Shetland - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 391

The Cabin Museum
April-Sept Tues, Thurs, Sat & Sun 1-5pm • Free • T 01806 577232
Halfway between Laxo and Vidlin, the B9071 passes The Cabin Museum , a modern
barn packed to the rafters with wartime memorabilia collected by the late Andy
Robertson. You can try on some of the uniforms and caps or pore over the many
personal accounts of the war written by locals.

Lunna
The long, thin peninsula of Lunna Ness, to the northeast of Vidlin, is pinched in the
middle at the tiny remote settlement of LUNNA . It was here, at Lunna House , that the
Shetland Bus made its headquarters during World War II (see p.380); originally built
in 1660 and set above a sheltered harbour a couple of miles northeast of Vidlin, it's
now a great place to stay (see below). Down the hill from Lunna House lies the little
whitewashed Lunna Kirk , built in 1753, with a simple, tiny interior including a carved
hexagonal pulpit. On the outside wall is a “lepers' squint”, through which those
believed to have the disease (then believed to be highly contagious) could participate in
the service without risk of infecting the congregation; there was, however, no leprosy
here, the outcasts in fact suffering from a hereditary, noninfectious skin condition
brought on by malnutrition. In the graveyard, several unidentified Norwegian sailors,
torpedoed by the Nazis, are buried.
ACCOMMODATION LUNNA

Ì Lunna House T 01806 577311, W www.lunna
house.co.uk. Lunna House is a wonderful, remote place to

stay. The bedrooms, though not e n suit e, have lovely views
and you get a top-class breakfast. £60 8

Brae
BRAE , a sprawling settlement that still has the feel of a frontier town, was expanded
hastily in the 1970s to accommodate the workforce for the Sullom Voe Oil Terminal ,
the largest of its kind in Europe, situated just to the northeast of the town. During
World War II Sullom Voe was home to the Norwegian Air Force and a base for
RAF seaplanes.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING BRAE

Ì Busta House T 01806 522506, W bustahouse
.com. Brae may not appear somewhere to spend the
night, but does boast this fine hotel, a laird's house with
stepped gables that sits across the bay of Busta Voe from
the modern sprawl of Brae. Even if you're not staying the
night here, it's worth coming for afternoon tea in the
Long Room, for a stroll around the lovely wooded grounds,
or for a drin k and a bar meal in the hotel's pub-like bar. Free
wi-fi. £115

Frankie's T 01806 522700, W frankiesfishandchips
.com. Brae's best food option, aside from Busta House , is the
very popular fish and chip café with great views over Busta
Voe. As well as the usuals, you can get smoked haddock and
mussels. Mon-Sat 9.30am-8pm, Sun noon-8pm.
Westayre T 01806 522368, W westayre.shetland.co
.uk. A modern crofthouse B&B overlooking a red sandy bay
at the very end of the road on the peacef ul isl and of Muckle
Roe, linked to the mainland by a bridge. £70

Northmavine
Northmavine , the northwest peninsula of North Mainland, is unquestionably
one of the most picturesque areas of Shetland, with its often rugged scenery,
magnificent coastline and wide-open spaces. The peninsula begins a mile west of
Brae at Mavis Grind , a narrow isthmus at which it's said you can throw a stone from
the Atlantic to the North Sea, or at least to Sullom Voe. Just by the roadside, here,
there's a great little display on the area's incredible geodiversity , thanks to its
violent, volcanic past.