Local Information

Hillswick is a small village on the north west coast of mainland Shetland, 35 miles north of the main town, Lerwick. It is one of the villages in the parish of Northmavine, others being Ollaberry and North Roe.

Hillswick Health Centre is situated in the middle of Hillswick, across the road from the St Magnus Hotel, with excellent bar and dining facilities. The hotel is a wooden building, prefabricated in Norway for use at the Great Exhibition in Glasgow in 1896. It was purchased by the North of Scotland Orkney and Shetland Steam Navigation Company, and re-erected in Hillswick in 1902.

Down on the waterfront is Shetland's oldest surviving trading place, the Booth, a former Hanseatic trading post dating back to 1668. It is now Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary, caring for sick and injured seals and otters and also incorporating an occasional café serving vegetarian and vegan food.

There is a blacksmith, and shop and post offices in Ollaberry and Brae ,with petrol. The West Ayre beach is a lovely white sandy beach 100 yards walk away from the centre of Hillswick where you can often see seals.

A few miles along the Eshaness road, is the newly-built Braewick Café with facilities for camping and caravanning. Chef Toby Smedley sources the best local ingredients to provide hot and cold snacks and an evening à la carte menu. Braewick Café is located on a working croft with spectacular panoramic sea views including the famous sea stack, the Drongs and also has a craft shop and gallery.

The North Mainland is an area of outstanding natural beauty, probably Hillswick Ness the best and most rugged in Shetland. There are fabulous cliff walks, including the famous Eshaness cliffs and the highest hill in Shetland, Ronas Hill. There are also great areas of wilderness and it is a paradise for bird watchers, geologists, botanists and fishermen, both sea and loch.

Shetland has become prosperous due to the oil industry and fishing and this is reflected in our excellent leisure facilities, with swimming and leisure centres throughout the isles. Our nearest leisure centre is Brae, which is twelve miles away, and there is the large and extremely well equipped Clickimin Centre in Lerwick which has extensive facilities including a swimming pool, gym, health suite and bowling hall. There are divermany sports available in Shetland, including tuition in most things for adults and children. There is a sailing club in Brae, a thriving kayaking club in Lerwick, a diving club in the North Mainland, and there are two golf courses near Lerwick.

Shetland is also famous for traditional music which is taught in the schools, and there is a club locally. There are many social events, usually centred on the public halls, throughout the year including a local Viking Up Helly Aa in February and the spectacular Lerwick one in January. Up Helly aa Shetland has a very good community feel and there are numerous clubs and night classes for a wide variety of activities and interests. The Shetland Film Club show films fortnightly and Filmobile Scotland shows many of the latest films in the Garrison Theatre in Lerwick once a month. Lerwick has two large supermarkets and an interesting variety of smaller shops. We are well catered for in terms of restaurants with Chinese, Indian and Italian amongst other restaurants. and cafés and numerous hotels throughout the isles.

Education is of a high standard in Shetland, with many pupils going on to further education, whether that be university or either of the two colleges in Shetland. For the Hillswick, Urafirth and Eshaness areas there is a primary school built within the last decade which incorporates a nursery class for three and four year olds. For secondary education, the children go to the High School in Brae and transport is provided.

Shetland has a well maintained network of roads and there are overnight ferries and frequent one hour flights to Aberdeen.

More photos of the local area can be seen here.

For more information, you might like to look at some of the following websites:

Shetland Islands Tourism

Shetland Tourism.Com

Shetland Visitor

Shetland Today

Shetland News

Originart
Northlink Ferries

British Airways

Shetland Travelscope

John Leask & Son