15 of the best places to take photos in Shetland

Shetland is a photographer’s dream – clear light, ever changing skies, stunning backdrops and seas that change from flat calm to wild and dramatic, sometimes within the space of an hour.

There’s lots of space to explore and capture Shetland from your own fresh perspective. With almost 1,700 miles of coastline, you’re never far away from a scenic spot, but to help get you started, here are 15 unmissable photo spots in Shetland…

1. Muckle Flugga and Hermaness National Nature Reserve, Unst

The most northerly place in the United Kingdom. The next land due north of here is the Arctic. Introducing Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, seen from the north of Hermaness Nature Reserve on Unst. The lighthouse was completed in 1858 by David and Thomas Stevenson, who was the father of the author Robert Louis Stevenson. He visited Muckle Flugga as a teenager and many people believe this visit influenced the later writing of Treasure Island.

You can see Muckle Flugga from Hermaness National Nature Reserve where your camera will never stop! Impressive cliffs, white topped waves and seabird colonies including gannets, kittiwakes, fulmars and puffins are all to be seen in abundance here, as well as the stunning views all around the coastline.

2. Bobby's Bus Shelter, Unst

The ever changing contents of Bobby’s Bus Shelter are absolutely worthy of a picture – very much an ‘only in Shetland’ snap! Situated on the main road between Baltasound and Haroldswick in Unst, this bus shelter first started being decorated since the late 1990s. It’s where Bobby used to leave his bike as a boy when he went to school and since then has seen all sorts of themed displays.

3. Viking Unst

Unst is where the Vikings are thought to have first set foot in Shetland, and with the remains of over 60 longhouses on the island, is home to the highest density of rural Viking sites in the world, including Scandinavia. In Haroldswick, you can see the reconstructed longhouse and longship (the Skidbladner), which is a full size replica of a Viking longship.

4. West Sandwick Beach and the Sands of Breckon, Yell

West Sandwick beach on the west coast of Yell has gorgeous views towards the Shetland north mainland. At the Sands of Breckon, you’ll find a beach that is sheltered from most wind directions and archaeological remains suggest the area has been settled for at least 4,000 years, with finds including pottery, Viking combs made from bone and roman coins. Both these beaches are well deserved winners of Scotland’s Beach Awards for clean, well-managed and sustainable beaches.

5. Eshaness Cliffs and Lighthouse

Dramatic clifftop scenery and the Eshaness Lighthouse, with the Atlantic Ocean to the North of you, Eshaness is a must visit and very accessible by car. It’s featured in several episodes of the BBC TV series Shetland and no wonder – it’s certainly dramatic. It's up there as one of our most photographed clifftop spots. Eshaness Lighthouse is also one of the Shetland lighthouses that you can book to stay in.

6. Dore Holm, Eshaness

The Dore Holm sits off the coast of Eshaness and is a natural arch, sometimes compared to a drinking horse. It’s easy to spot from various vantage points along the road between Hillswick and Eshaness.

7. Uyea

Uyea in North Roe is a more challenging walk, but if you’re up to it, it’s one well worth doing. Spectacular scenery, stacks and arches and if you plan the visit well, you will see the sandbar that takes you to the island of Uyea. Please note that this is a trip for experienced walkers and descending the cliffs to cross the sand to Uyea isn’t recommended as there is no footpath.

8. Hams of Muckle Roe

The old Norse haven or harbour of Muckle Roe (big red island) is another gorgeous spot, with spectacular caves and stacks all along the coastline towards South Ham and North Ham.

9. Fethaland

Visit the remains of the haaf (deep-sea) fishing station at Fethaland, the largest of Shetland’s fishing stations. The fishing season lasted from June to August and it’s here that herring were split open and dried on the pebble beach before going off to market. There’s also a number of archaeological sites around Fethaland, showing it’s long history of human habitation. The Isle of Fethaland on past the fishing station is home to many seabirds. It’s another of our beauty spots that is a good walk to get to, but a delight to experience.

10. Cliffs at Noss

A national nature reserve since 1955, the mile long cliffs at Noss are spectacular in every sense. The rocks form a ledged home to hundreds of thousands of birds and they are a feast for all the senses! The sight of gannets plunge diving in to the sea on a boat trip around Noss is not one you will forget.

11. Scalloway Castle

The views from The Scord as you approach Scalloway below show the imposing skyline of Scalloway Castle and the islands of Trondra, Papa and Oxna beyond. The castle itself dates back to the 1600s, a castle built by Earl Patrick Stewart who forced locals to help in its construction.

12. Minn Beach, Burra

The tombolo beach at Minn in West Burra takes you across to the island of Kettla Ness, and another place to capture stunning waters, wave action and turquoise seas in Shetland. The drive through Burra is beautiful enough with lots of photogenic spots, and if you’re lucky, you might also catch some Shetland ponies out for a hack over the beach.

13. St Ninian's Isle

Another famous photo spot, the sand tombolo leading to St Ninian's Isle is a great place to visit at any time of year and forms part of Bigton Farm, which you may have seen on the BBC's This Farming Life too. St Ninian's Isle itself is an important archaeological site, where Pictish treasure was discovered in a wooden box during excavations of a medieval church in the late 1950s.

14. Sumburgh Head

Sumburgh Head Lighthouse is the most southerly part of the Shetland mainland and is also a nature reserve, visitor centre and working lighthouse. Here you will see stunning scenery across the South Mainland of Shetland and lots more. It’s also an easy to access place to spot puffins from May-August each year along with a host of other seabirds. Orca are also often spotted; cameras at the ready!

15. Jarshof, Sumburgh

More than 4,000 years of human history on one site, there is so much to capture here. Near to Sumburgh Head, you can explore the archaeological remains of Neolithic houses, Bronze Age village, Iron Age broch and wheelhouses, a Norse longhouse, Medieval farmstead and a 16th century laird’s house.

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