Local amenities and services

Ability Shetland is a charity that supports people with disabilties in Shetland, allowing them to live their lives to the fullest. As well as providing advice, information and support on accessibility provision across Shetland, they also run a number of clubs and recreational activities throughout the year. Visit the Ability Shetland website for more details.

Overall, Shetland has good connectivity and Broadband speeds, with many people running online businesses with no issues. Some rural parts however do have slower speeds, so to avoid frustration it's worth inputing your new Shetland postcode to Openreach's fibre checker to see what speed you can expect.

Shetland has three national chains, Buildbase, Howdens and Jewsons, plus local firms DITT and the Brae Building Centre. There are also other local suppliers like George Robertson Ltd who design and install kitchens. There is probably less choice than you'd find on the UK mainland but anything you can't find can be ordered and delivered within weeks. Shetland Transport, for example, do deliver on behalf of IKEA.

Shetland has a range of garages where you can buy new or used vehicles:

Jim’s Garage (Toyota, Ford, Mazda)
Phone: +44 (0)1595 695202

Leask Motor Garage (Suzuki)
Phone: +44 (0)1595 693 411

Towns-End Garage (Kia)
Phone: +44 (0)1595 693632

For private car sales, check Njord Market, a popular Shetland classifieds website.

Builders, joiners, plumbers, electricians and other tradespeople tend to get booked up fast in Shetland, so very few of them advertise as they can rely on word of mouth referrals.

If you're looking for someome to do a job for you, check Njord Market classifieds, join local groups on Facebook, and look at noticeboards in local shops. Also, ask your neighbours or staff in your nearest shop for recommendations.

Shetland is lucky enough to have a full service, publicly run library service. The main Shetland Library is in Lerwick and has a wide variety of reading materials. It also includes a Learning Centre, which gives you free access to computers and WiFi, as well as a range of learning resources.

Rural communities are serviced by the Mobile Library, whereby you can order books online and have them delivered.

A common question we get asked is which companies deliver parcels to Shetland. Alongside Royal Mail and Parcelforce, there are few local companies that deliver in Shetland on behalf of larger courier companies:

• JBT Distribution deliver for APC, DX, Collect Plus, Menzies and Yodel.
• Northwards Ltd deliver for DHL, DX, UK Mail and XDP.
• Shetland Transport deliver for IKEA and ArrowXL.
• Streamline deliver for DPD, FedEx, Hermes, Tufnells, TNT and UPS.

If you need pet care in Shetland, there are a few options:

Gott Cats Boarding Cattery
Houlls Horses & Hounds
Peeries Woofles Dog Walking & Pet Sitting
Sandwick Pet Care: 01950 431 742
Bordal Pet Care Services: 07771 581938

See our Pet-Friendly Shetland blog for more information.

Shetland has a network of bus routes connecting our communities and providing residents with essential access to work, retail, healthcare and leisure. For a full list of routes and timetables, see the ZetTrans website.

The large populated Shetland islands are all serviced with inter-island ferries, most of which take cars as well as passengers. See the Shetland Islands Council Ferry Services website for full details.

As with many other parts of the UK, Shetland takes household recycling seriously. All households are issued with recycling bins and there's a collection calendar, which lets you know what dates your rubbish will be picked up.

There are also recycling points across Shetland and a main waste management facility at Gremista for larger items of household recycling. You can also arrange for bulkier items to be picked up from your home by the council for a nominal charge.

If you have items in good condition, they can be taken to Shetland Home Co, a community enterprise, which will sell them on for charity.

Lerwick has two main supermarkets: Tesco in the Sound area of the town, and the Co-op near Holmsgarth. There's also a second Co-op in Brae, in the North Mainland. As well as these national stores, there are lots of smaller independent grocery shops across the islands, most of which sell a wide range of goods at comparable prices.