Shetland has no farm shops of the mainland kind, but it does have butchers, crofts and honesty sheds that sell food raised in the islands. This guide compares the four we could verify: Anderson Butchers at Whiteness, the Scalloway Meat Company in Scalloway, The Silly Sheep Fibre Co at Walls and The Original Cake Fridge & Tea Room at East Burrafirth. All four are on the Shetland Mainland. The useful question is which one has the food you need, and where it was raised.

As a Londoner, I know it is not realistic for everyone to live on a farm. A farm shop, farmers' market or community garden can be part of a more direct food routine. Start with a reachable stop and a short list, rather than expecting to change everything at once.

Which farm shop or picking farm should you choose?

All four are on the Shetland Mainland, west of Lerwick, so one day’s drive can take in the lot. The Scalloway Meat Company is in Scalloway, the old capital, a few miles west of Lerwick, and has a second counter in Lerwick’s Toll Clock Shopping Centre; it is the easiest choice for Shetland lamb and beef if you are staying in town. Anderson Butchers at Whiteness is the one to choose for beef and lamb from a single named Shetland farm. Further west, the Original Cake Fridge at East Burrafirth and The Silly Sheep at Walls are small croft sellers, best for eggs, baking and Silly Sheep’s own mutton.

For the South Mainland, Bigton Community Shop stocks local meat, fish and bread, Shetland Farm Dairies products, Ness Tatties and local vegetables when available, according to its Taste of Shetland listing. It is a village shop rather than a producer, so we have not given it a full entry.

Check the farm’s current crops, opening times and prices before travelling. Picking seasons vary, and a farm shop may sell produce without offering pick-your-own visits.

• Anderson Butchers , Whiteness butcher selling one farm’s meat
• Scalloway Meat Company , A Scalloway butcher trading since 1925
• The Silly Sheep Fibre Co , A Walls croft with an honesty shed
• The Original Cake Fridge & Tea Room , An East Burrafirth croft honesty fridge

Anderson Butchers

Map and location

Brugarth, Whiteness, Shetland, ZE2 9GJ. View Anderson Butchers on the map.

Beef and lamb from the Anderson farm

Anderson Butchers is a family-owned business that has sold locally sourced meat at Whiteness since 1990. Its Taste of Shetland listing says all its beef and lamb comes from GB & AM Anderson’s farm, a few miles from the shop, which makes it close to farm-to-shop. That farming business took on its Weisdale farm more than 80 years ago and later added Staneyhill, and has passed down the generations. It keeps purebred native Shetland sheep, whose lamb has Protected Designation of Origin status, as well as Cheviot and Texel crosses bred to Suffolk rams, and finishes store cattle bought from around Shetland.

Alongside fresh beef and lamb, the shop makes handmade pies and pastries, cured and cooked meats, sassermaet (Shetland’s spiced sausage meat) and puddings. It also sells fresh sandwiches, lunchbox salads, fruit and vegetables, local baking, fresh fish and a licensed grocery range of wine, spirits and beer. Its meat products are stocked in more than 30 shops across Shetland and served in many local cafés and restaurants.

Visiting and buying

The Taste of Shetland listing gives opening hours of Monday to Thursday 8am to 7pm, Friday 7am to 7pm, Saturday 8am to 7pm and Sunday 12pm to 5pm. That makes it one of the few places in this guide you can rely on at weekends. Anderson’s does not publish a website or a phone number on its listing, so check its Facebook page for any changes before a special trip. Whiteness is on the main road west from Lerwick towards Walls, so it is easy to combine with the shops below.

Anderson Butchers: Taste of Shetland listing and opening hours.

Scalloway Meat Company

Map and location

Main Street, Scalloway, ZE1 0TR. View Scalloway Meat Company on the map.

Contact: 01595 880624.

Shetland lamb and beef on Main Street

The Scalloway Meat Company was established in 1925 and has had several owners on Main Street. In the early 1980s it moved into its present building, a former knitwear factory, and in 2016 and 2017 it added a processing plant behind the shop. The company does not farm, but its website says lamb and beef come from crofts and farms across Shetland all year, with local pork when available, slaughtered at the local abattoir run by the Shetland Livestock Marketing Group. Gremista Farm, at the north end of Lerwick, says on Taste of Shetland that much of its lamb and beef is sold through the company.

The Scalloway shop has a butchery counter, a grocer stocking locally produced items, and a licensed minimarket. The company makes its own white, fruit and black puddings, haggis (including vegetarian and gluten-free versions), sausages and burgers, and ready meals such as pies, curries, soup and lasagne. It also sells Scottish beef, pork and poultry, so ask which cuts are Shetland-reared. Mail orders can be arranged by phone.

Visiting and buying

The Scalloway Meat Company does not publish opening hours on its website, so ring 01595 880624 before a special trip. There is a second counter inside the Toll Clock Shopping Centre on North Road, Lerwick, ZE1 0DE (07584 074877), which is handy if you are staying in town or arriving on the ferry. Freezer packs of sausages and mince are sold at both shops if you are self-catering. Ask at the counter which lamb and beef came from Shetland crofts that week.

Scalloway Meat Company: website and contact details.

