Unst & Yell

Unst and Yell are the two northernmost islands of Shetland, and of Britain, where the National Trust for Scotland looks after seven parcels of land on Unst, the uninhabited island of Daaey, croft land on Yell and three islets off Unst's west coast gifted in 2024. The best known parcel is Halligarth at Baltasound, a 19th-century plantation of sycamores that is the most northerly woodland in the UK, while the Trust's ground at Woodwick, Collaster and Lund on Unst's west side gives cliffs, stacks, voes and beaches where Shetland ponies wander free. Yell is one of the best places in Europe to watch otters, dratsies in the local tongue. The gannet cliffs of Hermaness at the north end of Unst are a NatureScot reserve rather than Trust land, but they are why most visitors come. Dogs are welcome on Trust land, under close control near grazing livestock. Tips from visitors: book the Yell and Unst ferries ahead in summer, and allow two to four hours for the Hermaness loop, staying on its boardwalk.