small "m". The chief settlements on Mainland are:

• 🌍 Lerwick is the only town of any size on the islands, with a population of some 7000, about a third of Shetland's total. Much of it is modern and industrial, centred around its busy port. It does have some attractive 18th- and 19th-century architecture, and its sights include the Broch of Clickimin, Fort Charlotte, and a couple of museums. It has the most accommodation, eating and drinking, and is the obvious base for visitors, with good access to the rest of Shetland.
  • 🌍 Sound – a small town to the south-west of Lerwick
• 🌍 Scalloway is a small town on the west coast six miles from Lerwick. Until 1708 it was the island's capital. It has a castle and museum, plus a marina, shops and accommodation.
• Trondra, West Burra and East Burra are three islands nowadays connected to Scalloway by road, becoming part of Mainland.
• 🌍 Voe is at a road junction in north Mainland: it's a common name meaning sea-inlet.
• 🌍 Brae is where the main road crosses "Mavis Grind", the neck of land across to Northmavine, the northwest part of Mainland.
• 🌍 Sullom Voe is an inlet with a large oil terminal. Gas and some of the oil is brought ashore by pipeline, but most of the oil comes by shuttle tankers from the fields. It's a storage facility, with no refineries, and other tankers carry the crude oil and gas onward.
• 🌍 Hillswick has wildlife, high sea cliffs, and true Arctic tundra. A little way south, the island of Muckle Roe has been linked by road to Mainland.
• 🌍 Walls in the west of Mainland has Staneydale Temple, a Neolithic structure.
• 🌍 Sumburgh: flights from the Scottish mainland land here, 25 miles south of Lerwick. It has the prehistoric and Norse settlement of Jarlshof, and an RSPB reserve on Sumburgh Head.

The other inhabited islands are:

• 🌍 Bressay is just east of Lerwick. It provides access to the nature reserve and spectacular sea-cliffs on the island of Noss.
• 🌍 Yell is the second largest island, linked by short ferry crossings to Mainland to the south, Unst to the north, and Fetlar to the east.
• 🌍 Unst is the most northerly inhabited island in Scotland and the United Kingdom. It has Viking heritage, unspoilt scenery, and the Hermaness nature reserve where thousands of seabirds nest.
• 🌍 Fetlar is divided by the curious Funzie Girt, a Neolithic stone wall.
• 🌍 Papa Stour to the northwest of Mainland has great sea-cliffs, arches and "gloups".
• 🌍 Vaila — south of Walls is an island with a sheep farm, and has no ferry service.
• 🌍 Whalsay is a fishing and crofting island that few visit.
• 🌍 Out Skerries are smaller islands to the northeast.
• 🌍 Fair Isle midway between Orkney and Shetland, and 🌍 Foula away west, vie for the title of Britain's most remote inhabited island. By most definitions, Fair Isle edges it.

Shetland is 60 degrees north, on the same latitude as Hudson Bay and the Yukon. It’s windy! In mid-summer the day is almost 20 hours long, with only a brief “simmer dim” before sunrise. You can easily get sunburnt, not noticing the sun in the cool breeze, in between getting drenched by showers. Winter days are short, gloomy affairs.

Shetland was settled from prehistoric times and because there were few trees, dwellings had to be made of stone. So these have survived better than elsewhere: Jarlshof dates back to 2500 BC. From 800 AD Shetland came under Viking rule, and (as in Orkney) this lasted until 1472 when the northern islands were ceded to Scotland. The people spoke “Norn”, a North Germanic / Scandinavian language which only died out in 1850 - this news failed to reach the remote island of Foula, where one native speaker was still alive in the 1920s. The culture was never Gaelic, but Norse, and this lives on in place names, traditions such as Up Helly Aa, the style of music, and the local dialect — see Shetland ForWirds. And a medieval transcription error changed Hjaltland into “Zetland”, so these islands became Britain’s most northerly misprint.

Shetland was transformed by North Sea oil in the 1970s. A huge oil terminal was built at Sullom Voe near Brae on Mainland. Oil money halted population decline and boosted the economy, so roads and other infrastructure are good and unemployment is low. As oil stocks decline, Shetland is turning back to crofting and fishing: there are many fish farms in the sheltered voes. Tourism also grew: Shetland has good air and car ferry connections, and Lerwick is a regular port of call for cruise ships.

