A mini guide to
Shetland's harbour town: the museum, Fort Charlotte, Clickimin Broch and the ferry to Bressay
1 / 4Welcome to the area
Lerwick is Shetland's main town and port, with a population of 6,709 in 2022, and the most northerly major settlement in the United Kingdom. Commercial Street runs behind the old waterfront, the Shetland Museum and Archives stands at Hay's Dock, and Fort Charlotte, begun in 1665 during the Second Dutch War, overlooks Bressay Sound.
Clickimin Broch, on the edge of town by Clickimin Loch, shows more than a thousand years of settlement. Across the sound, the island of Bressay is a short council ferry crossing from the town centre, with Gardie House and Bressay Lighthouse; boat trips run to the seabird cliffs of Noss beyond it. Lerwick is also the home of Up Helly Aa, held each January.
Highlights
If you only have a few hours, these are good places to begin.
Museum and archives at Hay's Dock on the Lerwick waterfront, telling the story of Shetland's heritage and culture; the building opened in 2007.
Directions Website Report a problem with Shetland Museum and Archives
Artillery fort begun in 1665 during the Second Dutch War to guard Bressay Sound, rebuilt in the 1780s and presented as it looked then.
Broch and blockhouse on the shore of Clickimin Loch, with more than a thousand years of settlement and a stone carved with two feet.
Category A listed town hall on Hillhead, now used as an events venue and registrar's office.
Lerwick's main shopping street, running parallel to the old waterfront through the centre of the town.
Typical 18th-century Shetland fishing booth at the north end of Lerwick, protected as a category B listed building.
Find your way
The map shows Lerwick & Bressay and the streets around it. The Getting there page lists nearby stops and stations.
Insider tips
NorthLink and the council ferries publish service updates. Weather can delay or cancel sailings, so check on the day before setting out to Bressay or the north isles.
The festival is a single day in late January in Lerwick, and the town is small. Look for accommodation well ahead if you plan to see the procession.
Buses outside Lerwick can be infrequent. ZetTrans publishes the timetables for buses and inter-island ferries; plan day trips around them.
Several sights outside town, such as Sumburgh Head and the Mousa boat, open mainly from April to September. Lerwick's museum and fort make good winter visits.
Tips from the Britlens editors
Shetland
Prehistoric and Norse sites, the Mousa broch, puffin cliffs and the St Ninian's Isle tombolo
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Shetland's old capital, the Shetland Bus story, Tingwall's law site and Neolithic Stanydale
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Esha Ness cliffs, Ronas Hill, the islands of Yell and Unst, and Britain's most northerly sights
Open the mini guide →Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
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