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Vikings, trows, incredible snowfall, selkies, silk, fire… all of this is only a snippet of what we experienced earlier in March.

Welcome to Shetland!
It’s been on our bucket list for YEARS to check out the most northerly point of Scotland, an incredible archipelago of over 100 geologically diverse islands. And what a blessing it was for us to visit during the heaviest snowfall in over 30 years.

Despite the wee layer of challenge that was encountered with this extremely unusual weather, it was an opportunity for us to really experience the true islander spirit of the Highlands and islands with many helping hands, wise words, support and encouragement from local Shetlanders.

We were sent on a mission to discover the heritage, history, folklore, culture, people, communities and of course the unique landscape that sets Shetland apart from many other locations in Scotland. You see, it’s nestled far up north between Norway and the Faroe Islands and has a distinct landscape, heritage, dialect and geography that really diversifies it from so many places we’ve visited in Scotland before. This makes it such a fascinating place to visit and we were SO excited to spend 5 days here, discovering all of this magic for ourselves.

Winter isn’t usually a time you’d think to visit somewhere as north as Shetland, but I know by the end of this blog post you’re going to be throwing on your thick socks and scarves to get to this magical place in the off season (and as an added bonus, you’ll have it ALMOST all to yourself!)

So throw on your snow boots, grab yourself a wee dram and come along with us for the winter wonderland adventure of a lifetime.

DAY ONE: EDINBURGH - SUMBURGH - ISLE OF YELL

A quick flight with Loganair from Edinburgh landed us in Sumburgh in the early afternoon. We grabbed our rental car and didn’t waste anytime hitting the road en route further north to catch our ferry to Isle of Yell.
Immediately we were so surprised by the dramatic coastal landscape as we flew into Sumburgh, but as we drove along enjoy the light snowfall, we noticed how far the land stretches, curves and then dramatically cuts along the coast.

As we began our drive, we noticed how quiet the roads were and had a feeling that Trows may have been about!
We had read a little about Shetland trows and were on the look out in the hills for these magical human like creatures who are known to wreak havoc and cause mischief at night. I have this theory that whenever there’s heavy mist or snow, it’s when Fae and Trows are out to play, and I suppose they were causing much mischief during the heavy snowfall Shetland was experiencing. It’s said that Trows are human like (but much uglier) and are known to hide in particularly heathery peatlands, whilst they cause mischief at night, if they are caught when the sun rises, legend has it they will turn into stone! (Be careful if you lean on any stones whilst in Shetland!)

We made our way up to the ferry and the sun began to set, we were a wee bit nervous driving around and worried about getting over to the Isle of Yell. But as we boarded the ferry (we were the only car, might i add!) the locals working on our ferry assured us we would be okay getting to our B&B and offered to drive ahead of us should we get stuck - this is one example of the multiple positive & heartwarming experiences we had with locals here in Shetland.
Spoiler alert, we did indeed get stuck, and were indeed helped by the lovely lad from the Ferry and were also met by Andy, one of our B&B hosts who kindly helped us get back en route to get cozy for the night at the Seaview B&B.

We met Andy & Rachael officially at their cozy B&B by the seaside and a hot cooked meal and a roaring fireplace was a welcome sight after a long journey to Isle of Yell. We were lucky enough to sit up for a few hours with Andy and Rachael and hear all about how the B&B started and grew to what it is today, spoke about the upcoming South Mainland Up Helly Aa (SMUHA), they corrected our pronunciation of Shetland (it’s not ‘Shetlands’ - we were happy to be corrected early!) and learnt about their love for Shetland and in particular, the Isle of Yell.

We wanted to stay up later and chat into the wee hours over a wine, but we had an early wake up call the next day! Both Andy and Rachael gratefully offered to make us breakfast early the next day and when we cozied up in bed, both Billy and I were out like a light - the Seaview B&B is truely welcoming, cozy and one of the comfiest night sleeps we’ve had in a long time.

