How votes at Scotland's most northerly polling station will travel over three islands to get counted
Votes at the most northerly polling station in Scotland will have to travel 60 miles over land and sea to be counted
Once the polls close at 10pm on Thursday, ballot boxes all around the country will be transported overnight to count centres all across the country.
While some boxes only have a short distance to travel, boxes from the most northerly polling station in Scotland will have a 60-mile journey over three islands to get counted.
Around 285 voters are due to vote at North Unst Public Hall in Haroldswick on the isle of Unst, Shetland. This polling station is over 400 miles from the Scottish Parliament building the elected MSP will have to travel to.
Once the votes are cast, the box from North Unst will travel to the south of the island and take an inter-island ferry to Yell, where it will then be driven across the island of Yell and deposited on to a second ferry.
Once on the Shetland mainland, the box will then travel by road to Lerwick to be counted at Clickimin Leisure Centre, the most northerly count at the 2026 Holyrood election.
Unst is also home to one of Scotland’s smallest polling stations - only 85 people are registered to vote at Uyeasound Public Hall.
Where there are a number of smaller inhabited islands in Shetland, most of the voters have been given postal votes instead of being asked to attend a polling station. This includes voters on Fair Isle, Foula, Papa Stour, Skerries and Fetlar.
A spokesman for Shetland Islands Council said: “The boxes will be transported from the northern islands to Lerwick on Thursday after the close of polls.
“This includes getting boxes from Unst, Yell and Whalsay over sea on the inter-island ferries. We are not planning to use any planes this time around.
“I expect the box from North Unst will need two ferry journeys from Unst to Yell, then Yell to the north of the mainland, which will take a couple of hours.
“The boxes will then be kept in a secure location in Lerwick.”
Shetland’s votes for the Highlands and Islands region will also be counted on site in Lerwick.
Candidates: SNP - Hannah Goodlad; Labour - John Erskine; Conservatives - Douglas Barnett; Lib Dems - Emma Macdonald; Reform UK -Vic Currie; Greens - Alex Armitage; Alliance to Liberate Scotland - Brian Nugent; Independent - Peter Tait.
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