Duration: 4 hours
(please book early - limited availability for each date)
Dates/Times:
Sat 14th June 08:30 - Sat 21st June 10:00 - Tues 24th June 10:00
Tues 12th Aug 10:00 - Tues 19th Aug 14:00 - Sat 23rd Aug 10:00 - Sat 30th Aug 10:00
Tues 16th September 13:00
Price: Adult £79 Child £69
Meeting Point: Esplanade, Lerwick. ZE1 0LL
Meet your driver in Lerwick Town Centre and make the short journey to the Bressay Ferry Terminal, where we join the small inter-island ferry for the 7 minute crossing to Bressay.
Bressay:
Arriving in Bressay, we meet our local guide who is an island resident, crofter and archaeologist. Tours departing on Saturdays will have the chance to explore the Bressay Heritage Centre which tells the story of the island's 6000 year history. On all days, we will see the reconstruction of a Bronze Age Burnt Mound, which was saved from crumbling into the sea.
Garths Croft - our guide, Chris, will accompany us to his island croft, a sustainable agricultural holding. We will be able to look at the sheep - ewes, rams and lambs - white, coloured, fleckit and even katmogget! Sift through fleeces from Chris' flock and see the principal day-to-day tools and equipment which are used by a Shetland crofter. Chris' croft is mixed, with woodland, pigs, turkeys, hens and vegetables alongside his beautifully coloured sheep, so there is plenty to see on an island with abundant nature, wildlife and history.
Splendiburn Cafe - We make a short stop at the cafe where there is the chance to purchase a light lunch and refreshments (own expense)
Bressay Lighthouse - At the southern tip of Bressay, the island's lighthouse is one of four designed by the Stevenson brothers. Constructed in 1858, the lighthouse was automated in 1998. Note - it is not possible to enter the lighthouse, it is not open to the public.
Bressay Church - Visit croft houses and outbuildings plus the former manse which crowd the centre of the site, which also includes a Neolithic turf dyke, Viking houses and the graveyard of the cross-shaped kirk of St Mary's - which stands, in part, on the remains of a broch.
We bid farewell to Chris and rejoin the ferry for the short crossing back to Lerwick.
Lerwick:
The drop-off point is in the centre of town, so you'll be able to explore Shetland's capital at your own pace. If you're travelling on a cruise ship which is berthed out of the town, you can use the free shuttle bus to return to the pier, once you have finished exploring.