Critique my Shetland by public transport plans please

[Rae36]

I have this mad notion to visit Shetland for the first time in October when the kids and their dad are doing some sort of walking holiday thing along the north coast.

My half-baked plan is to fly from Edinburgh to Shetland on a Saturday, stay in Shetland until maybe the end of Monday, get the ferry to Orkney, arrive in Orkney at 11pm, stay there Monday night, Tuesday night, get the ferry to Scrabster on Wednesday when I'll meet up with my family for the journey home.

It's only me, I don't mind spending ages on a bus or ferry, no-one will be moaning at me about needing a pee or feeling travel sick.

But how will I actually get on in Shetland with no car? Will I actually see anything? Is everything pretty much shut on a Sunday still?

And has anyone actually arrived in Kirkwall at 11pm on a Monday evening? Can I walk to a hotel? I guess I could fly from Lerwick to Kirkwall but that's more expensive and not very green.

Is this a totally stupid plan? I've just got a notion to go somewhere really different and when the rest of my family are at the top of the country anyway it seems like a good time. We've been around Caithness and Sutherland a fair bit, we know Orkney quite well too. But maybe I should just stick to Orkney.

Or maybe we'll not be able to travel anywhere come October, who the hell knows.

Sounds like a fab plan! I love a really convoluted holiday by public transport.

I have no up to date advice about Shetland, I'm afraid - DH went there once by coach/ ferry and from what he can remember there was enough to do on foot in Lerwick. He wasn't there over the weekend so can't comment on Sundays, but if the worst comes to the worst you could always hire a man with a taxi and get him (or her!) to show you the sights (we did this in Orkney with no car and just out of season - October too I think ... was pricey but really worth it!). Or lock yourself in the hotel with a good book and a whisky.

The ferry terminal in Orkney is from memory right in the centre of town, and there would be lots of hotels in walking distance.

There will be shops and cafes open on a Sunday - especially if there’s a cruise ship coming in. Sadly the Peerie Cafe at the small boat harbour won’t be open but definitely go there on Monday!

Bus services are generally good on Shetland - you would have to be careful about timings if you go anywhere very rural. Lerwick does have lots to see - fantastic museum, nice walks around harbour and the Knab for spectacular views, wander around Clickimin Broch, lunch at Fjara on Breiwick bay, watch for seals and otters…. Could get a bus over to Scalloway for a wander there. Hiring a car for a day would let you see a lot more - Burra Isle is beautiful- gorgeous beaches. You are going a long way to not spend more time there.

If you want a real experience, have you thought about the overnight ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick? As long as it’s a reasonably smooth sailing, it’s comfortable, good food, cheery service and lovely to go on deck in the morning as you sail up the “Sooth Mooth”. Get in early but you can stay on the ship until 9.30am.

Don’t know much about Orkney - think you might struggle to get a hotel reception to allow you such a late check in. Might be better with a local B&B?

Enjoy your trip.

No advice, but it sounds blissful. Can you take longer, though? It does seem a bit rushed.

I thought this thread was going to be about taking a Shetland pony on the bus 🤣

I thought this thread was going to be about taking a Shetland pony on the bus

Me too

You're not giving yourself a lot of time to see Shetland. In your shoes, I'd spend the whole trip in Shetland, hire a car at the airport, and have the freedom to see much more of Shetland. Visit Jarlshof, see the lighthouse at Eshaness, take a boat trip to see seabirds, take the ferry to Yell and then Unst, walk up the hill until you can look out to the northernmost tip of the UK...

No ponies here, sorry.
Yes maybe I should hire a car. Then I could drive around a bit more.
The Orkney bit of the plan was more so I could end up on the north coast to hook up with the rest of my family, I don't want to end up in Aberdeen. But maybe that's silly, I'm not sure.

I'll have another think.

I know it's stupid to go so far away and hardly be there any time but I just crave being somewhere far away from home, even if its just for a couple of days and all I see is the inside of a different cafe.

