Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
948km²
Area
994km
Coastline
450m
Highest point
Ronas Hill
18,765
People
13°C
Warmest sea
August
326km
To the mainland
When to go to Mainland
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (13 °C) and coolest in March (8 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Main island of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK
Mainland is an island in United Kingdom. It belongs to Shetland Islands. It covers 948 km², with 994 km of coastline. Its highest point, Ronas Hill, rises to 450 m. About 18,765 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 326 km away.
Getting there
- Sumburgh Airport (LSI)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at KOI airport (Kirkwall, Orkney Islands)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesVidlin - Out Skerries, Kirkwall - Lerwick, Aberdeen-Lerwick, Vidlin - Whalsay
- 326 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Mainland.
- 131beachesMinisters' Beach, St Ninian's tombolo, Beach of Spiggie and 128 more
- 8viewpointsMousa Sound Viewpoint, End section 4/ beginning section 5 and 6 more
- 3lighthousesRam's Head Lighthouse, Fethaland Lighthouse
- 8ferry terminalsLaxo Ferry Terminal, Lerwick, Lerwick Esplanade Ferry Terminal and 5 more
- 12marinasLerwick Boating Club, Lerwick Sea Scouts, Skeld Marina and 9 more
- 279named peaksRonas Hill, Mid Field, Royl Field and 276 more
- 2waterfalls
- 1castles and fortsFort Charlotte
- 273ruins and archaeological sitesOld Scatness Broch, Esha Ness, Pictish burial mound and 270 more
- 1dive centresOcean Kimetics
- 107waymarked walking routesWest Voe Beach Access, Sumburgh Farm, Brootham Ponies, Robyns Brae and 104 more
- 6campsitesLevenwick Campsite, Braewick Caravan Park, Skeld Caravan Park and Campsite and 3 more
- 31hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 38restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Mainland in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Mainland, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
12mountainsPeakyas
15lakesLakeyas
1waterfallCascadyas
Highest point
450m
Ronas Hill
prominence 450 m · according to Peakyas
Largest lake
1.1km²
Loch of Girlsta
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
16.8°C
Burga Water
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
12.9°C
Muckle Geo
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Muckle Geocove12.9°C
- Peerie Geocove12.9°C
- Ware Geocove12.9°C
12 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Ronas Hillprominence 450 m450m
- Lanchestoo129m
- Setter Hill
- Beorgs of Skelberry
- Beorgs of Housetter
- Billia Field
- Hill of Neap
- Hill of Sandvoe
4 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
15 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Loch of Girlsta1.1km²
- Loch of Spiggie0.85km²
- Loch of Vaara0.68km²
- Eela Water0.65km²
- Loch of Clousta0.58km²
- Loch of Tingwall0.56km²
- Sulma Water0.45km²
- Loch of Brow0.17km²
7 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
1 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Forsan
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 68 m above the sea. 97 % of it is below 200 m.
- 47 %0–50 m
- 50 %50–200 m
- 3 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Lerwick6,760 people
- Sandwick1,217 people
- Scalloway1,100 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 |
| Night low (°C) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Sea (°C) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 136 | 100 | 98 | 65 | 66 | 69 | 86 | 101 | 105 | 124 | 122 | 126 |
| Wet days | 22 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Sun h/day | 0.0 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 5.2 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 37 | 35 | 32 | 28 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 28 | 32 | 35 | 36 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.1 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | −0.4 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.2 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.0 |
| 2023 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +1.4 | +0.2 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +0.7 | +1.5 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +1.0 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Muckle Roe
United Kingdom17 km²172 m10 km away
BressayUnited Kingdom27 km²226 m21 km away
WhalsayUnited Kingdom19 km²119 m19 km away
YellUnited Kingdom210 km²205 m38 km away
FetlarUnited Kingdom40 km²158 m41 km away
UnstUnited Kingdom119 km²284 m55 km away
FoulaUnited Kingdom13 km²418 m46 km away
Fair IsleUnited Kingdom8.1 km²271 m88 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q738734) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
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canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit