Top cruise destination in Western Europe
Lerwick, the main town in Shetland, has been named one of the top cruise ports in Britain and Western Europe. Cruise passengers were surveyed on their favourite destinations by Cruise Critic, the top cruise review website. Lerwick ranked number three in the list, just behind Cork at number two and Kirkwall, in Orkney, which hit the top spot.
Read our blog to find out more about the Cruise Critic awards, and for more on cruise holidays head to the Shetland Cruise website.
Best small woodlands in Scotland
It’s awards like this that make us proud to be Shetlanders. Michaelswood, in the West Mainland village of Aith, was this year awarded the Best Small Community Woodland Award at Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards – an annual event which rewards and showcases all that is best in Scotland’s forests and woods.
Shetland might have a reputation for having no trees but Michaelswood is a young woodland developed by the Aith community in memory of Michael Ferrie, a young musician who died in 1996 from cancer, aged just 21. Despite its sad origins the woodland is a vibrant and lively place with many interesting and enchanting features to entertain, educate and excite the young and the old.
Head to the Michaelswood website to find out more about its history and planning a visit.
Shetland sites on UNESCO World Heritage shortlist
Three sites in Shetland – Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof, grouped under the banner ‘The Crucible of Iron Age’ – have been shortlisted for UNESCO World Heritage status. The sites were shortlisted in 2011 and there is an application process that lasts up to 10 years before we find out if the sites have been awarded full status. But, just to be considered for the shortlist is a huge accolade for Shetland. If successful, ‘The Crucible of Iron Age’ will join other world heritage sites such as the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Statue of Liberty, the Great Pyramids and Red Square.
Read more about Shetland’s Word Heritage application.
