Sound is a village that constitutes the southwestern area of Lerwick, the only town in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Despite being less populous than Lerwick proper, Sound still has a few fun spots for locals and tourists alike.

Understand

Until the latter half of the 20th century, Sound was not a village but rather a few small neighbourhoods of Lerwick situated to the south and west of Clickimin Loch. The discovery of oil and subsequent population increase in the 1970s meant new housing estates were to be built in the area of Sound, and the opening of the primary school in 1977 solidified the status of Sound as a village in its own right.

Get in

By car

There are a few roads that lead directly into Sound. The A970 comes from the south and links Sound to Scalloway in the west and villages such as Sandwick in the south. Sound can also be entered from the north or east by Lerwick's A969 road, or from Holmsgarth via Cunningham Way leading into Sandy Loch Drive.

Get around

It should be noted that Sound can be traversed by walking in under 30 minutes. However, given the steep slopes of the western part of the village, it would be wise to use a mode of transport.

By car

There are no car rentals in Sound, however given the village is only accessible by road, if you are looking to go to Sound and are renting a car, you can book a rental from Sumburgh Airport or from one of the rental services in town.

By bus

The Lerwick South bus runs between the Lerwick Esplanade and Quoys in Sound every hour from 9:30 to 16:30 six days a week. Timetables can be found on the Zetrans website.

By taxi

As Sound is a part of Lerwick, Lerwick's taxi firms also serve Sound. These include Allied Taxis (+44 01595 690069), Sinclair's (+44 01595 696060), Sandy's (+44 01595 695959), and Ace (+44 01595 693030).

See

Given its modest size, Sound does not have many go-to sightseeing options. However, there are still a couple.

• 1 Clickimin Broch, in Loch of Clickimin (Along South Road, inbetween the roundabouts. Just across from Sound Service Station.), ☏ +44 1856 841815. Always open. A broch (stone and turf fortified dwelling) occupied between 700 BC and 600 AD. It was built on an island in the freshwater loch; the water-level was lowered in the 19th century, so it's now connected to shore by a broad spit and pathway. No parking on the road here, use side streets or buy something at nearby Tesco. Free. (updated Mar 2024)

• The Sands of Sound beach is another popular local attraction.

Do

• Sound Public Hall is a volunteer run facility that hosts a variety of events catering to the community.

• Sandveien Neighbourhood Centre is very much in the same vein, and also hosts a youth club.

• Sound Gospel Hall

Buy

There are a few shops in Sound. Such as...

• Tesco Superstore, one of few supermarkets in Shetland. Fields a great variety of items for its remote location.

• Laing's Pharmacy is useful for any medical needs.

• Sound Service Station has a good selection of items and is easily accessible in need of refueling.

• Blyd 'O' It sells fresh fish as well as other items.

• Sound Butchers is a good place to buy meat.

Eat

Whilst there aren't any proper restaurants in Sound, there are still a couple places one can get a meal at.

• Fjara Café is right along the seafront and just across from Tesco.

• Dragon House is a Chinese takeaway that is open 6 days a week. So tough luck if you come into Sound on a Tuesday.

Drink

There are no pubs in Sound.

Sleep

There are a couple of places where you can get a room for the night.

• Breiview Guest House on Kantersted Road.

• Da Broch B&B

Connect

• The aforementioned Fjara Café provides free Wi-Fi.

Go next

After visiting Sound, you can either head along the A970 out of Lerwick and to the south or west, or you can head into town along the A969.