Shetland Museum
Hay's Dock Lerwick ZE1 0WP
This waterfront museum is the main attraction in Lerwick, the capital of the Shetland Isles, a superb modern museum that has been brilliantly conceived and inspirationally curated. Its multitude of exhibits take you on a well-paced journey through the history of the islands, starting with prehistoric dwellings and the mighty Vikings and their weapons and on through the islands’ rich maritime heritage (complete with full size fishing boats) and the recent oil and gas revolution, which has transformed the economy of the isles and had a major impact on society. Shetland remains a deeply cultural place, where people’s stories and backgrounds are still important to everyday life, so this is a fitting place to take the pulse of this distant archipelago of 100 islands.