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- Mousa Broch — A towering, almost perfectly intact Iron Age broch on tiny Mousa Island; you can land by dinghy and walk right up to the stone spiral. The scale and condition are rare anywhere in Britain, and the silence with seabirds wheeling around the tower is unforgettable. (Personal favorite — simple, ancient, and wild.)
- Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement — One site that stacks Bronze Age, Iron Age, Pictish and Norse remains on top of each other so you can literally walk through millennia of habitation. The ruined longhouses, Viking-era buildings and medieval remnants give a clear sense of Shetland’s layered past in a single compact place.
- Sumburgh Head and Lighthouse — Spectacular coastal cliffs with an active lighthouse and an RSPB reserve; puffins, guillemots and great views
- Mousa Broch — A towering, almost perfectly intact Iron Age broch on tiny Mousa Island; you can land by dinghy and walk right up to the stone spiral. The scale and condition are rare anywhere in Britain, and the silence with seabirds wheeling around the tower is unforgettable. (Personal favorite — simple, ancient, and wild.)
- Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement — One site that stacks Bronze Age, Iron Age, Pictish and Norse remains on top of each other so you can literally walk through millennia of habitation. The ruined longhouses, Viking-era buildings and medieval remnants give a clear sense of Shetland’s layered past in a single compact place.
- Sumburgh Head and Lighthouse — Spectacular coastal cliffs with an active lighthouse and an RSPB reserve; puffins, guillemots and great views out to the southern sea lanes. The combination of accessible birdwatching, seabird soundscapes and nearby archaeological remains (including ancient burial sites) is very Shetland.
- St Ninian’s Isle and Tombolo — Walk across a sandy tombolo to a tiny island with chapel ruins and the famous Pictish silver hoard findspot. It’s a neat half-day walk that feels like an adventure and ends with a tiny, atmospheric archaeological site you can explore at low tide.
- Hermaness National Nature Reserve (Unst) — Dramatic, northernmost sea cliffs in Britain with one of the UK’s most important gannet and seabird colonies; the raw, windswept landscape is distinctively Shetland. Getting out to Unst and hiking Hermaness gives a real sense of remoteness without needing specialist kit.
- Noss National Nature Reserve — A short boat trip from the mainland to towering cliff faces hosting tens of thousands of nesting seabirds; ideal for boat-based wildlife watching and photography. The vertical colonies of guillemots and razorbills are something you won’t forget, and the boat approach makes it feel properly wild.
- Shetland Museum & Archives (Lerwick) — Hands-down the best place to understand Shetland culture: Viking links, the fishing and crofting story, wartime history and the textile/knitting tradition. It’s compact, free-to-enter, and full of real objects that explain why Shetland feels like Shetland.
- Clickimin Broch and Loch Walk (hidden gem) — Right on Lerwick’s edge, Clickimin is an Iron Age broch with easy walking trails around the calm loch and a surprisingly peaceful vibe. Many visitors rush past Lerwick to the far-flung sites; locals love this short, accessible slice of ancient archaeology.
- Eshaness Cliffs and Geoformations (hidden gem) — Raw basalt cliffs, blow-holes and sea stacks on the west Mainland that feel more remote than they are; sunsets here can be cinematic. It’s less commercial than the southern attractions, and the geology plus pounding sea is classic Shetland in a way you won’t see elsewhere.
- Foula Island (hidden gem) — One of Britain’s most remote inhabited islands, reachable by scheduled ferry or occasional flights; think sheer cliffs, huge seabird colonies and a tiny, tight-knit community. Visiting Foula is an experience of island culture and landscape that’s hard to replicate — plan ahead, stay a night if you can, and expect spectacular loneliness.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past decade, I’ve backpacked through 80+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.