Attractions

Lerwick

Your first stop should be at the Shetland Islands Tourism office . The helpful staff members are used to unusual requests: Sometimes visitors from Canada or the United States drop in here wanting their ancestors traced.

Shetland Library and Museum, Lower Hillhead Road, a 5-minute walk west of Lerwick's center (tel. 01595/695-057; www.shetland-museum.org.uk), has, in addition to a reading room, four galleries devoted to exhibits covering art and textiles, shipping, archaeological digs, and oil exploration. Admission is free. It's open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 10am to 7pm and Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday 10am to 5pm.

Entered via both Market Street and Charlotte Street, pentagonal Fort Charlotte (tel. 01595/841-815), built in 1665, contains high walls with gun slits pointing, naturally, at the sea. Eight years after it was constructed, it was burned by the Dutch. Restoration came in 1781. It's open daily from 9:30am to sunset; admission is free.

Clickhimin Broch, about .4km (1/4 mile) southwest of Lerwick, beside A970, was fortified at the beginning of the Iron Age. Excavated in the 1950s, the site revealed 1,000 years of history. It was at one time turned into a broch, rising 5m (17 ft.) and built inside the fort. Admission is free; it's open daily with no set hours. It's a great place to go for a scenic walk.

A 12m (40-ft.) replica of a Viking longboat, Dim Riv ("Morning Light"), is available for a tour of the harbor on summer evenings. The boat was constructed by Lerwick craftsmen in 1980. Ask at the tourism office .

Of the many shops in Lerwick, you may want to drop in at Anderson & Co., Shetland Warehouse, Commercial Street (tel. 01595/693-714), which sells handmade crofter and designer sweaters as well as other cottage-industry goods. G. Rae, 92 Commercial St. (tel. 01595/693-686), sells silver and gold jewelry featuring Celtic motifs and images based on Norse mythology and Shetland legends. Gold- and silversmith Rosalyn Thompson produces the jewelry sold at Hjaltasteyn, 161 Commercial St. (tel. 01595/696-224), where you find a selection of sterling silver and gold items, some of which are set with garnets and amethysts.

South Mainland

As you go down Shetland's "long leg," as it's called, heading due south, passing a peaty moorland and fresh meadows, the first attraction is not on Mainland but on an offshore island called Mousa: the famous Broch of Mousa, a Pictish defense tower that guarded the islet for some 2,000 years. It reached the then-incredible height of some 12m (40 ft.) and was constructed of local stones, with two circular walls, one within the other. They enclosed a staircase leading to sleeping quarters. It's the best-preserved example of an Iron Age broch in Britain. The village of Sandwick, 11km (7 miles) south of Lerwick, is the ferry point for reaching Mousa. There's daily bus service between Lerwick and Sandwick. A local boatman, Mr. Jamieson, will take you across to Mousa, a 15-minute trip. From April to September only, you can visit Mousa Monday to Saturday. The cost is £10 ($19) for adults and £5 ($9.50) for children 5 to 16. For boat schedules, call the tourist office in Lerwick at tel. 01595/693-434.

South of Sandwick, you reach the parish of Dunrossness. At Boddam is the Crofthouse Museum (tel. 01595/695-057), east of A970 on an unmarked road 40km (25 miles) south of Lerwick. Rural Shetland life comes alive here in this thatched croft house from the mid-1800s. The museum also has some outbuildings and a functioning water mill. It's open from May to September. Admission is free.

Continuing south, you reach Shetland's outstanding man-made attraction, Jarlshof, Sumburgh (tel. 01950/460-112), near the Sumburgh Airport. It has been called the most remarkable archaeological discovery in Britain. In 1897, a violent storm performed the first archaeological "dig," washing away sections of the large mound; huge stone walls were revealed. Excavations that followed turned up an astonishing array of seven distinct civilizations. The earliest was from the Bronze Age, but habitation continued at the site through the 1500s, from wheelhouse people to Vikings, from broch builders to medieval settlers. A manor house was built here in the 16th century by the treacherous Earl Patrick Stewart, but it was sacked in 1609. The site is open April to September, daily from 9:30am to 6:30pm. Admission is £4.50 ($8.55) for adults, £3.50 ($6.65) for seniors, and £2.25 ($4.30) for children.

