Skip to content
Voykit
Draft data. Times, fares and step counts are desk estimates awaiting field checks. How we verify
Source checked
A source and a date are on record: we read it from an official or published page. Not yet confirmed on the ground.
Field checked
Someone checked it on the ground, with the date shown.
Plan calculated
Worked out by Voykit from its own data (times, distances, budgets). A calculation, not a measurement.

Unknown times stay unknown. How we verify

Back to Hillswick

In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.

Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom

Hillswick

Go for 1–2 nights with a car: Ronas Hill, Esha Ness and the cliffs need wheels; without one, bus 21 gives you a village and little else.

Hillswick is the main village of Northmavine, the peninsula hanging off Shetland's Mainland north of Brae. It is a base, not a sight: a hotel, a shop, a wildlife sanctuary, and single-track roads out to sea cliffs, a 450 m hill and an abandoned fishing station. One night covers the village; two nights let you walk Ronas Hill and drive the Esha Ness loop without rushing. A car is close to essential — the bus runs three times a day on weekdays only.

LondonAbbots LangleyAberaeronAbercastleAberdareAberdaronAberdeenAberdyfiAbereiddyAberfeldyAberffrawAbergavennyAbergeleAberporthHillswick200 kmdots: other places in this guide
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
United Kingdom
Best months
May–Sep
Avoid
Nov–Feb (short days, wind, ice on the hill tracks)
Stay
1–2 nights

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
GBP
Money
Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
Daily spend
Budget £45–70 excl. bed · Mid £70–110 excl. bed · High £110+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
Emergency
Police, fire, ambulance, coastguard 999 · Police non-urgent 101 · NHS non-urgent 111
Plugs
Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
Tipping
Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
Water
Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
Toilets
Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.

What things cost

ItemPrice
Coffee or tea in the hotel bar£3–4.50
Pub main course£14–22
Sunday carvery at the St Magnus Bay Hotel£18–25
Groceries for a self-catering night, per person£8–12
Fuel, per litre£1.50–1.70
Car hire, per day£45–70
eSIM or data SIM, about a week£8–15

Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.

Get in

By air

LSI · Sumburgh Airport
Main Shetland airport, about 1 h 30 min by car to Hillswick via Lerwick and Brae; check connections.
LWK · Lerwick/Tingwall Airport
Smaller airstrip on the bus 21 route; check whether your flight lands here.

Typical fares

Bus 21, Lerwick → Hillswick
about 70 min, three times Mon–Sat (check the fare)
Car, Lerwick → Hillswick
35 miles, about 50 min
Ferry, Toft → Ulsta (for Yell)
about 20 min; check sailings and whether booking is needed
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card

Get around

You need a car. The A970 runs 35 miles (about 50 min) north from Lerwick via Tingwall, Voe and Brae to Hillswick. Bus 21 runs three times Monday–Saturday from Lerwick, about 70 min. Beyond the village the roads are single-track with passing places; fuel is at the Hillswick shop and at Brae.

See and do

Known for

  • Ronas Hill, Shetland's highest point
  • Esha Ness cliffs and lighthouse
  • Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Fethaland fishing station

Day trips

WhereHowTime
Esha Ness and Tangwick Haa MuseumDrive the single-track road west from Hillswick, about 20 minAbout 30 min
Ronas HillDrive to the track end, then walk upAbout 1 h
FethalandDrive to Isbister at the road end, then rough trackAbout 1 h
LerwickA970 south via Brae, or bus 21About 50 min by car, 70 min by bus
Yell and UnstDrive south to Toft, ferry to Ulsta, then northAbout 2 h to Ulsta

Sleep

Hillswick village
The St Magnus Bay Hotel and the shop are here; everything else on the peninsula is a drive away.
Brae
About 20 min south at Mavis Grind; more beds and a Co-op if Hillswick is full.
Lerwick
About 50 min south; use it as a base only if you accept the daily drive.

Phrase card

EnglishSay or show
HelloHello / Hellostandard English greeting
Thank youThank youta is common locally
Where is the shop?Where's the shop?
Is the road single-track?Is it single-track?use passing places
Can I pay by card?Do you take card?
Where is the toilet?Where's the toilet?

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
  • Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
  • Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
  • Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
  • Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
  • Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'

Scams and watch-outs

  • Mobile signal is patchy at best in the village and near-absent elsewhere on the peninsula: download maps and tell someone your plan.
  • Single-track roads with passing places: pull in on the left and let the other car through.
  • No fuel after the village shop closes; fill up at Brae if you are heading to Esha Ness or Fethaland.
  • Cliff edges at Esha Ness and Fethaland are unfenced and the wind is strong: keep back from the edge.
  • Midges are less of a problem here than on the west coast, but ticks in long grass are not.

Very low crime; the real risks are weather, single-track roads and unfenced cliffs. Tell someone your route before walking Ronas Hill or Fethaland, and carry a charged phone — signal is patchy.

One and two days

No timed day plan for Hillswick yet. Suggested stay: 1–2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.

  • Ronas Hill, Shetland's highest point
  • Esha Ness cliffs and lighthouse
  • Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Fethaland fishing station

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

Hillswick

To this address, please

To this address, please

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

  • Police, fire, ambulance, coastguard999
  • Police non-urgent101
  • NHS non-urgent111

No embassies in Shetland; the nearest consulates and embassies are in Edinburgh and London. US citizens: check the US Embassy in London.

Signal is patchy; save this card offline before you drive north.

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/hillswick). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.