DAY TWO: ISLE OF YELL - SHETLAND MAINLAND

Up bright and early we had a hearty breakfast at our B&B and met James from Shetland Nature to try our luck Otter spotting. I had no clue that Shetland has over 1,000 otters which is the highest density of otters in Europe - so it was the perfect place to get our ultra zoom lens out to try our luck spotting them. Due to the unusual amount of snow we weren’t sure what we’d get on a day like today! But we persevered and saw the Isle of Yell in some of the most incredibly unique conditions. As if the Gods were shining down upon us, we got moments of sunlight that were blinding on the fresh snowfall. James helped spot local wildlife like Shetland ponies, common seals, an array of beautiful birds like snipes, swans and mallards as we continued on our search for otters.

James was so knowledgable about where local otters are usually found and shared with us where the wind must be blowing and how high or low the tide must be to increase the likelihood of seeing these beautiful animals. We walked along the rocks in a few locations, the snow falling around us before James passed his binoculars to me after he spotted a beautiful female otter. She even made her way up onto the bank and rolled around in the snow, almost putting on a show for us! It was such an incredible moment and one I won’t ever forget - there’s something about seeing animals in the wild that makes you feel so truely grateful and present! Both Billy and I were over the moon that we were able to capture images of this beautiful otter in the snow and are so grateful to James & Shetland Nature for helping us have this experience.

James recently relocated to the Isle of Yell and it was so interesting gaining his insight into island living. Yell has a population of just under 1,000 people and I was curious to know what life was like living so far from a busy city. James shared with us that the quietness and slow living was a huge draw card for him, as well as the lovely community and of course, the abundance of wildlife that he gets to see and photograph daily. This was a common theme we found amongst locals who had either relocated, or people who had been born in Shetland, left and came back…everyone was craving the simplicity of life & found true joy in their daily routine. I tell you what, it sounds more and more tempting by the day!

After grabbing some provisions at Hendersons supermarket in Cullivoe, we said farewell to James and were sad to leave Yell so soon, but we drove back to the ferry with the sun beaming down on us and returned to the Shetland mainland.

You may be wondering, and yes, we absolutely were keeping an eye out for orcas as Sheltand is one of the best places to spot them right from the coast! There’s semi-resident ‘killer whales’ hunting very close to the shore all year round.
But we also kept our eyes peeled for mermaids. Legend has it that a famous mermaid from the north of Unst (not far from where we were!) had lured two giants, Herman and Saxa, into the sea, and she challenged them to follow her to the North Pole - you can imagine how it worked out for those giants!
It may sound far fetched and wild, but these intriguing folklore tales were born from local communities trying to justify wild and unpredictable weather, challenging living conditions and of course, keeping one another entertained through the darkest months of winter and the more social summer months over a glass of mead. Shetland was after all, a Viking stronghold and the mark they left on the land is still prevalent today…but more on this later!

After touching back down in the mainland, we made our way to Scalloway, the largest settlement on the west coast of the mainland. Once the capital of Shetland, this progressive community of approx 1,300 people is centred around the busy commercial harbour. But it’s so much more than just that, it’s a great spot with some lovely restaurants, a local swimming pool, its very own castle and views that need to be seen to be believed!

But before we settled down for an afternoon in Scalloway, we made our way to Sarah Kay’s Art Studio & Garden. Whilst we couldn’t get down into the garden due to the snow, Sarah was kind enough to show us around her space and tell us a little about the gardening community in Shetland - she’s surprised to find herself busy all of the time, especially with people wanting to just sit and enjoy nature overlooking Scalloway in hear beautifully curated outdoor space.
A master of all trades, Sarahs art is heavily influenced by her surroundings (how couldn’t it be?!) and from her resin pour pantings to famous clothes line stone pieces, to Sarahs newest underwater photographs, you feel transported to Shetland just looking at her pieces.
Sarah told us that she’s currently working on revamping her website so people from all over the world can support her and her work (We can’t wait to visit the garden when it’s not covered in snow!)

