Introduction

This evening, I am reporting on Lerwick (pop 7,000) which is the principal town on the Shetland archipelago.Location is about 123 miles (200 km) off the north coast of the Scottish mainland.

Commercial Street

Information on Lerwick

Lerwick, in common with the rest of the Shetlands together with nearby Orkney, became part of Scotland in 1472. Until then the islands were part of Norway.Consequently, the town and the rest of Shetland boats an extensive Scandinavian heritage.

The town gained prosperity in the 19th century through sea trade and fishing.In the 1970s this was augmented by the north Sea oil boom. Today, Lerwick is a busy fishing and ferry port. The harbour also services vessels supporting the offshore oil industry.

Harbour with visiting cruise ship

Owing to its northerly location, winter months are extremely dark in Lerwick. On the day of the winter solstice it gets only 5 hours and 49 minutes of daylight. The town’s latitude is 60.15 degrees North.

In regard to transport, the town is served by the Tingwall Airport located a few miles away and Sumburgh Airport that is further south and flies all year to some Scotland destinations.

NorthLink Ferries operate a daily overnight ferry service between Lerwick and Aberdeen, regularly calling in to Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands.

Another view of Lerwick Harbour

Lerwick benefits from a wide number of hotels and other accommodations.

More information

For more information on Shetland, Orkney and other aspects of Scotland please refer Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4. This is also available via Kindle.