To locate the highest point in Shetland, unfold the OS Explorer 469 map and find the area marked as Ronas Hill. It stands at just 450 metres. If you look towards the hill's north, you'll see a complex network of lochs referred to by local anglers as "back of Ronas Hill".
This guide provides information about the main lochs in this area, but you shouldn't overlook the small ones. Most of them are full of stunted trout that will attack your fly as soon as it lands, like a shoal of piranhas. But occasionally, you may not receive an immediate response, and that might indicate the presence of a bigger fish lurking in the depths.
Roer Water lies west of North Collafirth, in open moorland below the eastern slopes of Collafirth Hill. It is a small, shallow loch of roughly 13 h...
lake
Brown trout
Sandy Water lies west of Ronas Hill in open moorland. The loch is small and shallow, with clear water and a broken shoreline that gives the angler ...
lake
Brown trout
Swabie Water is one of those little gems that immediately catches the angler’s eye. For a small loch, it has everything packed into its modest outl...
lake
Brown trout
Lying in a shallow hollow on the west side of Saefti Hill, Pettadale Water is a very small loch with low alkalinity, set amidst open moorland above...
lake
Brown trout
East of Pettadale Water, on the lower slopes of Saefti Hill, lies Mill Loch, a very small, shallow loch of just under 6 hectares. Its waters are of...
lake
Brown trout
Clubbi Shuns, also known as Maadle Swanki, lies just north-west of Roer Water, with Tonga Water close by to the north. It is a very small, shallow ...
lake
Brown trout
As its name suggests, this loch is full of corners, bays, and inlets — it could easily be called “Many Nooks” or “Many Crannies.” Lying east of San...
lake
Brown trout
Beyond the Innescord Lochs, a small burn runs south-west to Moosa Water, the largest of the group under Saefti Hill. Covering just over 15 hectares...
lake
Brown trout
South-west of Mill Loch lie the Innescord Lochs, a scatter of small, shallow waters set among low moorland rises. Together they cover a little over...
lake
Brown trout
South of Hevdadale Water lies Little Lunga Water, a narrow moorland loch with a twisting outline and dark, peaty water. It covers just over six hec...
lake
Brown trout
Reached by a fair walk inland from the west coast, Lang Clodie makes an excellent basecamp. The loch sits in a sheltered valley beneath the sea cli...
lake
Brown trout
Hevdadale Water lies in a shallow moorland hollow above the cliffs of South Wick, less than half a kilometre from the sea. It is a very small loch,...
lake
Brown trout
North of Little Lunga Water and east of Lang Clodie lies a cluster of small, peaty lochs known as the Sae Waters. They sit low in the moor, quiet a...
lake
Brown trout
Muckle Lunga is a shallow, peat-brown loch lying to the east of Lang Clodie, set among the rolling ground at the back of Ronas Hill. It’s not a lar...
lake
Brown trout
Birka Water lies cradled among the wild moors of North Roe, one of Shetland’s most beautiful lochs. Though small and shallow, with clear peaty wate...
lake
Brown trout
Tonga Water lies west of the moor track that runs north from North Collafirth. It is a small, shallow loch of about 12 hectares, with dark, peaty w...
lake
Brown trout