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County in Scotland

Shetland

Shetland has hardly a tree to its name, but once a year around 1,000 guizers march through Lerwick with flaming torches and set fire to a Viking galley.

Key information

County
Shetland (Shetland Islands)
Nation
Scotland
Population
about 23,000, 2022 estimate
Area
about 1,466 square km across roughly 100 islands, 16 or so inhabited
Known for
Up Helly Aa, Shetland ponies and sheep, Fair Isle knitwear, Jarlshof, oil and wild coastlines
What locals are called
Shetlanders (often "Shetlanders" rather than Scots, with Nordic roots proudly claimed)
Famous people
Aly Bain, Bobby Tulloch, Basil Ramsay, Jim Mainland

About Shetland

The town that burns a Viking ship on purpose

Every winter, Lerwick puts on one of the most spectacular fire festivals in Europe. On the last Tuesday of January, Up Helly Aa sees roughly 1,000 guizers march through the streets in procession carrying flaming torches. The Jarl's Squad wears Viking dress, while the other squads turn out in all sorts of fancy-dress costumes. Women have taken part in Lerwick's torchlight procession since 2023. At the end, the torches are hurled into a full-size replica longship and the whole thing goes up in flames. The festival has roots in the 19th century, when Lerwick's rowdy Yule celebrations included dragging burning tar barrels through the streets. Torchlight processions began in the 1870s; the first galley was burned in 1889, and the Viking theme developed subsequently. The head of the procession is the Guizer Jarl, who spends a year preparing for his big night. Lerwick's is the largest, but it is far from the only one. Villages across Shetland hold their own Up Helly Aa events between January and March, each with its own squad, costumes and ship.

Closer to Bergen than to Edinburgh

Shetland's story is Norse. Vikings settled here from around the 9th century, and the islands stayed under Norwegian and Danish rule for centuries. In 1469, Shetland was pledged to the Scottish crown as security for Margaret of Denmark's unpaid dowry when she married James III. The islands were formally annexed to Scotland in 1472, and the pledge was never redeemed. The legacy is everywhere. Place names such as Scalloway, Voe and Burravoe are Norse in origin, and the Shetland dialect is rich in Old Norse words. Traditional Shetland identity is distinctly Nordic, and the islands' flag, a white Nordic cross on blue, was adopted in 2005 to underline the link. Shetland lies roughly 110 miles north of the Scottish mainland, and Lerwick is closer to Bergen than to Edinburgh. Ferries from Lerwick to Aberdeen are still a lifeline.

Four thousand years under one roof

At Sumburgh Head in the south of Mainland, Jarlshof is one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in Britain. Storms exposed it in the 1890s, and excavations revealed buildings from Bronze Age houses through Iron Age wheelhouses and Viking longhouses to a medieval farm. People lived here, on and off, for about 4,000 years. The name Jarlshof comes not from the Vikings but from Sir Walter Scott, who coined it in his novel The Pirate in 1822. On the island of Mousa stands another wonder: Mousa Broch, an Iron Age tower still standing at over 13 metres tall. It is the best-preserved broch in the world, and it appears in Norse sagas. In summer, storm petrels nest in its walls and fly in at dusk.

Small ponies, fine wool and a knitting code

The Shetland pony is just about the most famous resident of the islands. Hardy and sturdy, it has been bred here for centuries, and for generations ponies hauled peat and seaweed. In the 19th century many were sent to work in coal mines in mainland Britain. Shetland wool is just as celebrated. The tiny island of Fair Isle, between Shetland and Orkney, gave its name to a style of colourful, patterned knitting that spread worldwide, famously becoming fashionable in the 1920s when the Prince of Wales wore a Fair Isle jumper. Shetland lace is so fine that a whole shawl can supposedly pass through a wedding ring. On the table, expect fresh fish, mussels and salmon, reestit mutton (salted and dried), and bannocks. Shetland also has its own smoked and cured traditions, shaped by the need to preserve food through long winters.

Fiddles, oil and endless light

Music is part of daily life. Shetland has a strong fiddle tradition, with its own style and tunes, and the folk musician Aly Bain, born in Lerwick, has taken it around the world. The islands also host the annual Shetland Folk Festival, and every summer a lively sessions scene fills halls and pubs. In the 1970s, North Sea oil changed everything. The Sullom Voe Terminal opened in 1978 and became one of Europe's biggest oil terminals, bringing jobs and funding that transformed local services and facilities. Then there is the light. In midsummer, the sun barely dips below the horizon, and the long twilight is known as the simmer dim. In winter, the northern lights, called the mirrie dancers in Shetland dialect, sometimes flicker across the sky. The coast is wild with puffins, gannets and otters at places such as Hermaness and Sumburgh Head. Shetland's sport includes the inter-island Island Games, in which Shetland has competed since the first one in 1985, and a football scene made up of local league sides rather than professional clubs.

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