The only bus on a Sunday is from Lerwick to the airport and for the rural areas few buses Saturday afternoon.

Hire a car!

@Kittii

I thought this thread was going to be about taking a Shetland pony on the bus 🤣

Same. Am disappointed. 😂

If I was going all the way to Shetland I’d want to see if I could spot any orcas. I don’t know how likely this is and I suspect you’d need to hire a car but I see tiktok videos of the orca pods round Shetland and Orkney. So people do see them from the coastline.

If you’re taking the inter-island ferries, they’re cash only exact fare 🙄 right now.

Country petrol stations few and far between and don’t tend to open before 12 Sunday - so shout if you need to know where to fill up.

I’d hire a car at the airport and stomp around jarlshof and st. Ninians on the way up to Lerwick.

Weather could be an absolute twat so if you’re heading up to hermaness (north north) dress well!

It’s been more than 20 years since anyone was blown over the side of the cliffs there so you should be fine. 😂

You can hire a car at the airport and then just go anywhere you want. be warned through you drive across the bottom of the runway to get out the airport complex - I didn't realise at first and was terrified I'd taken a wrong turn. From memory there are a couple of companies but i think one of them is based in Lerwick so you might be able to return the car there. Remember by October it will be quite dark. Orkney is fabulous but would also look at car hire options there, especially given your limited time.

Definitely hire a car! You will be able to explore more and stop where you wish.
Taxis in Shetland are not cheap used to be about £50+ to get from Sumburgh to Lerwick.

You’d be daft not to hire a car. The bus service is rubbish on a Sunday and you’d struggle to get round anywhere decent in October that was scenic during weekdays. The service is designed to get folk to and from Lerwick.

Currently in Lerwick the only places open on a Sunday are the museum, mareel, Fjara, the dowry and the Lerwick hotel. In Scalloway it’s just The Cornerstone, in the west side it’s the TeaRoom at Aith, Bonhoga at Weisdale. In Brae it’s Busta House and Frankies. By October Breiwick Cafe at Eshaness will be shut.

You don’t need to spend time in Orkney to get the ferry to Caithness. You phone to book the ferries right through Lerwick to Scrabster. Get off the ferry in Kirkwall at 11:30, then go to Stromness and stay overnight on the Steomness ferry as a B&B.

I don't live in Shetland, but close family do and in ordinary times I visit often.
Friday to Sunday is nowhere near enough to really see Shetland. Buses infrequent at best at weekends. Even in the week they are fairly complex with small buses feeding into a hub and then big buses going into Lerwick. I would definitely hire a car.
My favourite bits are St Ninnans Isle, Yell and Unst, Lerwick and Scalloway.
It can be worth reading about the Herring fleet here before you go so you know where to looking out for the remains herring harbours, curing stations and cooperage yards. Baltasound on Unst was the largest Herring port in Europe in bygone days. It is staggering now to imagine 10,000 people and 600 boats being there.
Read about the Shetland bus before you go again understand as you visit Shetlands close links with Norway and the staggering bravery of the men who manned that route in tiny boats. Sadly the Norweign Seaman's mission is no longer open to food used to be so good.
If you visit in summer you need a copy of the The Shetland Times to discover where Sunday teas are being served - village halls turn into tea shops serving sandwiches and cakes all for a very reasonable price.
Shetland is a magical place with a rich history, there are stunningly beautiful beaches, wild life every where and warm and friendly people. It massively benefit from EU money so has surprising facilities particularly as it hosted the Island games in 2005.

@Lonecatwithkitten the facilities have been built with oil money from the 1970s and nothing was built for the 2005 island games

Okay, I'm going to hire a car. Thanks for all your suggestions.

I know I'm not going to see everything Shetland has to offer in a few days, I just so badly want to be somewhere completely different from home.

My other option was somewhere like Oxford or Bath but in fact it's easier to fly to Shetland than to get the train to Oxford.

