4 Museums to Explore in Shetland Islands

The Bressay Heritage Centre, situated at the Bressay ferry terminal, is a local exhibition space, which shows Bressay life and history, as well as information about the mysterious Bronze Age mound that has been relocated alongside. Current displays include information and photographs documenting Bressay’s role in WW1, photographs of Bressay’s flora and a lovely ‘ben end’, a 1960’s living room – Bressay style.

Shetland Museum and Archives is a five star VisitScotland rated Visitor Attraction, which welcomes an average of 86,000 visitors per year.The restored buildings that form this museum include not only the immediate steading with its house, byre and barn but also a typical corn mill, and the whole complex allows a fascinating insight into rural life in Shetland a hundred years ago. The furniture and fittings are mostly original to the house.

This Interpretive Centre is located at the Beach of Houbie, and it is a community museum awarded a Visit Scotland four-star tourist attraction. The museum itself contains various displays on island history, including the award-winning section on Sir William Watson Cheyne and his contribution to antiseptic surgery. There is an Information Point for visitors with a comprehensive range of maps and brochures. There is options for walking , birdwatching and so more.

The Crofthouse Museum takes visitors back to a time where life’s essentials were of a bare minimum. The property is presented in the style of how it would have looked in the 1870s. Smell the peat fire, discover the box beds and try to set the traditional Shetland mouse trap. The crofthouse also has a lovely garden.