6. The Best of Shetland’s South Tour

Highlights:

Seabirds, Beaches & Archaeology, Knitwear, Crofthouse Museum, Tea & Cake

Overview

A popular & comprehensive tour of the best of Shetland’s south mainland which boasts amazing scenery, seabird colonies and fascinating history. This is the tour for you if you only have 1 day in Shetland and have a variety of interests. The tour takes you to St. Ninians Isle, the best example of a shell sand tombolo in the British Isles, before continuing to a viewpoint overlooking our best seal beach. A visit to a restored Shetland Crofthouse gives a fascinating glimpse into the past before we head to the archaeological site of Jarlshof and onwards to Sumburgh head bird cliffs. On the return journey we stop at the village of Hoswick for refreshments and a chance to buy local knitwear.

More Information

Our tour makes its first stop at the Mousa viewpoint overlooking the worlds best preserved Broch (Iron Age Fort) standing a towering 47ft/13m high on the now uninhabited island of Mousa. The broch is mentioned in the Viking Sagas as the romantic hideaway for eloping lovers. Later Mousa became a well established fishing and crofting settlement.

We continue southwards and branch off to the rugged Atlantic coast to see St. Ninians Isle. The isle became famous when a Pictish silver treasure trove was discovered in the 1958. The treasure is the only Scottish hoard of fine metalwork of this era to survive in its entirety. The beach is breathtaking and you will have time for a short walk on the sand if you wish. A mile or so south we stop at the viewpoint overlooking Rerwick Beach which is where we normally find some sunbathing seals. Onwards to the south we arrive at The Shetland Crofthouse Museum which is a restored crofthouse, showing how life was in 1850’s Shetland. Situated in a beautiful spot, you can relax and listen to the sea on the rocks below after a tour of the wonderfully presented house full of artifacts from a bygone era.

From here we head to Jarlshof, a stunningly presented archaeological site, showing human settlement from the Neolithic era right through to the 16th Centrury. Your guide will take you on a walk through time on a guided tour of the site, ending up in the interesting visitor centre and gift shop. From here we can see the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse built in 1929 atop the cliffs which are now a RSPB Nature Reserve. We head there to see the vast colonies of seabirds for some more photo opportunities.

On the way back north we stop at the pretty village of Hoswick for refreshments at the visitor centre which has interesting historical displays and a gift shop. You won’t want to miss the chance to visit the two top quality knitwear shops and a jewellery workshop in the village, before heading back to our start point.