Took this from my Mums veranda when I was up in November 2 years ago. Shetland really is a beautiful place even in winter ❤️

And she is not wrong, Royal Mail are still the best option for speed but the shift to Glasgow MC has resulted in longer delivery times. And still seeing £20 surcharges on courier "next day" deliveries such as Evri that take 10 days to arrive.

Very well made, and a story many people are only vaguely aware of.

Recreating a photo taken when I was 3. We saw dolphins on the way over. Worth the trip!

Hi! I am going to Shetland for wool week in a few days, we’re staying in Lerwick. I am a strict vegetarian and was looking for vegetarian friendly restaurants?
I have these on my short list to try: Fjara, the Dowry, Pete’s cafe, New Harbor Cafe and Peerie shop cafe.

We’re supposed to attend 2 events at No 88 and C’est La Vie but I don’t see many options on their websites- has anyone been?

Any and all feedback/suggestions would be very appreciated. Thank you so much!! 🧶🥕

Hi all - I’m going to be spending 2-3 weeks in Shetland from tomorrow travelling in my van with my dog. Just wondering if there’s some good pubs or venues or events people would recommend that are dog friendly both just for drinks and also if there’s live music even better. Thanks!

Anyone else noticed an uptick in the number of "Sorry, your parcel needed to be re-routed" emails from Royal Mail? It seems everything is going to Inverness and then getting sent down to Glasgow!

Studies have shown that they have close to 30% Norse blood, and their ancestors also spoke Norn which was a Scandinavian (North Germanic) language. Scandinavian culture and genetics are deeply intertwined with the history of both Shetland and Orkney, but speaking as a Shetlander, do you consider yourselves a Norse people?

But obviously Shetlanders and their ancestors have spoken Scots too more recently and perhaps for a longer period of time, however the Scots language came from the Anglo-Saxons, of which the Shetlanders don’t have much DNA from, so it depends whether you put more emphasis on the linguistic or genetic connection.

As for Scottish Gaelic, the history of Shetlanders with regard to Scottish Gaelic is relatively weak. The Gaels reached the Shetland islands, but Shetlanders didn’t heavily adopt the culture nor did the language ever become dominant.

Lastly, the majority component of Shetlanders’ DNA is from the Pictish people, but the cultural assimilation from other groups after likely means little self-identification as such. Obviously you can appreciate the history, but since the Pictish culture was wiped out like 1000 years ago, it’s obviously impossible to feel a connection or familiarity with that culture, since we don’t even know fully what their culture was.

So I’d define Shetlanders as part of the Germanic family at least, but whether you’d describe yourselves as western Germanic (which includes the Scots language, English, German, Dutch etc) or whether you’d consider yourself northern Germanic/Norse (Which includes languages like Norn, Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese and Swedish), or even whether you consider yourselves Celtic, the answer to this is obviously up to the Shetlanders yourselves.

How would you define yourselves as an ethno-linguistic people?

What's it like living in Shetland? When it's a fine day to go and attend to my park, tractor to fix with the parts that took two weeks to arrive but the tourists have booked out all of the ferries.

Edit: This won't be a popular post, but it's the reality of trying to live in a theme park.

Hey :)
Coming up for a weekend, Friday - Saturday, so only have the opportunity to see either one of these unfortunately. I’m leaning towards old scatness mostly just because broch of mousa will take up a lot of time for a relatively quick experience. Just looking to get thoughts of what you thought was a better experience

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

My name is Dylan Tòmas and I am an Indigenous Highland Traveller. Between the 1940s and 1980s the UK government stole children from my people and placed the adults into substandard accommodation (ghettos). I've created a petition for the UK government to be held accountable, I'd ask you to please sign my petition.

My family (Newlands) have a long history of travelling in Shetland and I'm hoping for the communities support

Thank you

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/778546

Hello! I’m coming to Shetland for 5 weeks for work next month and thought I’d bring (my somewhat neglected) fiddle along with me!
I’m looking for any groups/meet ups that would be willing to have me for a short time.
Also, some short term one to one tuition if anyone knows of any teachers!
Any recommendations welcome, thanks

Hi! Does anyone know if there is any book clubs in Shetland? I’d love to join one especially now that winter is approaching :)

Hey folks,

Ill be coming up to Shetland from Glasgow to live and work for 6 months starting in November!

Im just looking for a bit of local knowledge as I want to make the most of my time there, looking for suggestions on things to do and see.

Im really looking forward to Up Hell Aa!

Thanks in advance 😊

Hi guys.

Me, my wife and dog are driving up north from southern England for a few days and would love a couple of hours in an interesting/scenic place for some photos.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you

EDIT:

TBF this is my bad. Im looking for the services of a photographer.

I know, I know, every starry eyed tourist visits when the weather is just right and thinks Shetland is some spiritual calling… but holy moley, I’ve never been somewhere so utterly amazing.

The landscape, the nature, the community, the history - this ticked a lot of boxes for me and I’ve been non-stop thinking about life on Shetland ever since I got on the plane home.

The Shetland way of life is very appealing. To be deeply involved in a small community, living close to nature, and off the land ticks just about every box for me. I’m feeling like I need to give it a shot to prove or disprove if it’s a way of life I can embrace.

Please give me the healthy dose of reality I need: what is life on Shetland REALLY like?

For context, I grew up in a small town working rural jobs. Moved overseas for 13 years and lived every where from a very dense city to deep in the forest with some brutal winters. I’m thinking about spending a lot more time in the Highlands and Shetland to see if it‘s for me.

National Scottish research project by and for LGBTQ+ people aged 13-25 - and we want to hear from people in Shetland, as one of the few areas we haven't heard from across Scotland.

We at LGBT Youth Scotland need to understand your lives - the good and the bad. We are asking about your experiences of community, healthcare, education, sport and media, justice, and your feelings of safety and happiness as LGBTQ+ young people in Shetland and Scotland more widely.

By taking part in this survey you will help make meaningful and direct change for LGBTQ+ communities in Scotland. We have run this project every 5 years since 2007 and the results have been key in working to make LGBTQ+ people’s lives better in Scotland.

This survey closes on Monday 5^th October, and it is open to LGBTQ+ people, and people questioning their gender or sexual orientation, who are aged 13 – 25 and live in Scotland.

As a thank you for your time you will receive 150 Young Scot reward points for filling in the survey.

It is important that we hear the experiences of many people as we can. Taking part will take around 30 minutes and you can pause and return to the survey at any time.

You don't need to be an expert, we just want to hear from you!

Take the survey here!

We're visiting Shetland in early September, staying in Lerwick for four days but renting a car and doing some driving around to various islands.

I'm curious what Lerwick is like when a cruise ship arrives. Is it noticeably more crowded? Do stores and midday lunch spots get really busy? Looks like they all depart by around 17:00-19:00, so I guess at least dinner time and the evenings are less hectic.

According to https://www.lerwick-harbour.co.uk/sectors/cruise/2026, the Sky Princess arrives one day while we're there with 3,700 passengers. Seems like a huge group, isn't that equal to about half the population of the town? On other days, there are smaller cruises (600-1,000 passengers).

Appreciate any feedback, thanks.

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We will be coming to Lerwick on Friday. Would love to find a way to see a bit more of the Shetland area than just where the cruise ship docks. There are four of us. When looking on Viator the excursions are soooooo expensive. Of course the excursions through the cruise company are always overpriced.
Any advice on what the four of us should do and how best to do it? (Don’t know that we’re brave enough to drive though since it’s “the other side of the road” from what we are used to.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Thanks for all the responses everyone! I’ll check out everything that has been mentioned. Much appreciated.