The Silly Sheep Fibre Co

Map and location

Punds, Walls, Shetland Islands, ZE2 9PF. View The Silly Sheep Fibre Co on the map.

Mutton, eggs and wool from a Walls croft

The Silly Sheep Fibre Co is described on Taste of Shetland as a small family croft enterprise in the village of Walls, on the West Mainland. The croft’s own flock is at the centre of the business: its fleeces are spun into white and natural-coloured knitting yarns, with some fleece from other local crofts, and dyed in small batches in the croft’s workshop. The croft also produces tweeds, sheepskin rugs and fibres for spinning, weaving and felting. The listing gives no founding date or family history, so we have not added any.

Food is sold from an honesty shed at the gate, called Tabnabs & Treats @ The Silly Sheep. It offers cakes, jams, eggs and mutton from the croft’s own flock. The kitchen is gluten and peanut free, which is useful for anyone with those allergies. Hot and cold drinks are available when the wool workshop is open. Yarn and fibre are also sold through the croft’s online shop.

Visiting and buying

The Taste of Shetland listing does not give opening hours for the honesty shed or the workshop, and we could not load the croft’s own website, so check its Facebook or Instagram pages before you go. Honesty sheds are self-service, so bring cash or check how payment works. Mutton and eggs depend on the croft’s season and flock, so ask what is available. Walls is further west along the same road as Whiteness, so pair it with Anderson Butchers on the way.

The Silly Sheep Fibre Co: Taste of Shetland listing.

The Original Cake Fridge & Tea Room

Map and location

Roadside Cottage, East Burrafirth, Bixter, Shetland, ZE2 9NE. View The Original Cake Fridge & Tea Room on the map.

Croft produce and baking by the roadside

The Original Cake Fridge at East Burrafirth describes itself as Shetland’s original honesty fridge, and Shetland.org lists it as Hayfield Croft Produce, on the B9071 between Voe and Aith. Its Taste of Shetland listing says the fridge stocks fresh produce from the team’s own croft, and Shetland.org mentions eggs and croft produce alongside the baking. A tea room opened next door in 2019. The team is led by Lynn and uses local produce. The listings do not say what the croft grows or keeps, so ask which items come from it.

The fridge is best known for cakes and bakes, including gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free or vegan options, according to Shetland.org. Eggs and other croft produce sit alongside them when available. The tea room next door serves food made with local produce, and there is outdoor seating. Since May 2023 its baking has also been sold at Mareel, the arts venue in Lerwick, according to Shetland.org.

Visiting and buying

The Taste of Shetland listing says the honesty fridge is open 24 hours a day, all year. The tea room keeps different summer and winter hours, so check Facebook or ring before you plan a meal there. Shetland.org’s honesty box article was first published in 2019 and has since been updated, so confirm details if you are making a special trip. Bring cash or card for the honesty fridge, and ask whether eggs or vegetables from the croft are in.

The Original Cake Fridge & Tea Room: Taste of Shetland listing and opening hours.

Knowing a farm shop you can return to is also one of the most practical ways to be ready for disruption. Read The Be Ready Campaign: A UK Guide to Stocking Your Home With Healthy, Local Food, and use the Be Ready Map to find more local food across the UK.

Plan your farm visit, produce, quantities and picking dates

Choose one or two farms or farm shops that fit your route. Write down what you want, how much you need and what you will do with it when you get home. If one crop is unavailable, decide whether to choose a different farm, change the meal or return another day.

• Confirm the crop, public opening and any booking requirement.
• Ask whether you can pick yourself or buy already picked.
• Check the price unit, payment method and containers.
• Ask about access, parking and the correct visitor entrance.

Farm shop and fruit-picking questions

Plan your farm shopping with My Shopping List and Harvest Checker

Open My Shopping List to record produce, quantities and estimated costs. Mark items as bought when you collect them and keep the plan for your next trip.

Use Harvest Checker after a grower gives you a picking window. Enter those dates and compare them with your visit date. The tool uses your entries; it does not fetch live availability from farms.

My Shopping List

Keep the produce you actually need in one place before you set off.

Use My Shopping List

Harvest Checker

Compare your visit with dates confirmed by the grower. This does not check live stock.

Use Harvest Checker

Use the tools with your My Ideal World account. Guest and free-account limits apply; paid members have unlimited tool access.

Explore more farm shops and picking farms in My Ideal World. Browse the Farm Shops app below or beside this article, then check the grower’s current crop and opening before visiting.

Sources

• Anderson Butchers , Taste of Shetland
• GB & AM Anderson Ltd , Taste of Shetland
• Scalloway Meat Company , About Us
• Scalloway Meat Company , Our Produce
• Scalloway Meat Company , Contact
• E G Farming Ltd (Gremista Farm) , Taste of Shetland
• The Silly Sheep Fibre Co , Taste of Shetland
• The Original Cake Fridge & Tea Room , Taste of Shetland
• Hayfield Croft Produce and Cake Fridge Shetland , Shetland.org
• Bigton Community Shop , Taste of Shetland
• Lodge Shetland (formerly MacKenzie’s Farm Shop website) , checked, not included

Research reviewed 25 October 2026. Farm and visitor sources support the descriptions above. Historical information is identified where relevant; no firsthand visit, current stock check or certification is claimed.