There are over 100 islands, with Mainland and ten others inhabited. Several others have been linked by road, to become part of Mainland, and there are some natural causeways: Mavis Grind is not a fearsome barmaid but the strip to the northwest peninsula of Northmavine. Nine of the ten outliers have a ferry service, and Noss and Mousa are uninhabited but routinely visited by boat trips. A couple of others have no residents but the land agents haven’t totally despaired of attracting a wealthy new owner to re-build the derelict farm cottage: scan the upmarket property magazines for places you could be lord of, for the same price as a two-bedroom terraced house in London.

Shetland has few international links so you need to travel via the Scottish mainland.

ZetTrans is Shetland's transport partnership for all modes of public transport. Shetland Travel Information has timetables for buses, inter-island ferries and inter-island plane flights.

• Shetland Museum and Archives in Lerwick is a good start, with excellent displays on the geology, natural environment, and long history of these islands.
• Up Helly Aa Exhibition in Lerwick. Each February the "guizers" start building a Viking longship, and by June the work in progress is on display, along with displays about the festival. Several places in Shetland have Up Helly Aa events, but by far the biggest and most spectacular is in Lerwick, with a grand costumed torchlight procession culminating in burning the longship. It's nowadays held on the last Tuesday in January.
• Prehistoric sites: the standout is Jarlshof in Sumburgh, inhabited from 2500 BC into early modern times. Other notable examples are Old Scatness (also near Sumburgh), Mousa Broch an Iron Age tower on Mousa, reached by boat from Sandwick (Mainland), Stanydale Temple a few miles east of Walls, and Clickimin Broch at the south edge of Lerwick.
• Historic sites include the Crofthouse Museum and Quendale Watermill near Sumburgh. The castles are variously smashed up, derelict or beyond ruin, so you visit them for the picturesque view: the best is in Scalloway.
• Wildlife: always keep your eyes open for this, and also watch out for sheep and Shetland ponies which may roam free on the little island roads.

- Draatsi are otters, who prefer spots where a freshwater stream runs out to sea. They're best spotted early morning or late evening at low tide, especially on Yell.

- Sea birds are prolific, look for puffins, gannets, guillemots, kittiwakes, fulmars, shags, great and arctic skuas, storm petrels, oystercatchers, eider ducks, cormorants and razorbills. Inland are curlews, whimbrels, golden and ringed plovers, lapwings and redshanks, and Fetlar has the rare red-legged phalarope.

- Marine life includes Grey and Common Seals (always sniffing around the fish processing plants in Lerwick), whales especially Minke, and other cetaceans such as porpoises, dolphins and orcas.

• Most northerly this & that: taking the main road north brings you to a short ferry crossing to the island of Yell, then from the north tip of Yell to Unst, the most northerly inhabited island of Britain. It's an easy day-trip by car. Any feature here can reasonably be described as "the most northerly X in Britain". The most northerly bus-stop is nothing special, but "Bobby's bus stop" a little way south is certainly worth seeing. The highlight is Hermaness, a nature reserve where sea birds wheel above the cliffs.
• Dramatic coastlines: all over Shetland but especially the cliffs and sea stacks of Hermaness (Unst), Eshaness (near Hillswick on Mainland), Noss (Bressay), Sumburgh head at the south tip of Mainland, and wild, lonely Foula. These are all great locations for sea birds, especially in the nesting season early summer.
• Tourist-free islands: the three small islands to the northeast don't have "sights" or visitor amenities, but come here for a glimpse of traditional ways of life based on crofting and fishing. To reach Fetlar see Yell.

Whalsay is a 30-minute ferry ride from Laxo, sailing hourly.

Out Skerries are three islands. Housay and Bruray are inhabited and linked by a bridge, so they're effectively a single island. Grunay is uninhabited but plays the vital role of sheltering the harbour on Bruray. The ferry is a bit of an expedition: it sails M F Sa around 7AM from Laxo via Whalsay to reach the Skerries for 9:30AM. The return sailing is M 2:30PM and F Sa 7PM. A day trip is also possible on Sunday. Wednesday has a direct sailing from Skerries to Lerwick and return, so a day-trip from Mainland is not feasible.

• Beaches are often beautiful, deserted and look tropical, until you wade in for a swim - yikes it's cold! Consider bringing a wetsuit (at least 5mm), which will make snorkelling less of an ordeal.
• The Simmer Dim and "almost midnight sun": Shetland is 60^o North, so it's not in the Arctic Circle and doesn't have a true midnight sun. Nevertheless in June it will be almost 11PM when the sun sets, though that's really 10PM UT/GMT with daylight saving. It never goes properly dark, just dim, in summer, so at midnight it's light enough to play golf, but not necessarily light enough to find your ball in a thicket. The downside is that you can't skywatch, e.g. for the Northern Lights, as it's much too bright.
• Dark night skies: Nov-Mar is the time for these, though you have to be lucky with the weather, and dress very warmly. Get away from the town lights and give your eyes 15 min to adjust, and the Milky Way and other objects will swim into view.

