Jarlshof

Our time on Shetland was limited, and so having spent some time at the Clickimon Broch, we headed back to the car and drove towards Sumburgh Head at the south of the Island.
Of course we had passed here on the ferry earlier that morning. It was about a 30 minute drive on a road that was very quiet.
Sumburgh is where the airport is, and the road actually crosses one of the runways, so if there are active aircraft, the road is temporarily closed. There is also a lighthouse that can be visited and a bird sanctuary. But we were going to visit Jarlshof.
On the shore, within view of the airport is the site of a Prehistoric Norse settlement, plus the remains of a 17th Century Laird's House.
This has to be one of the most interesting places I have ever visited.

We now know that people have lived her for over 4000 years. The last people were here in the 1600s.
Over that time, the evidence of all this settlement gradually disappeared under the wind blown sand.
Had you come here in early 1800, all you would have seen was a grassy mound and the ruins of a substantial house.
But then around 1829, a series of violent storms blew the sand away, and the extensive remains of a prehistoric broch and roundhouses and wheel houses were found, as well as a Viking settlement.

There is an audio tour available. We used it and highly recommend it.

For more information about Jarlshof, follow the links. There is too much to tell here.
If you are contemplating a visit, please note that the site, like many here, is only open from April to September.

http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyresults/propertyoverview.htm?PropID=PL_162

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarlshof

http://www.shetland-heritage.co.uk/jarlshof

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/britonsgaelsvikings/jarlshof/index.asp