Shetland - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 383

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE SOUTH MAINLAND

By plane Sumburgh Airport, at the southernmost tip
of South Mainland, is Shetland's main airport. There's a
regular bus service to Lerwick (Mon-Sat 5-6 daily, 4 on
Sun; 45min) and a taxi ride to Lerwick will cost around £25.

By bus There are regular buses from Lerwick to Levenwick
(Mon-Sat 6-8 daily, 4 on Sun; 30min); Sandwick (Mon-Fri
8-10 daily, 6 on Sat, 4 on Sun; 25min); Sumburgh (Mon-
Sat 5-6 daily, 4 on Sun; 45min).

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Betty Mouat's Cottage Scatness T 01595 694688,
W camping-bods.com. Next to an excavated broch and
not far from the airport, this stone-built cottage is a
camping b öd w ith two bedrooms and a solid-fuel stove.
April-Oct. £10 /person
Levenwick Campsite T 01950 422320, W levenwick
.shetland.co.uk. Small, terraced campsite run by the local
community with hot showers, a ten nis court and a superb
view over the east coast. May-Sept. £6 /pitch
Ì Mucklehus T 01950 422370, W mucklehus.co.uk. A
lovely B&B in a former Master Mariner's house built in 1890
near the beach in Levenwick, 18 miles south of L erwi ck; the
rooms are small, but stylish, and there's free wi-fi. £80

Setterbrae T 01950 460468, W setterbrae.co.uk. A
stone's throw from Spiggie Loch, this comfortable modern
B&B has a residents' loung e and conservatory, lots of books
on Shetland and free wi-fi. £70
Spiggie Hotel T 01950 460409, W thespiggiehotel
.co.uk. The Spiggie has a popular bar serving real ales and
a restaurant with great views over the nearby loch and out
to Foula and, if you're lucky, incredible sunsets. Fish and
chips and the like in the bar are priced around £10, or you
can have well-presented dishes such as lobster or whatever
the local catch is, à la carte in the restaurant (mains £12-
18). Food served Mo n & Tu es 6-10pm, Wed-Sun noon-
2.30pm & 6-10pm. £110

Fair Isle
Fair Isle - just three miles by one and a half - is marooned in the sea halfway between
Shetland and Orkney and very different from both. The weather reflects its isolated
position: you can almost guarantee that it'll be windy, though if you're lucky your visit
might coincide with fine weather - what the islanders call “a given day”. At one time
Fair Isle's population was not far short of four hundred, but Clearances forced
emigration from the middle of the nineteenth century. By the 1950s, the population
had shrunk to 44, and evacuation of the island was seriously considered. George
Waterston , who'd bought the island and set up a bird observatory in 1948, passed it
into the care of the NTS in 1954 and rejuvenation began. Today Fair Isle supports a
community of around seventy.
The north end of the island rises like a wall, while the Sheep Rock, a sculpted stack
of rock and grass on the east side, is another dramatic feature. The croft land and
the island's scattered white houses are concentrated in the south. Fair Isle has two
lighthouses , one at either end of the island, both designed by the Stevenson family
and erected in 1892. Earlier, the Vikings used to light beacons to signal an enemy fleet
advancing, and in the nineteenth century a semaphore consisting of a tall wooden pole
was used; it can still be seen on the hill above South Lighthouse. The North Lighthouse
was considered to be on such an exposed spot that the foghorn was operated from
within. The South Lighthouse has the distinction of having a short, very challenging,
six-hole golf course.

8

Fair Isle Bird Observatory
April-Oct • Free • T 01595 760258, W fairislebirdobs.co.uk
The most significant building on Fair Isle is the Fair Isle Bird Observatory (FIBO),
a large building just above the sandy bay of North Haven, where the ferry from
Shetland Mainland arrives, with an exhibition on the island past and present. As well as
providing accommodation and food to visitors, it's one of the major European centres
for ornithology, and its work in watching, trapping, recording and ringing birds goes
on all year. Fair Isle is a landfall for a huge number and range of migrant birds during