Car Hire Sumburgh - Mini guide to Sumburgh

The geography of Sumburgh is an extremely complex series of deeply indented bays, cliffs, beaches and settlements, all wrapped around the airport.

At the very southern tip of Shetland lies Sumburgh Head, a 100m spur of rock carrying a lighthouse designed by Robert Stevenson. The coastal scenery here is magnificent, and the views likewise. Sheer cliffs bite into it from both sides, and more than one wall is built on the very edge of a serious precipice.

Just to the south of the airport is the imposing Sumburgh Hotel, built as a mansion in 1867. Close to it is one of Shetland's real gems, Jarlshof. This is in the care of Historic Scotland and open from April to September. This is most obviously the site of the remains of the Old House of Sumburgh, built by Earl Robert Stewart. To the north of the airport the Pool of Virkie almost separates Sumburgh from the rest of Mainland Shetland.

The leisurely drive along the narrow peninsula which runs 25 miles south from Lerwick boasts some of Shetland's most attractive scenery, an extraordinary concentration of archaeological sites, and world-class wildlife attractions in its seabird cliffs, wildfowl lochs, seal rookeries and whale-watching viewpoints.

Visit Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement, an extraordinarily important site with a complex of ancient settlements within three acres. Mousa Broch, on the island of Mousa, is the finest surviving Iron Age broch tower. It stands to a height of over 40 feet.

Sumburgh Airport, immediately to the north, is the entry point for most travellers by air. It has flights from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen, Orkney and Wick. NorthLink Ferries caters for passengers, cars, freight and livestock.