sandra

Just spent a week in Lerwick, and strangely my hubby and I never saw any pubs other than something called "The Lounge" on Mounthooly Street. We didn't go inside as it did not look very inviting and we saw a few questionable looking characters entering about the time we were passing by. We did wonder why there weren't more pubs/bars in Lerwick? Judging from this thread there were many of them, but somehow we didn't see them. Not sure how that is even possible as Lerwick isn't exactly huge. Strange.....

I should have mentioned, our trip to Lerwick was great, but our return trip from Lerwick to Aberdeen was almost cancelled/delayed due to weather, but in the end it departed on time though we were warned the seas would be rough. And rough it was....I held onto my bunk for dear life. Really really bad - not possible to get up and walk. It was pretty scary actually. Good thing for my sea sick medication as it pretty much knocked me out. I did see them loading sheep as we were boarding, it must have been terrible for them.

I haven't read through all the posts but just wanted to say my husband and I took the Northlink Ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick last week and it was a positive experience. We booked a berth well ahead of time and it was nicer than expected. Also ate at the one real restaurant onboard and that was lovely too. I saw a couple comments on passengers drinking & behaving badly, sadly that seems to be a big problem all over Britain, I wouldn't expect anything less on board. Luckily our berth must have been in a quiet area of the ferry as we weren't bothered by anything all night.

I just returned from a holiday in Shetland last week. I looked at the prices of housing and rents and I thought things seemed very inexpensive compared to elsewhere in Britain. Is it actually more expensive to live in Shetland vs. for example, Aberdeen? I liked Shetland and the surrounding Islands we visited very much, a lot of great dramatic scenery, however I agree there were some areas that looked a little rough which was too bad. And I have to ask and apologize ahead of time if this topic was discussed previously, but why in the world did someone decide to build an ugly modern government building immediately next to the Fort in Lerwick? What were they thinking?? I believe it was a Housing office. I understand that one is obviously needed, but why did they have to ruin the surrounding grounds of an important historic property to do so? I had originally planned to visit the Fort but that just turned me off of the idea and we didn't bother. I guess my feeling was, if the "powers that be" can treat that property with such disrespect it can't be worth my time. But other than that little sore point, I liked Lerwick and hope to come back someday!

Was just at St. Ninians last week for the first time! Beautiful, but it was so windy that day we could hardly walk and I was afraid to get too close to the bluffs for fear of being blown over the edge

Thanks again everyone, I will definitely go to as many of these recommended places as I can fit in. I will also need to check out the Shetland knitware too from what people are telling me, it looks like there are shops which carry Shetland knits in Lerwick(?) I did read on another website that you needed to travel to Fair Island to find genuine Shetland knitware so I'm not sure. How about food? Are there certain things that Shetland is known for? It doesn't matter if it isn't fancy, I just like to learn about the local culture wherever I go. I just never understood people who travel and want the same things & same food they get back home, because that's half the fun in traveling IMO.

Thank you so much everyone for the advice! Don't worry I'm not expecting it to be like the rest of Scotland, from what I've been reading Shetland is a very unique place indeed. I'm really looking forward to it!

Hi all, My hubby and I are taking a trip up to Shetland next week (after seeing the Highland games in Braemar first) and just wondering if anyone can recommend places to eat and places to go & what to see? We will have 4 days - staying in Lerwick and renting a car. We are Americans who have relocated for the next few years to England. The English seem to think we're crazy for wanting to go up to Shetland but I love Scotland!

I'm a little late in responding here but just wanted to say something in reponse to Longdog's comment: "Look at real poverty and extremes of wealth and poverty in places that don't have it like the good 'ol US of A, never mind 'less developed' places." Actually the 'ol US of A does have welfare and benefits for the poor. It varies state to state but an unemployed single mother for example in my home state would be given money for living expenses, a food "credit" card, rental assistance, free medical care, etc etc. Seems the news received in the UK regarding the USA isn't usually the complete story, so I understand why people might think otherwise. However, welfare and benefits were always meant to be a temporary situation for those that needed help but unfortunately there are always those out there who abuse the system and make it a lifestyle. Money is not unlimited so there has to be some limits to the benefits given out to each person. In my opinion a person should be given resources for help if they need it, however they also be expected to do what they can to become independent of benefits within a reasonable amount of time, (providing they are healthy and able to work.) It's the ones who make unemployment and living off the government a permanant lifestyle that ruins it for everyone else who actually NEEDS help.