The Shetland Islands are the northernmost archipelago of Great Britain, they are northeast of Scotland at the transition from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
Regions
- Bressay
- East Burra
- Fetlar
- Mainland - the main island, via which the archipelago can be reached, whether by plane or ferry
- Mousa - the small island is east of Mainland. Mousa Broch is on the island, which is a nature reserve
- Muckle Flugga is the northernmost point of Great Britain except for the Out Stack rocky reef
- Muckle Roe
- Noss - The only 3 km² large island is a nature reserve, uninhabited and can only be reached by rubber dinghies from the neighboring island of Bressay to the west.
- Out Skerries
- Papa Stour
- Trondra
- Unst - the northernmost inhabited Shetland island, with its own brewery and wild herds of Shetland ponies.
- Vaila
- West Burra
- Whalsay
- Yell
places
Other goals
background
The Shetland Islands are the outermost archipelago of the United Kingdom, they are located around 80 km northeast of the Orkney Islands at the transition from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. The small archipelago, although apparently far away, has nevertheless experienced very changeable times - both the Picts and later the Vikings left their traces there, later the islands were owned by Norway, then in union with Denmark and Sweden until they eventually fell to Scotland as a dowry - to which they have remained unchanged since 1469.
Today it is no longer the Vikings who shape the islands, but the oil industry with all its consequences. You have to be a little tough if you want to live there or even just travel - even in midsummer the thermometer rarely goes above 15 degrees Celsius. The winds are rough and frequent; Rain-free periods are usually short.
Nevertheless, the barren islands with their cliffs and the Shetland ponies still roaming around in herds, which have made them famous all over the world, have their charm for weatherproof travelers, and you hardly have to drive more than 3 miles from the capital Lerwick to get there to experience the solitude of the brown hills.
language
Scottish English is spoken on the islands, sprinkled with a few remnants of norn (an ancient Scandinavian language) that is largely extinct.
getting there
Since the islands cannot be reached through tunnels or bridges, the only way to get there is by ship or plane. Other means of transport must be shipped in this way.
By plane
You can get there by plane Sumburgh Airport in the extreme south of the Aberdeen archipelago, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Inverness on the Scottish mainland, from Kirkwall on Orkney and seasonally also from Mountains in Norway.
By boat
- Of Aberdeen to Lerwick with NorthLink daily overnight (travel time 14.5 hours), the same applies to the return journey.
- Of Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands to Lerwick with the same ferry, departure in both directions 5pm / 5.30pm, arrival 11pm. There are no daily calls to Kirkwall.
mobility
Bus travelers like themselves for the Bus services interested. This offers more information on shipping Shetland Islands Council: Ferry Service.
By bicycle
The North Sea Cycle Route (North Sea Cycle Route, NSCR) on the Shetland Islands corresponds to national route 1 and leads once across the archipelago, from Sumburgh in the south to the island of Unst in the far north. By discontinuing the ferry service from the Faroe Islands to the Shetland Islands, the connection is the NSCR Norway - Faroe Islands - Shetland - Orkney Islands - Scotland interrupted. The route is still an official part of the North Sea Cycle Route. A GPS track for the route can be found in the Bike tour wiki.
Tourist Attractions
activities
Shetland ponies ride
kitchen
accommodation
Due to the sparse population of the islands, the density of accommodations outside Lerwick is not particularly high. Detailed information on accommodation can be found in the local or island articles.
The following generally applies to low-budget travelers:
There are few official campsites in the Shetland Islands. Wild camping is however taking into account the Scottish Outdoor Access Code allowed.
The only official one
A specialty of the Shetland Islands are the Camping floors, small, simple self-catering huts, in which you can stay - provided you have your own camping equipment - dry and inexpensive. There are a total of 9 Böds distributed over the islands. Cost: around £ 10 per bed per night.
nightlife
public holidays
security
climate
Literature and maps
- For cyclists on the North Sea Cycle Route: The Sustrans Map Aberdeen to Shetland (Cromarty to Shetland, Map 2), 1: 175,000, ISBN 978-1-901389-81-4 covers the Shetland Islands completely. With distance information, sights, ferry connections, campsites with tent pitches, shops and pubs are recorded on it.
- Travel guide in eBook format [1] With lots of current information for individual trips to the Shetland Islands, maps of the main islands and various photos.
