Explore the Lovely Town of Scalloway

If you go along the Shetland coast of Scotland you will find the town of Scalloway, the largest inhabited area in this region. Along the coast there is a harbor sheltered from sight, just north of that is where you will find Scalloway the capital of the archipelago until the early 18th century.

Lerwick is the closest town to Scalloway and is considered the main port in the Shetland Islands area. The port and the fishing harbor have continued to grow in size over the years particularly because of the increased shipping and fishing activity in the area around the harbor. During the Second World War there was a lot of activity in these waters especially by the secret services that controlled a ferry service to facilitate their activities. The ferry continued to transport people over to the mainland and Orkney over the years until the 1960s when it stopped completely.

One of the main attractions in Scalloway is the sixteenth century ruin of the Scalloway Castle that was first built under the command of Earl Patrick Stewart. Stewart had the castle built by his Master of Works as a means of gaining control over the Parliament and the Shetland territory. At that stage the castle was situated high up on a piece of land that jutted out into the sea. By the 1700’s the castle was in disarray and had had little maintenance over the decades leading to its eventual breakdown. Today the ruins of the castle are still part of Scalloway’s history but are less prominent than before with all the development and growth of the surrounding area.

Scalloway is a beautiful little place with historic but attractive buildings that all have a stunning view of the bay. It’s well worth the time to take a stroll around Scalloway where you will find many interesting buildings like the multicolored terraced houses and the Scalloway Hotel. There is also the boatyard on West Shore that you can go visit and see all the boats there for maintenance before they can go back into the water.

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