George Waterston Memorial Centre and Museum

About the museum

The George Waterston Memorial Centre and Museum is a local museum on Fair Isle, the remote island between Orkney and the Shetland mainland. It commemorates George Waterston (1911 to 1980), the former Scottish director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He bought the island after the Second World War, co-founded the Fair Isle Bird Observatory in 1948 and had a lasting influence on island life. In the mid-1950s the National Trust for Scotland took over as owner and helped islanders to revitalise the community.

The museum is housed in the island's former school building, known as the Auld Skul, in the Utra area. Its displays cover Fair Isle's history from prehistoric times to the present, including social history, fishing and crofting, natural history and archaeology.

Visitors can also see material on the island's famous knitting traditions and patterns, its seabirds and rare migrant birds, and its many shipwrecks. The collection also includes costume, textiles, coins, medals and an archive.

Highlights

• Displays in the former Fair Isle school building
• Fair Isle knitting traditions and patterns
• Social history, fishing and crofting
• Seabirds, rare birds and the island's natural history
• Shipwrecks and archaeology of the island

Permanent exhibition

• Fair Isle through time – Displays in the old school covering the island's social history, fishing and crofting, knitting, natural history, archaeology and shipwrecks.

Founded

1980

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry is free according to Art UK and Which Museum.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The Shetland tourism board lists disabled access as available; no further detail is published.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in the Utra area of Fair Isle, the island halfway between Orkney and the Shetland mainland.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.