Shetland Amenity Trust

18/10/2026

13/10/2026

🌱What can Shetland’s plants tell us about the past?
Our Junior Rangers are learning to look at that landscape with fresh eyes.

🥾A couple of weeks ago they headed north to Ronas Hill, Shetland’s highest elevation of 450 metres and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), to explore the plants, mosses and lichens that thrive across this wild landscape and the stories they can tell us. At the summit the group also visited a Neolithic heel-shaped chambered cairn, a reminder that people have been drawn to this dramatic landscape for thousands of years.

🌱From sphagnum moss, which helped create the bogs and was once used as an early nappy and wound dressing, to floss (rush), whose fibres were used to make ropes, the natural world has long been part of everyday life in Shetland.

The group also discovered how plants have adapted to survive in challenging conditions. Woolly Fringe Moss traps air and moisture in its tiny hairs, helping it withstand the wind on exposed hilltops, while Dwarf Willow, one of the world’s smallest trees, has adapted to life where taller trees struggle to survivee. Reindeer lichens can withstand long periods beneath snow and provides an important winter food source for animals.

And then there’s the folklore. Cotton grass, known locally as Lucky Minnie’s Oo, has its own stories and traditions, while Butterwort (Ostin girse), a carnivorous plant was traditionally used in butter-making because its leaves contain an enzyme that helps milk set. The group also learned about Bog Asphodel, sometimes known as the ‘bone breaker’ because it grows in calcium deficient soils where grazing sheep can develop weak bones, and Tormentil or ‘earth bark’, whose roots were once used to treat severe stomach ailments.

🌎The day was a great reminder that Shetland’s natural and cultural heritage are deeply interconnected. The landscape isn’t just something we look at; it holds clues to how people lived, worked and understood the world around them.







📷 Jordan Clark

12/10/2026

👀 🌊In September, we received a very exciting wildlife sighting from Sumburgh Head: a Leatherback Turtle spotted heading south, close in on the east side of the lighthouse.

A visiting tour group was lucky enough to see the turtle on 26 September. As far as we know this is only the 20th recorded sighting of a Leatherback Turtle in Shetland, with the previous record dating back to 2015 in Bluemull Sound.

Leatherback Turtles are the largest turtles in the world, reaching up to 2.4m in length and weighing as much as 900kg. Although they breed in tropical waters, they regularly venture into British waters in late summer and early autumn. A sighting this far north is unusual, making observations like this particularly valuable.

Recording wildlife is an important part of our work through the Shetland Biological Records Centre, which collects information about the plants, animals and other wildlife found across the islands. These records help us build a picture of Shetland’s biodiversity – showing us what species are here, where they occur and how this changes over time, supporting the conservation and management of our natural environment.

🔸So, if you spot something unusual, or simply see something you think is worth sharing, we’d love to hear from you.

And if you’ve visited Shetland Museum & Archives, you may recognise this image of the large turtle replica on display. It’s based on a Leatherback that washed up in Yell in 2000.

Sumburgh Head Lighthouse & Visitor Centre

02/10/2026

🐏 If you’re in Shetland, you’ll know that Shetland Wool Week is in full swing this week!

While the event itself takes place over just a few days, there’s a huge amount of work happening behind the scenes throughout the year – and it involves many members of the Shetland Amenity Trust team.

From helping to deliver and run classes, to creating the Annual, packing boxes, carrying wool, giving talks and tours, or simply pitching in wherever needed, there are lots of different ways our team get involved.

Here’s just a few of them getting into the Wool Week spirit.

🧶Here are just a few of the team celebrating SWW Fair Isle Friday in style!

Shetland Wool Week
Shetland Museum & Archives
Sumburgh Head Visitor Centre

28/09/2026

What a night! A lovely write-up from Shetland News capturing the atmosphere, people and highlights from last night’s Shetland Wool Week opening ceremony.

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Guests from Canada and USA make long trip across

24/09/2026

🎉The Shetland Wool Week Annual 2026 is nearly here!

With Shetland Wool Week just days away, we’re excited to announce that this year’s publication will be available to buy in person this weekend.

