Adventure Shetland

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Adventure Shetland Adventure Shetland provides guided tours, hikes and walks around Shetland. With a focus on adventure

Earlier this summer, I had my first tour to Whalsay.Giovanna is a repeat customer, and something of an island hopper, ha...
05/08/2026

Earlier this summer, I had my first tour to Whalsay.

Giovanna is a repeat customer, and something of an island hopper, having had trips to Yell and Unst last summer, she decided Whalsa was next on the list!

We had a fantastic day, visiting the Hanseatic booth in Symbister and learning about the incredible history of the League and its merchants in the isle. We had a tour around the island, and were welcomed into the golf club for tea and biscuits in the excellent clubhouse. After a picnic lunch bought from the island’s shops, we visited the Heritage Centre and it is INCREDIBLE!

They have so much information about the island’s fishing industry (for which Whalsa is well known) as well as the wider history of the isle. They also have a great exhibit about the Bruce family (who built Symbister House in which the Centre is housed) and another about the poet Hugh McDiarmid and his family - in particular his wife Valda - who lived in Whalsa for a time.

I will definitely be back before too long, because this was such a fun day out!

Next on Giovanna’s island list is Fetlar, and we’ll be heading there in 2027 😁

Did you know there are some species of plants that are unique to Shetland?Even more remarkably, this one is unique to Un...
03/08/2026

Did you know there are some species of plants that are unique to Shetland?

Even more remarkably, this one is unique to Unst, our northmost island. Not only that, it only grows in one location on the island - the Keen of Hamar.

Edmonston’s Chickweed, or Shetland Mouse-Ear, grows only on one hillside in the entire world, which unsurprisingly is now a nature reserve. The rocky surface of the hill only supports very thin soils, creating an almost lunar-like landscape. As a result, only certain species of plants are evolved to grow and survive here, of which the Shetland Mouse-Ear is probably the most well known.

It was identified as unique and endemic to the island by Thomas Edmonston, a nephew of the island’s laird, who was aged just 12-years-old at the time. He was a talented botanist, who published a book on Shetland’s flora when he was 18, and was appointed Professor of Botany at Anderson’s university in Glasgow aged just 20. Tragically, he was accidentally killed by a misfiring gun while en route to South America to study rainforest plants, thus cutting short a highly promising career.

His legacy lives on, not only through his published works, but also in the name of the remarkable little flower he ‘discovered’ while still just a child.

Joining me on the walk to Fethaland (as featured in yesterday’s reel) was a very special guest - my first ever 3-time cu...
19/06/2026

Joining me on the walk to Fethaland (as featured in yesterday’s reel) was a very special guest - my first ever 3-time customer, Caroline.

Caroline and her husband Leandro come to Shetland on holiday most years, and when they do we almost always go out for a big wander somewhere.

These walks are filled with great conversations and putting the world to rights, and I always look forward to them! Especially in this case as it had been a couple of years since our last one.

I’m very lucky to have a fair few loyal customers - I’ve had quite a few repeats and returning folks over the years now, and it’s always a great feeling when folk want to come back exploring the islands with me again!

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