Mousa Broch

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free entry for everyone; no membership card is needed. The island is reached only on the Mousa Boat, a private ferry from Sandsayre Pier (adult return £20, cash only).

ParkingParking not known

The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.

Parking details

Mousa is reached only by boat. The Mousa Boat, a private ferry, sails from Sandsayre Pier in Sandwick, about 14 miles south of Lerwick: turn off the A970 at the first Sandwick junction and follow the signs for Mousa; the pier is a mile on the left (postcode ZE2 9HP). The operator says there is plenty of parking at Sandsayre but publishes no charge, so the status is recorded as unknown. Public toilets and the boat's small exhibition in the old boatshed are by the pier; there are none on the island. Bus 6 from Lerwick or Sumburgh stops about ten minutes' walk away.

The daytime Island Trip runs from 1 April to the end of September, daily except Saturday, leaving at 11:30 and returning at 14:30 (about three hours ashore); no booking is needed, but sailings depend on the weather and can be cancelled. Fares are paid on board in cash only: adults £20, children 5 to 16 £10. Late-evening storm petrel trips must be booked. Driving pin: the parking beside Sandsayre Pier, 2.5 km across Mousa Sound from the broch.

About

Mousa Broch is the tallest and best-preserved Iron Age broch tower in Scotland, about 13 metres high, on the shore of the uninhabited island of Mousa off Shetland's east coast. It was probably built about 300 BC, and although it has the smallest diameter of any broch its walls are far thicker, which probably explains why it still stands to its full height. Two Norse sagas mention it: Egil's Saga tells of an eloping couple from Norway, shipwrecked about AD 900, who sheltered here, and in the Orkneyinga Saga Earl Harald besieged it in 1153 and found it an unhandy place to get at. A steep, narrow stair inside the wall climbs to the wallhead. The island is an RSPB nature reserve with seals and seabird colonies, and storm petrels return to the broch at dusk in summer. It is reached only by the seasonal Mousa Boat from Sandsayre Pier in Sandwick, which takes cash, sails when the weather allows and gives about three hours ashore.

Check today’s timesSee all times

Mousa BrochClosed for the winter; the Mousa Boat's 2026 season ended on 28 September and the broch is locked; reopens in April 2027

Opening times may change at short notice.

Historic Scotland: 'Mousa Broch is free to visit and open from April to October.' The Mousa Boat ended its 2026 season early on 28 September because the weather had broken, and says the broch has been locked by Historic Scotland and that its ferry will not run again until the 2027 season opens in April. In season the broch is open whenever the boat lands.

From the island's landing stage the broch is about a twenty-minute walk on rough grassland tracks; a steep, uneven stone stair inside the walls climbs to the top, so wear suitable footwear and supervise children. Mousa is an RSPB nature reserve: keep to the marked route, especially near the stony beach by the broch and the pools on the east side. The only shelter is a small building at the landing and the broch itself; bring waterproofs and food.

Photo: The tall, tapering drystone tower of Mousa Broch above the rocky shore of Mousa, seen from the sea. Kognos, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Broch_of_Mousa_from_the_Sea.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.

Reviews & Tips

No reviews yet

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your experience!

Nearby

Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement

9.7 mi

Clickimin Broch

9.9 mi

Ness of Burgi

9.9 mi

Fort Charlotte

10.7 mi