Shetland Outdoors

Shetland has hundreds of kilometres of Core Paths and Access Routes. Along these you will find over 1000 pieces of infrastructure, including gates, stiles and boardwalks.  Every year these are carefully monitored and maintained to ensure they are safe and fit for purpose. However, sometimes issues arise on the path network that the team are unaware of. This could include things such as unstable stiles, missing steps on ladders or broken gates. 

Most of the infrastructure in Shetland is wooden and over time these eventually start to degrade and need maintenance.  Some last longer than others, but eventually they all start to fail. To combat this, the access team have a program to upgrade to metal stiles where possible. These last much longer and require considerably less maintenance.

While out doing repairs the outdoor access team recently came across a stile that had been marked by the builder and has not needed any repairs since 2003 – not bad for a wooded stile!

The outdoor access team is always grateful when members of the public get in touch to report issues or faults with path infrastructure. Please contact the outdoor access team via  outdooraccess@shetland.gov.uk or telephone 01595 744 169 if you find any issues along the core path or access route network.