So my revised plan is to fly to Shetland on Saturday, mooch about Sumburgh and Jarlshof, drive to Lerwick, spend Sunday driving around in my hire car, if I find a cafe open for tea and cake that's a bonus, if not I'll have my flask with me. Then on Monday I can check out the shops in Lerwick, I'm a knitter so I can pass a lot of time in the wool shops, read my book in a cafe, look at the sea, whatever. Then fly back home on Tuesday.
My plan to hook up with the family on the north coast is just too complicated. They can make their way home without me.

Any recommendations for somewhere nice to stay in Lerwick? Nice breakfast and comfy bed is my only real requirement, somewhere nice to sit and have a drink in the evening would be a bonus, I'm just as happy sitting in my room.

I'm going in October so have I missed the Sunday Tea season? That sounds lovely

They had an enormous bus station open 24 hours a day on that cop show.

I think you'll be fine.

If there are any Sunday teas on, they’ll be advertised in the paper which comes out on a Friday.

Hotels? What about the Queen’s? Next door to Jimmy Perez. 😁

Ooohh take photos !!! 🎉

I sometimes stay here when I'm up www.aaldharbourbedandbreakfast.com

Comfortable, clean, central for Lerwick and do a great breakfast. Very friendly although the owner lives out.

The other place I stay which I love is probably too far out for you is www.drumquinguesthouse.co.uk. Fantastic food, super comfortable rooms and a great welcome.

(wouldn't recommend the Queens or the Grand - last I heard both have been on the market for a while. Last time I was in, neither had been upgraded since my underaged drinking days in the 70s!)

Aald Harbour B&B is your best bet, if it’s full ask her for recommendations but avoid Glen Orchy house, Shetland, Lerwick and Grand hotels.

Depends what time you arrive in Sumburgh but I’d do Sumburgh Head and Jarlshof (it’s closed but go through the gate anyway), stop off at Levenwick beach or St Ninians on the way up to Lerwick.

Next day for scenery I’d head west, up to Aith and from Aith across to Voe, then keep driving North to Eshaness. On the way you’ll have the choice of bonhoga, Cake Fridge Teamroom and Busta House for coffee/ food.

If your into knitting then definitely got to the Shetland museum for their beautiful knitwear displays and then mooch about the shops. Mareel next to the museum is good as a coffee stop.

There won’t be any Sunday teas on at that time of year and I only know of a couple since covid.

I've been reading this post with selfish interest @Rae36! I wondered if people could chip in on my plans too....

I'm planning a day trip with two teen girls. We happen to be relatively close that week and want to tick Shetland off on our list but don't have time on our side!

Looking at a same day return ferry trip so we sleep on ferry both ways and spend a Friday in Shetland. 7.30-5pm.

We need to get to Bousta and back that day. No car.

No need to tell me I'm crazy. I already know that!

I have specific questions but any further info you can through at me would be great!

Are the 'pods' on the ferry okay for sleep or do I need to book a cabin?

Does anyone know how much a return taxi from Lerwick to Bousta would cost or whether there is a bus route?

Would it be hats and gloves cold or proper thermals cold?

Thank you!

(@Rae36 did you decide to do it or elsewhere?)

The bus timetable out to the west side is here www.zettrans.org.uk/site/assets/files/1084/west_mainland.pdf - give them a phone and see what they say.

There’s not a lot to do at Bousta - it’s gorgeous, but last time I went it was just seals and crab claws.

Taxis are fucking extortionate and you’d be looking at £70(?) each way - much better to hire a car if you can. But it may well be worth phoning a taxi firm and seeing if they can do you a deal for a return trip and then you and the girls can have a quick spin around Lerwick. I was in the town centre yesterday and the shops were looking great - I could’ve spent £££. 😂

Pods are fucking dire. Regular travellers prefer the floor! If finances allow, grab a cabin and you should be able to leave your bags in the cabin overnight - if you do go for the pods, you can leave any extra baggage in the terminal.

And no, it’s not super-cold. I’ve been out most days with just a t-shirt on under a wind-proof jacket. Hats need to be tight so they don’t fly off(!) and I’m a slave to a scarf as I hate a cold neck.