Our next stop took us to visit Wendy from Burra Bears. The drive to Wendy’s space was absolutely spectacular and her studio was so warm, inviting and full of stories. Wendy started Burra Bears 20 years ago after making 2 bears for her sister as a wedding gift. Between many redesigns, reiterations and years of practice, Wendy is now so busy with commissioned work that she’s booked up a year in advance! People from all over the world send Wendy sentimental jumpers that she turns into these beautiful keepsakes. She’s also stocked all over Shetland and beyond and it’s not hard to see why!

What we loved about meeting Wendy was seeing how she used a mixture of traditional Fair Isle jumpers and patterns in her work and how much importance she placed on reusing materials and giving them a second life - she even uses the scrap materials to fill the bears which helps them stay firm and retain their gorgeous shape.
Wendy showed us pieces of Fair Isle fabric and traditional Shetland lace and you could see her passion and fulfillment for her creations in every detail of what she creates. We were so grateful to meet Wendy and her bears (and will happily wait a year to request our own commissioned piece!)

Our last stop was for dinner in Lerwick (more on Lerwick later!) and we stopped in at The Dowry for an absolute feast. We tried the local Shetland Reel Gin (highly recommend the Ocean Scent!) and devoured enormous burgers and wings after a big day of exploring. The quick drive back to Scalloway landed us at the Scalloway Hotel which has recently been renovated by new owners and is due to open to the public very soon! There’s quite a buzz around Scalloway for the opening of the hotel and bar and we were super lucky to stay at the hotel as some of their first ever guests, and the view across the harbour ALMOST kept us from a deep sleep in our very cozy room.

Another bright and early start, we enjoyed a continental breakfast at the Scalloway Hotel before heading to St Ninians Isle Tombolo beach to prep ourselves for Up Helly Aa this evening. I will tell you now that unfortunately due to weather, the South Mainland Up Helly Aa event in Bigton was postponed and we didn’t get to experience it this time around, however in the lead up to the event we could feel the buzz around the mainland for SMUHA - it’s been 3 years since the festival has been held and despite disappointment in it being postponed, we were happy to hear it is going ahead on the 24th of March (and it’s been marked in our calendar for next year already!) We’ll also be tuning in on the 24th via a live broadcasting which you can also join in on here.

SMUHA was first held in 2010 and is a smaller version of the larger Up Helly Aa in Lerwick which is held annually. SMUHA rotates between Bigton, Sandwick, Gulberwick, Cunningsburgh, and the Ness and each take it in turns to provide a ‘Jarl’ from the area. This years Jarl, Jamie Laurenson lead a procession throughout the south mainland villages to prep for the evenings festivities. The evening includes a torch-lit procession with over 500 guizers that head down to the beach where a galley is taken to the ocean, set a light and pushed off to sea. Afterward, each villages hall opens up to dancing, music, drinking, eating and general merriment and we’ve heard can take place until the wee hours of the next day!

Up Helly Aa is a festival dating back 140 years and used to be a lot more riotous than it is today, but during the darkest winters Up Helly Aa was a celebration to mark the return of the sun after the winter solstice and the torch-lit procession and galley burning echo pagan Norse rituals at the cremation of great chieftains. It’s amazing to see how alive and well Viking tradition and history influences life here in Shetland.

So, despite the fact we didn’t get to see it officially, we did head down to St Ninians Isle Tombolo beach in the morning and did sneak a peek at the galley getting prepped for the evening. The snow had fallen across one of Shetlands most beautiful beaches and we spent some time walking along the shore with the sun shining on our backs! We also grabbed ourselves a wee guide book on Up Helly Aa (a note to travellers heading to Shetland, many places we visited were cash only so make sure you’ve got spare change and notes on you!), we read the official Bill for the festival and made our way to meet local jewellery maker, Karlin Anderson.

Karlin is one of those people that you immediately gravitate toward, her energy and passion for what she does is so apparent and visiting her studio in Hoswick was such a lovely experience. Overlooking the sea and snow through her studio space, we met Karlin and her sister Marie and learnt all about Karlins jewellery and the story behind her creations, and what lead her to Hoswick.

