Main Page

Galley and Jarl Squad Photo by Jeannie

The first ever South Mainland Up Helly Aa took place on the12th March.
Jarl David Smith from Bigton portrayed Aleksandur Leifsson.

There were 22 Squads,
374 Guizers,
and 328 guizers carrying torches

The Bill Click on picture to read Photo by Muckleossa

The procession and burning of the Galley, Skidbladnir, took place at Bigton. Unlike the galley used in the Lerwick Up Helly Aa, the South Mainland Galley which is designed with a complete hull, was burned on the sea, at the St Ninian's Isle sand.

Burning of the Galley Photo by Jeannie

More pictures and information are coming in all the time, and will be added to the 'SMUHA' page as soon as possible. Click on this link to see the latest.

Click Map To Enlarge

Explore Shetland step by step
Make your choice from all our Shetland Settlements.
Or, visit our modern and ancient "capitals" Lerwick and Scalloway.
No visit to Shetland is complete without taking a ferry to visit one of the Outer Isles.

When rambling through Shetland
Look out for the historical attractions and local museums, or discover our naturally beautiful landscapes and our Voes, Firths, and Bays.

To get a taste of what you will see
Have a browse through our "picture galleries".

Looking for some indoor leisure activities?
Then join in and do some sports in one of our fine Leisure Centres: Go for a swim, try your skills in indoor bowling – or just watch the competing folks.
Or for something more leisurely take a look around our pubs and bars

Further advice for visitors to Shetland
Can be found by visiting our Tourism Pages

The 2010 South Mainland Up Helly Aa Galley 'Skidbladnir', and Jarl David Smith. Photo by Muckleossa

Shetland's best values: The people!
Here you can meet some of those who represent our community as well as some of the incoming folks and other native Shetlanders of the past.

Present Day Shetland
is a vibrant community based both in,

• a great variety of businesses representing traditional but still important industries like fishery to the spearheads active in the renewable energies sector and
• the active life in our communities, our schools and the modern colleges which play a major role in our social and cultural life.

Shetland Heritage
is represented by far more than our famous archaeological monuments such as Jarlshof and the Broch of Mousa.
Most importantly, it is a living heritage, living in our arts, crafts, music and festivals, as well as the continuation of traditional Shetland industries such as fishing, crofting, and knitwear.

Milo, Piper, and Missy, the first pure bred Shelties to be born in Shetland for 15 years.

Proud mother 'Mystery', with Missy.

Gilbert Goudie, Shetland author and antiquarian, was born on the 23rd of April, 1843, at Clumlie in Dunrossness, the tenth child of local landowner Gilbert Goudie and his wife Jean Black. Gilbert inherited the Braefield estate under the terms of his father's settlement and rose to become the Inspector of Branches for the National Bank of Scotland, retiring in 1909. He was based in Edinburgh.
Goudie traveled widely, visiting most of the countries on the Continent and Iceland. In 1872 he received a semi-private audience with Pope Pius IX at the Vatican. He was presented to the King of Denmark in the Amalienburg Palace, Copenhagen, in 1912.

Goudie was well known as an antiquary, as an authority on Shetland history, and as a Scandinavian scholar, shared interests with his friend Arthur Laurenson. With Jon Hjaltalin he produced the first translation into English of Orkneyinga Saga. He became treasurer of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and contributed numerous papers to their proceedings. Most of them were collected in his Celtic and Scandinavian Antiquities of Shetland in 1904.

Goudie died on the 8th of January 1918 in Edinburgh.

For further details, please click here.

As the Mareel cinema and music venue is built we will add the latest pictures from the site here, on a regular basis.

View from North Ness, with Shetland Museum and Hay's Dock in background. Picture by Jeannie.

Mid March. Scaffolding is getting higher Picture by: Jeannie.