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Isthmus
Mavis Grind
Isthmus just over 90 metres wide at its narrowest, joining the Northmavine peninsula to the rest of the Mainland.
A mini guide to
Northmavine, Yell & Unst: things to do
Places worth your time in Northmavine, Yell & Unst
Top places
Things to do in Northmavine, Yell & Unst
Landmarks, museums, parks and viewpoints in and around the area.
Coastal cliffs
Esha Ness cliffs
Black volcanic cliffs on the west coast of Northmavine, with sea caves, geos and boulder fields thrown up by storms.
Lighthouse
Esha Ness Lighthouse
Clifftop lighthouse designed by David Alan Stevenson and commissioned in 1929, just south of Calder's Geo.
Sea arch
Dore Holm
Small islet with a natural arch off the south coast of Esha Ness.
Museum
Tangwick Haa Museum
Former laird's house of the Cheyne family at Tangwick, run as a museum since 1987.
Hill
Ronas Hill
At 450 metres the highest point in Shetland, with a Neolithic chambered cairn near the summit.
Abandoned settlement
Fethaland
Abandoned settlement at the far north of the Mainland, once the site of the largest haaf fishing station in Shetland.
Museum
Old Haa Museum
Museum, tearoom and garden at Burravoe on Yell, in a merchant's house built in 1672.
Historic house
Brough Lodge
19th-century Gothic mansion on Fetlar, category A listed and disused since the 1980s; a trust has begun restoring it.
Tower house
Muness Castle
Tower house of the late 1500s built for Laurence Bruce of Cultmalindie, the northernmost castle in the British Isles.
Bus shelter
Unst Bus Shelter
Bus shelter on the A968 near Baltasound, also known as Bobby's Bus Shelter and maintained by Shetland Islands Council.
Nature reserve
Keen of Hamar
Botanical nature reserve near Baltasound, home to a mouse-ear plant (Cerastium nigrescens) found only on Unst.
Museum
Unst Heritage Centre
Small museum at Haroldswick on the story of Unst, which also acts as the island's information point.
Directions Website Report a problem with Unst Heritage Centre
Museum
Unst Boat Haven
Museum of Unst's small wooden fishing boats, which once fished for cod and ling, on the shore road at Haroldswick.
Village and beach
Haroldswick
One of the most northerly settlements in the British Isles, on the bay of Harold's Wick.
Nature reserve
Hermaness National Nature Reserve
Northern headland of Unst with huge sea cliffs and moorland, a national nature reserve since 1955, with a path and boardwalk.
Directions Report a problem with Hermaness National Nature Reserve
Island and lighthouse
Muckle Flugga
Rocky island off the north of Unst, part of the Hermaness reserve, with a lighthouse that was automated in 1995.
Shetland
More areas to explore
10 sights · 11 places to eat
Lerwick & Bressay
Shetland's harbour town: the museum, Fort Charlotte, Clickimin Broch and the ferry to Bressay
Open the mini guide →
8 sights · 3 places to eat
South Mainland: Sumburgh, Jarlshof & Mousa
Prehistoric and Norse sites, the Mousa broch, puffin cliffs and the St Ninian's Isle tombolo
Open the mini guide →
8 sights · 3 places to eat
Scalloway & the West Mainland
Shetland's old capital, the Shetland Bus story, Tingwall's law site and Neolithic Stanydale
Open the mini guide →Photo credits
- Northmavine, Yell & Unst (area photo): Unukorno, CC BY 4.0, source
- Mavis Grind: Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Esha Ness cliffs: ThoWi, Public domain, source
- Esha Ness Lighthouse: Unukorno, CC BY 4.0, source
- Dore Holm: ThoWi, Public domain, source
- Tangwick Haa Museum: Coldupnorth, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ronas Hill: James Allan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fethaland: Steve Lucas, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Old Haa Museum: Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Brough Lodge: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Muness Castle: Van de Beek, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Unst Bus Shelter: Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Keen of Hamar: Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Unst Heritage Centre: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Unst Boat Haven: James Allan, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Haroldswick: Mike Pennington, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hermaness National Nature Reserve: Bob Embleton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Muckle Flugga: Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lerwick & Bressay: Florent Abel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- South Mainland: Sumburgh, Jarlshof & Mousa: swifant, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Scalloway & the West Mainland: Robert W Watt, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
Keep exploring Shetland