5. Beer & Bannocks Food Tour

First of all, your guide will take you on a short informative drive around the town of Lerwick before heading out the north road to the Lerwick Brewery which sits on a hillside on the outskirts of the town. Founded in 2012, Lerwick Brewery is the UK’s most northerly and remote brewery making a range of craft beers from lagers to IPA’s and oatmeal stouts. A tour of the facility is led by one of the core team and is your opportunity to meet the brewery team who will guide you through the beer making process. The tour finishes off in the bar with a tasting session straight from the source, of a draft, a cask and a bottled beer.

There is time to look around the brewery shop which features beers, merchandise, and a wide range of locally made crafts and gifts.

The tour then takes you north and west to the beautiful village of Voe, home to T M Adie & Sons Bakery, established during the first world war to feed the troops from the 10th naval Cruiser Squadron anchored nearby. Here you will have the opportunity to buy Shetland Bannocks directly from the producer. We continue our drive through the scenic road from Voe to Aith taking in the beauty of the wild Shetland landscape along the way.

Shortly we arrive at the original ‘Cake Fridge’ and tearooms. A cake fridge is roadside store full of delicious homebakes operating on an honesty box principle, and although the BBC drama series ‘Shetland’ would have you believe otherwise, Shetland is a low crime area where these honesty boxes can operate undisturbed. Lunch of soup and traditional Shetland Bannocks and tea/coffee and cake is provided in the restored croft house. There is also an excellent outdoor seating area should the weather be kind. You can purchase a supply of your favourites from the cake fridge before we resume our tour.

After lunch the tour travels through the villages of Aith, Bixter, Weisdale and Whiteness in the central mainland back to town. A short stop at an iconic viewpoint is a must on the road back to town. An optional stop at the Shetland Jewellery workshop and showroom in the village of Weisdale can be arranged. Along the way back, your qualified local guide will share knowledge about Shetland past and present.