Unst Sky-trail

Wild Skies Shetland

Culture and Traditions
Stars and Skies

The beautiful island of Unst is the most northerly part of the UK. Its skies are ever-changing, with the midnight sun, northern lights, dark starry nights and magnificent storms. The 12-stop trail around the island takes you to beautiful places with panoramic skyscapes, informing the visitor along the way about sky-relevant subjects as varied as Viking astronomy, the northern lights, climate, and how the skies have influenced Shetland culture and dialect.

Twelve sky-stops are located in different parts of the spectacular island of Unst, Shetland, which is the northernmost part of the UK.

This is a self-guided trail. Each sky-stop can be visited separately, and in any order – to cover all 12 you need a car or bike. Some sky-stops have an audio bench where you can listen, for example to local stories whilst admiring the panoramic skies; others have QR codes linked to more information. Topics covered include tidal energy and the link between the moon and tides; the northern lights; traditional sky-related stories and dialect; night skies; the extreme differences in winter and summer lengths of day, including the midnight sun; Viking history; and the Shetland climate and climate change. The trail is best done slowly, taking time to walk in the areas around the sky-stops.

This trail is not about an in-depth view of one particular aspect of science. It is about exploring the sky from many angles – scientific, cultural, historical and linguistic.