Karlin grew up in Shetland and left to live in London for around 20 years, despite building a successful business in London she felt something wasn’t quite right and was craving the work life balance that she thought she may find back in her home town - and she was right. After so much time away from home, she slotted right back into her community and felt supported by her family and friends and now husband, and creates beautiful collections with powerful stories behind them. My favorite was her Oppenwark collection - celebrating delicate strength and inspired by traditional Shetland lace. Karlin shared with us that when Shetland lace began production back in the day, it gave women of that time the opportunity to make money of their own through a new method - the ultimate girl power story and I love that it influenced these pieces. Karlin creates unique new collections around once a year but is also often busy with bespoke pieces for her clients. Sourcing ethical gems and working with the right people is a huge value in her business and you can see how that translates in both her work and lovely personality!

We were so thankful to meet Karlin and Marie and see the beautiful pieces, before meeting Elizabeth Johnston from Shetland Handspun who’s been handspinning yarn to produce beautiful hand knitted garments with the colours and tones of Shetlands sheep. Elizabeths skill on the spinning will was mesmerising and I could have watched her all day. She showed us the process of spinning yarn, spoke to us about Shetland Wool Week and the importance of the festival for the community and Shetland.
Yet another talented local who is often in high demand, Elizabeth can barely keep up with the desire for her wonderfully produced yarn and she’s often sold out at local markets (but don’t worry, she sells brilliant patterns too!)
We said farewell to Elizabeth and thanked her for her time and snuck a peek into a local cake fridge to see if any goodies were about! Cake fridges are similar to honesty boxes that you’ll find around Scotland. The first official cake fridge is a 24 hour a day, restocked outdoor fridge that works on an honesty system. You leave cash and take cake - that simple! We tried to get some cake at Emmas Cake Box in Hoswick but unfortunately it was sold out. We found out the best way to find out anything in Shetland is via Facebook groups. From weather and road conditions, to whale sightings, to restocks of cake fridges to what’s going on with Up Helly Aa, it’s the best way to be in the know on Shetland!

We took it easy for the rest of the day to prep for Up Helly Aa, but unfortunately an hour before hand the call was made to postpone it as the weather conditions were too unsafe. So we took ourselves for a lovely meal at Da Haaf Restaurant. The staff were so lovely and we even found ourselves deep in chats with some more locals over dinner who were also disappointed to hear SMUHA had been moved, but shared a bit about island life with us whilst we spotted seals out in the bay - turns out this is becoming a regular occurrence for us and we aren’t mad about it!

We settled in for one more night at the Scalloway Hotel, rested up, recharged and prepared for our last full day in Shetland.

Lerwick —> Meal Beach —> Isle of Bressay

After a little sleep in (exploring really does take it out of you!) we had breakfast and then made our way to Lerwick for coffee and to take some photos.

The snow started to fall down around Lerwick which is perched on the seaside with traditional sandstone buildings, small stairwells to beaches and narrow walkways. If you didn’t know what year it was, you’d think you were back in the 18th century! We enjoyed an hour or so in Shetland’s only town and made our way back toward Burra to head to Banna Minn Beach. Unfortunately the roads were too snowy for us to get all the way there, but we did see a lovely group of Shetland ponies and spent some time photographing these super friendly creatures!

I always trust in my detours and before we knew it, we’d driven past a clear carpark that lead down to Meal Beach, so we took a punt, parked the car and walked through to snow to see crystal clear blue waters, surrounded by pure white snow. It’s one of the most beautiful beaches i’ve ever seen and we spent time enjoying the sound of the ocean, flying the drone to capture this unique landscape and grounding into our surroundings. We managed to spot another common seal in the water, which could have been a Selkie!
Legend has it that selkies are seals that are able to remove their skin & turn into humans when they step onto land. It’s said that if you steal and hide a selkies skin, they will remain human until it is returned again, it’s also common knowledge that selkies have an innate ability to lure humans out to sea with their alluring looks & charm.

