Delight as two town centre webcams return

POPULAR webcams showing Lerwick’s Market Cross and Esplanade have returned, allowing people across the globe to watch the goings-on in the town centre.

Three webcams in and around the Market Cross were shut down last November as a knock-on effect of VisitScotland’s decision to close the tourist centre.

However Shetland Webcams has now been able to reinstate the cameras from Anderson & Co which look directly onto the tourist office and out to the Esplanade.

Andy Steven from Shetland Webcams said the cameras had to be “totally re-engineered” to the Anderson & Co building following months of uncertainty about the sale of the tourist office.

Steven added there was “a fair bit to resolve” yet and “some redundancy” to add.

However he said the primary link was now established and the “almost daily complaints” about the lack of webcams in the area had stopped.

The three webcams were lost last year because of radio links in place at the tourist office, which had to be removed when VisitScotland shut the building.

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Steven said then that the infrastructure had been embedded in the Market Cross since 2004.

Elaine Nicolson and Netta Simpson have since taken over the tourist office, which will be leased to Shetland Tourism Association (STA).

Nicolson revealed to Shetland News earlier this month that the webcam which looked down from the tourist office onto the Market Cross would also return.

However she said this week they were not in a position for the webcam to return yet, adding there was “a lot of work to do” and that they were “working hard to get the doors open”.