The 12th edition features seven knitting patterns from local designers, all using Shetland wool.

🔸Haust Glivs by Emily Poleson
🔸Shaded Diamond Socks by Lesley Smith
🔸Vetch Jumper by Mandy Moore
🔸Da Hömin Tunic by Shetland Handspun
🔸Quenta Cowl by Ella Gordon Designs
🔸Bakka Beanie by Annie Garrick – Shetland Peerie Makkers
🔸Birsie Beanny by Helen Robertson Design

✍️Alongside the patterns, you’ll find accompanying features and designer profiles by Claire White exploring the inspiration behind this year’s designs.

📘Pick up your copy from Shetland Museum and Archives shop or order online. Available in print, digital or as a bundle of both. https://shop.shetlandwoolweek.com/collections/all-shetland-wool-week

📷Kirstie.creates

21/09/2026

SHETLAND PLACE NAMES : KIRSTAN HOL

A photograph of Kirstan Hol features in the current Shetland Museum and Archives J.D. Rattar exhibition, prompting a closer look at the history and meaning behind the name of this well-known cave in Papa Stour.

✍🏻Eileen Brooke-Freeman, our Shetland place-names expert explains:

The exhibition includes this photo of a fourareen inside entrance to Kirstan Hol, perhaps the most well-known cave in Papa Stour.

The name immediately begs the question who was Kirstan? Modern Ordnance Survey maps record it as Kirstan’s Hole and their earlier maps,1881-1973, give it as Christie’s Hole, making us wonder who was associated with this labyrinth of caves.

The correct version, used by locals is Kirstan Hol and actually describes the feature rather than a person associated with the place. George P.S. Peterson in ‘The Coastal Place-names of Papa Stour’ reveals that through his detailed research he discovered that it is one of the surviving pre-Norse place-names.

The Gaelic word cuartan means a maze or labyrinth and when pronounced an "s” is inserted between "t" and "r", giving a word that describes the cave perfectly for there are side caves leading off the main gallery at the beach.

As a further check I referred to the Ordnance Survey name books 1877-78, the record which resulted in the names chosen to appear on the first edition maps. Three local authorities – Mr W Humphray, Northbanks, Mr Robertson, Schoolmaster and Mt Hugh Hughson, Hamnavoe - all render the name as Cursten Hole. The addition of Christie’s Hole, the name subsequently adopted, came from Cowie’s Description of Shetland with the OS surveyors noting that “Cursten is probably meant for the Scotch form of the woman’s name Christina and Christie (or Kirstie) in a diminutive of the same.”

So, Kirstan (or Cursten) Hol is almost certainly a name describing the labyrinth of caves and subterranean passages, should never be rendered with an apostrophe s, and has nothing to do with someone called Kirstan, Kirsty or Christie - a reminder of how important it is to refer to local knowledge and consider what a feature looks like when interpreting place-names.

📷Entrance to Kirstan Hol, Papa Stour
J.D. Rattar | R01939

18/09/2026

Lerwick's Town of Culture Survey is now live - have your say!

Shetland Arts

16/09/2026

🎶A Night by Da Open Fire at Old Scatness

🔥What a special evening we had last Friday, gathered around the fire in the reconstructed buildings at Old Scatness.

It was the first time we had hosted an event like this at the site, and we were delighted by the fantastic turnout. The autumn evening light gave a perfect warm glow and visitors settled in for a memorable night of songs, stories and tunes from Claire White, following an introduction to the site by our archaeology expert Steve Jennings.

🎻There was singing, dancing, music and plenty of storytelling, creating a wonderfully relaxed evening in a very special setting.

One visitor summed it up: “Claire, who played the fiddle and sang, was excellent at telling the stories behind the songs. Well worth the time and money.”

🙏Thank you to everyone who came along and supported our first Night by Da Open Fire at Old Scatness. We’d love to see it become a regular feature of our heritage programme.

📷And a special thank you to Alexa Fitzgibbon for these wonderful photographs which capture the mood of the evening beautifully.