Also nearby is the Sumburgh Lighthouse, one of many Scottish lighthouses constructed by the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson. The lighthouse is now fully automated. The property offers a self-catering four-bedroom cottage, costing £50 ($95) per day. Built in 1821, it can be visited by the public, but you must phone the Lerwick tourist office (tel. 01595/693-434) for an appointment; reservations for the cottage can also be made with the owner, Catrina Canter, at tel. 01595/694-688. Reserve at least 3 months in advance.

On the coast at the tip of Scatness, about 1.6km (1 mile) southwest of Jarlshof at the end of the Mainland, is the Ness of Burgi, which was a defensive Iron Age structure related to a broch.

Heading back north toward Lerwick, you can veer west for a trip to St. Ninians Island, which is in the southwestern corner of Shetland. It's reached by going along B9122. The island is approached by what's called a tombolo (bridging sandbar). An early monastery once stood on this island, but it wasn't uncovered until 1958. Puffins often favor the islet, which has a pure white sandy beach on each side. The island became famous in 1958 when a group of students from Aberdeen came upon a rich cache of Celtic artifacts, mainly silverware, including brooches and other valuable pieces. Monks are believed to have hidden the treasure trove, fearing a Viking attack. The St. Ninian treasure is in the National Museum of Scotland at Edinburgh.

Scalloway

On the western coast, 10km (6 miles) west of Lerwick, Scalloway was once the capital of Shetland. This town was the base for rescue operations in Norway during the darkest days of World War II. Still an important fishing port, Scalloway has been changed by the oil boom. New businesses have opened, attracting more and more people to the area, which has emerged after a long slumber into a prosperous and lively place in this remote corner of the world.

Dominating the town are the ruins of corbel-turreted medieval Scalloway Castle (tel. 01856/841-815), commissioned by the dreaded Earl Patrick Stewart at the beginning of the 17th century and built with forced (slave) labor culled from the island's residents. After it was built, he imposed exorbitant taxes and fines on the islanders. In 1615, the Earl and all his sons were executed in Edinburgh, partly as a means of placating the islanders, partly because he rebelled against the powers of the central Scottish-British government. Admission is free; hours are those of the Shetland Woollen Company , from which you must get the key to enter.

The Shetland Woollen Company (tel. 01595/880-243) is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (in summer, also Sat 9am-5pm). You can see the processing and finishing of Shetland knitware, and then visit the showroom where a selection of garments is sold.

To escape to a beautiful area, ideal for long walks or drives, follow B9075 east off A970 to the top of a small sea inlet that will lead you to the surprisingly lush Kergord. This green valley contains forests ideal for long strolls.

West Mainland

It's said you can see more of Shetland from the Scord of Weisdale than from any other vantage point in the archipelago. This is a hill or plateau lying west of Weisdale that offers a dramatic and panoramic view of the Shetland. This vista changes constantly, depending on the time of the day, the weather, and, of course, the season.

Shetland's only stone-polishing business operates at Hjaltasteyn, Whiteness, 14km (9 miles) west of Lerwick. You can visit the showroom at 161 Commercial St., Lerwick (tel. 01595/696-224). It's open in summer only, Thursday to Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday 9:15am to 4:45pm, and Wednesday 10am to 4pm (closed daily 1-2pm for lunch).

Continuing north, you can watch high-quality jewelry being made at Shetland Jewelry, Soundside, Weisdale (tel. 01595/830-275), where the artisans base many of their designs on ancient Celtic and Viking patterns. It's open Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm and 2 to 5pm.

You can continue your tour of West Mainland by heading west along A971 toward Walls. You come first to Staneydale Temple, 4.5km (2 3/4 miles) outside Walls. This early Bronze Age (perhaps Neolithic) hall once had a timber roof. It's called a temple because it bears a remarkable resemblance to similar sites on Malta, lending support to the theory that the early settlers of Shetland came from the Mediterranean.

Continuing past several lochs and sea inlets, you come to Walls, a hamlet built on the periphery of two voes (a local term for inlet). Its natural harbor is sheltered by the offshore islet of Vaila.