Luckily for us we weren’t swayed by selkies out to sea, and made our way back to Lerwick to catch the short ferry across to Isle of Bressay. A rural community of around 360 residents, Vikings landed on Bressay in 800BC and favoured it for it’s shallow inlets and proximity to Lerwick. Bressay like most of Shetland was covered in snow which made it difficult for us to access much of it unfortunately! However we’re told that it’s a very popular spot to watch for seabirds and the Isle of Noss located not far off Bressay is another picturesque spot to find wildlife.

A beautiful sunset cast over Lerwick and Bressay as we finished our last full day in Shetland. We took ourselves to Maryfield House Hotel where we were met by the lovely owners and locals watching a game of rugby in the pub. We had a pint and clinked out glasses together to celebrate an amazing and full few days across Shetland, but not before having a delicious dinner at Maryfield House Hotel of course! We both had an incredible steak but we heard the seafood platter is absolutely divine (putting that in my notes for our next visit!)

ISLE OF BRESSAY —> SUMBURGH —> EDINBURGH

Despite us heading back to Edinburgh today, we decided to make the most of our time on Shetland and squeeze in a few more activities - as they say, when in Rome!
We took the ferry back from Bressay to Lerwick and decided to check out the Clickimin Broch. This remarkable site on the outskirts of Lerwick may look simple from the outside, but stepping within the broch feels like stepping back in time. The stone formations dating from around 800-700BC have evidence of settlement spanning over thousands of years. Brochs are a unique home structure to Scotland and there’s still debate whether it was a prestigious home or a fortified stronghold, or perhaps both! This was well worth a stop before grabbing breakfast at Fjara, a very well known brunch spot in Lerwick.

The weather has still been wild and we saw the waves crashing on the nearby coastline out the window of Fjara, the views are incredible! French toast, a breakfast bap and coffee were on the cards whilst we watched the world go by outside. Local sea birds meandered by the sea and the waves continued to crash as rain fell down across Shetland.

We grabbed the car and began our journey back south to Sumburgh. En route we of course stopped to see more Shetland ponies and took a quick look at the Shetland Crofthouse Museum which is currently closed for the season, but even from outside you’re able to see what houses would have looked like when Vikings roamed the lands in Shetland.

We of course stopped multiple times as the snow began to melt and we were able to notice some differences in the landscape from both Yell & Bressay. Because Shetland is an archipelago, the diversity of the landscape is vast and has an incredible geology which spans almost three billion years!!! Because of the rich and varied geological heritage, Shetland has earned the status of a UNESCO Global Geopark, one of only 7 in the UK!
Sarah Kay also mentioned to use how varied the stones are across the isles that she uses in a lot of her work, and after seeing only a few of the 100 islands that proudly makes up Shetland, we’re not surprised to see why it’s been given the UNESCO title!

As we made our way closer to the airport, we spent some time at Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement which has got to be one of the most fascinating places i’ve seen in Scotland to date. In the 1890s , fierce storms exposed a cluster of early structures and work began here excavating the site. Little did they know that this spot turned out to be one of Europes most important archeological sites.
At Jarlshof, there’s over 4,000 years of peoples lives lived, which makes it an interesting site to navigate as different building were altered over time, broken, repurposed and built on top of one another over the thousands of years. That being said, archaeologists have done an incredible job of preserving many of the structures on this site and allows an incredible insight into how people lived many years ago - this was honestly one of the highlights of our trip!

Our last stop took us to Sumburgh head, the snow had officially melted, the sun was out and we were able to properly see the dramatic coastline that made up the most southern point of Shetland. It felt like a poetic way to wrap up our incredible experience in Shetland and it was a trip we won’t soon forget.

We are so thankful to Spirits of the Highlands and Islands for the opportunity to explore this magnificent place in the Highlands and islands and can’t wait to return next year (and probably sooner, let’s be honest!) for SMUHA. We also want to thank each of the fabulous hotels and B&Bs that hosted us, as well as the incredible artists, creators, restaurant and cafe owners and every other incredible person in Shetland who helped make our experience so special.

Thank you for joining us for our 5 day journey across Shetland, we hope we’ve inspired you to book your ticket with Loganair and experience all the magic Shetland has for yourself.

Welcome to Shetland