• Sea kayaking hire and guided tours are available from Sea Kayak Shetland. They're based in Frakkafield north of Lerwick, with access to either coast according to sea conditions.
• Wildlife watching boat trips: various operators but a good one is Seabirds and Seals, with tickets available from the Tourist Information Centre in Lerwick. One popular trip, combining a short sailing time with a spectacular result, is to Bressay and Noss. The lie of the land means that shore-based visitors can get a good view of Noss but find it difficult to approach the sea cliffs of Bressay, so a boat gives a better view. It's a small boat so on a windy day, be prepared for a heaving, bouncy trip.
• Sport and leisure facilities are dotted around Shetland, where you can swim, sauna, play squash or join a fitness class. There are several golf courses.
• Traditional music: Shetland's fiddle music has more than stood its ground against modern styles and is promoted in schools. You'll find it in many venues.
• Say hi to Shetland ponies, they seem to appreciate this, but don't feed them. About 1000 live here. In the 19th century they were bred to work down coal mines, with a large stud farm on Bressay.
• Tune in to local media for a refreshing local take on life. The Shetland Times is published on Fridays, while Shetland Life and i,i Shetland are monthly. BBC Radio Shetland is on 92.7 FM and SIBC is on 96.2 FM. Plus you can get all the standard terrestrial and satellite TV channels, and national newspapers on the day of publication, with all the familiar depressing stuff that you came to Shetland to get away from.

Knitware: Shetland Sheep provide fine, multi-coloured wool which is knitted locally into a variety of garments. Particularly fine (and expensive) is patterned knitwear created straight from the undyed natural colours of the sheep. Best known is the "Fair Isle" pattern, but Unst also has beautiful wares.

Shetland cuisine is heavily based on the excellent local seafood, together with local lamb. Milk and dairy products are produced on Shetland, as is some beef. One local speciality is reestit mutton which is salted, dried meat often served with bannocks or as part of a potato soup. Some fruit & veg are grown in the islands, but much has to be imported.

Most eating-out places are in Lerwick. Out of town the best dining is in the local hotels - see individual pages.

There are two good supermarkets in Lerwick, and local shops in other villages.

In summer there are Sunday Teas in local village halls, with good home baking. Proceeds generally go to charity.

The Shetland Distillery Company in Unst produces gin and blended malt whisky.

There are several lively bars and even a nightclub in Lerwick. Outside the capital, bars are in local hotels.

There is an off-licence in Lerwick and alcohol is sold in supermarkets and local shops.

The legal drinking age is 18 (16 for accompanied minors drinking beer or cider with a meal). Proof of age is often demanded of those who appear to be under 25.

Camping Böds provide very basic self-catering accommodation. There are nine of these across Shetland, which must be booked through the Shetland Amenity Trust in Lerwick (☏ +44 1595 694688). Costs about £10 per person per night.

The greatest choice of accommodation of all standards is in Lerwick, so this is the obvious base for the visitor.

For emergency services (police, ambulance, fire & rescue, coastguard) ring 999. The National Health Service provides health care here on the same basis as elsewhere in Britain; the emergency hospital is the Gilbert Bain in Lerwick, and GPs in these parts are well versed in dealing with health problems far from city back-up.

You will be very unlucky to be mugged, robbed or threatened, though there's the occasional unpleasant drunk in Lerwick. The main hazards are natural: cold and rain, rough seas with strong currents, and lots of steep slippery slopes above unfenced cliffs. Seabirds, especially Bonxies (great skuas), will attack if you approach their nests in the breeding season. Keep to the paths, and wave a stick above your head if they start to dive-bomb you — they'll go for the high point rather than your scalp.

All major mobile phone networks are available in Shetland, though coverage for most tends to be a bit patchy (or in some cases non-existent) outside Lerwick. If your mobile does not work there are telephone boxes in most villages, and cards for these are available in newsagents and supermarkets.

Fast broadband is available over most of the islands, although in remote areas it is restricted by distance from the telephone exchange. Pay for use internet access is available in the Tourist Information Centre in Lerwick and some hotels and other locations.

Local government services are provided by Shetland Islands Council.

Electricity voltage and adaptors are UK standard.

To the Orkney Islands, or back to mainland Scotland, by ferry or air.