Investigating Lerwick: 'Shetland' crime drama trail

The first season of the Shetland detective series aired before I moved to Shetland. I watched entranced, captivated as much by the beautiful landscapes in which the story unfolded as in the story itself.

At the time of writing, seasons nine and ten have been announced with filming due to take place in 2024 and 2025. The continued popularity of the show has had had an incredible effect on the islands, bringing increased attention to this unique place we’re lucky to call home.

When I work as a tour guide, there are always several people in each group which have seen the program and for many, this is their reason for visiting Shetland.

The town of Lerwick offers fantastic opportunities for seeing some of the series’ most iconic locations while getting a feel for Shetland’s history and culture.

Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, played by Douglas Henshall, was the lead Shetland character from season one to seven and many scenes take place outside The Lodberries house that was used as Perez’s home, giving sweeping views over Lerwick’s waterfront.

The town of Lerwick developed because of trade with Dutch fishing vessels who used the quiet waters of Bressay Sound to moor their boats, and in the following centuries this became a central place of maritime trade. Much of the town’s coastal architecture tells stories of this history.

The first Lodberry was built in 1730. These unusual stone buildings extend into the water making it easier to load goods on and off boats and many details of this history remain visible. Above some of the doors there are hooks and chains used for moving heavy objects. The narrow-slatted windows were to allow air to circulate for fish drying inside.

While all this visible, legal trade was going on, there was also a significant amount of smuggling. Networks of tunnels extend out from the lodberries where illegal goods were transported underground to avoid detection.

The Tolbooth, a distinctive peach coloured building can be spotted in several scenes throughout the series. Built in 1770, it has had a long and varied history. It has been a place to collect tax, a prison and even had a ballroom where Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott is reported to have enjoyed dancing. Today it is the headquarters for the RNLI Lerwick and the lifeboat is moored in the small boat harbour just outside the building.

Following the path up from the waterfront you reach ‘da street’ the local name for Shetland’s main shopping street, Commercial Street, which runs parallel to the Esplanade. It is a bustling place, especially during the summer months.

Many shops along da street are local and independent, where you can find unique items and support small businesses including shops, bars and cafes. Looking above the contemporary shop fronts you can often see details that reveal clues about the buildings' previous purposes, from old signs to carvings in the stone.

I remember my shock one day as I walked along the street to see several police vehicles, parked haphazard, clearly having responded to a serious incident. It was such an unusual thing to encounter in such a peaceful place until I realised, of course, they were filming for Shetland! Several scenes over the years have been filmed on Commercial Street and it is a place likely to feel familiar to Shetland fans!

From Commercial Street you can take a walk through the historic Lerwick Lanes. These are one of my favourite places in Lerwick, where there is a real feel of how the old town would have been.

As trading opportunities increased, houses were built running up from the harbour, and the lanes were the spaces between the houses. Their names, like many placenames in Shetland, are descriptive, referring to people, activities, or noticeable features of the place.

An unusual thing about the street signs here is that each lane has two names. In 1845 a police commissioner renamed the lanes as part of a project to increase law and order across the town. Many new names reflected the politics of the time. However, the old names were remembered, with many choosing to use them instead of the replacements and today old and new names appear together on the signs.

Hangcliff Lane which features in the detective series, was originally ‘Da Steep Closs’ referring to its extreme gradient. The replacement name seems to refer to The Noup of Noss, that the Dutch hand named hangcliff, high cliff. This could refer again to the steepness of the street or perhaps that the cliffs of Noss are visible from the top of that lane.

From the top of the lanes you reach the Hillhead, the highest part of Lerwick's old town. This is where you can find a star in the pavement, commemorating Douglas Henshaw's performances as Jimmy Perez, and the important role of the series for the islands’ economy and culture.

The star was placed outside the county building because as this is where the series' police station is.

Viewers are probably familiar with Perez, his colleague Tosh or new star of the show DI Ruth Calder, played by Ashley Jensen, going in and out of this building in all weathers.

The County Buildings are where Lerwick police station and sheriff court are located. But with the crime rate being very low, it is nowhere near as busy a place as the TV show might suggest!

Next to the County Buildings is the Town Hall. Opened in 1883 to be a focal point for administration and to foster a sense of community, the town hall continues to serve this purpose today. It holds the council chambers and is where residents register births, deaths, and marriages. It is also available to hire for weddings and other events with perhaps the biggest of the year taking place at Up Helly Aa, when Lerwick Town Hall is one of the 11 halls visited by each Up Helly Aa squad.

The upstairs of the town hall has beautiful stained glass windows, telling stories of Shetland’s Norse and maritime history and trade links. Entry to see these windows is free open throughout the week any day where there are not functions in the room.

Lerwick is a beautiful town to explore with spectacular views over to Bressay and history around every corner. With filming for two new series due to begin, it will be exciting to see what locations next appear on our screens!

If you're a fan of Ann Cleeves' books or the Shetland television series, visit our page all about the crime drama.