The Bus Shelter which has now become a focal point for locals and visitors alike, sporting a different and imaginative theme every year, was created by local boy Bobby McCauley when he was at school on the island. Bobby, who lived nearby, growing tired of the often long, cold and wet waits in the morning took matters into his own hands and wrote a letter to the local newspaper requesting a new shelter for him to wait in.
The shelter was duly built and, soon after, a sofa appeared… and a table… a microwave… and a carpet. Before long, the humble bus shelter was a warm and welcoming place with its very own visitors' book for those seeking refuge and a place to rest.
With growing interest in the quirky bus shelter that sits near the village of Baltasound on the main A968 running between Belmont and Haroldswick, an annual theme for the decor was set. Themes over the years have included; the Queen’s Jubilee, outer space, women’s suffrage, the colour yellow and an underwater theme. When Bobby went to study in Swaziland, the shelter was transformed into an African theme in recognition of its founder.
Bobby, now in his thirties, has long since left Unst and is studying for his PhD in Glasgow, but the legacy of his Bus Shelter continues, with a new and fresh theme every year and entrants in the visitors’ book from every corner of the globe.
Nobody could have predicted how popular it would become. A quick look at the hashtag #bobbysbusshelter offers up a host of fun photos showing visitors enjoying the experience as they check off their bucket-list goals. It even has its own Facebook page!
