South Mainland

Shetland's South Mainland is a long, thin finger of land, only three or four miles wide, but 25 miles long, ending in the cliffs of Sumburgh Head and Fitful Head. It's a beautiful area with wild landscapes but also good farmland, and has yielded some of Shetland's most impressive archeological treasures - in particular, Jarlshof.

From Leebitton, in the district of Sandwick, halfway to Sumburgh Head, you can take the small passenger ferry (mid-April to mid-Sept 1-2 daily; takes 15min; £5 return; tel 01950/431367, www.mousaboattrips.co.uk) to the small Isle of Mousa, on which stands the best-preserved broch in the whole of Scotland. Rising to more than 40ft, and looking rather like a Stone Age cooling tower, Mousa Broch has a remarkable presence, and features in both Egil's Saga and the Orkneyinga Saga, contemporary chronicles of Norse exploration and settlement. The low entrance passage leads through two concentric walls to a central courtyard, divided into separate beehive chambers. Between the walls, a rough (very dark) staircase leads to the top parapet (torch provided). From late May to late July, a large colony of around five thousand storm petrels breeds in and around the broch walls, fishing out at sea during the day, and only returning to the nests after dark. The ferry also runs special late-night trips (Wed & Sat weather permitting), setting off in the "simmer dim" twilight around 11pm.

The main road leads eventually to Sumburgh airport, beyond which excavations are currently underway at Old Scatness (July to early Aug daily except Fri 10am-5.30pm; £2), where a broch, and possibly the best-preserved Iron Age house in Europe, have recently been discovered. A little further along the road lies Jarlshof (April-Sept daily 9.30am-6.30pm; £2.50; HS; Oct-March open access to grounds; free), the largest and most impressive of Shetland's archeological sites. There's evidence of more than four thousand years of continuous occupation, with buildings dating from the Stone Age to the early seventeenth century. The best-preserved buildings are the Pictish wheelhouses surrounding a Neolithic broch, and also the Norse longhouses. Sir Walter Scott was responsible for the name: while visiting Shetland in 1814 he decided to use part of the ruins in his novel The Pirate. Towering over the whole complex is the laird's house, originally built by Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney and Lord of Shetland, in the late sixteenth century. Beside Jarlshof is the Scots Baronial Sumburgh Hotel, where the bar food is surprisingly good.

The Mainland comes to a dramatic end at Sumburgh Head, about two miles from Jarlshof. The lighthouse, designed by Robert Stevenson, was built in 1821; although not open to the public its grounds offer great views to Noss in the north and Fair Isle to the south. This is also the easiest place in Shetland to get close to puffins. During the nesting season, you simply need to look over the western wall by the lighthouse gate to see them arriving at their burrows with beakfuls of fish or giving flying lessons to their offspring; on no account should you try to climb over the wall.

Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustees for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.