Shetland what's it all about

It still seems that a lot of people are unsure where Shetland is located. Its not off the west coast of Scotland as some people think, it is actually the furthest north you can go .

From northern Scotland you go north past Orkney, past Fair Isle and onto mainland Shetland. Its 12 hours by ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick (the capital) or you can fly up from either Aberdeen (1.5 hours) or Edinburgh & Glasgow.

There are approx 100 islands of which 13 are inhabited. The `Best in Travel 2011' rates Shetland as one of the best place to visit in the world. One of the last untamed wilderness of Britain. For several years it also got voted the best place to live in Britain.

National Geographic placed Shetland third best place island destination in the world. In the Bank of Scotland quality of life reviews it has placed Shetland top three times since 2006 and was second place last year behind Aberdeen shire.

According to the Lonely Planet travel guide,  Shetland has one of the best sunrises in the world. We have yet to see one as in June, when we usually visit,  there is one about 1.5 hours simmer dim, where it doesn't quiet get dark
Reasons to be cheerful

1 Global Geo-park
19 hours of midsummer daylight
138 sandy beaches
567 square miles of islands
639 miles of good roads (No pot holes)
1697 amazing miles of coastline
6,000 years of history
6,080 archaeological sites
22,000 people
54,000 gannets
200,000 puffins
281,000 sheep

The 60 degree North latitude line passes through the southern part of the island near Levenswick. Shetland is 225 miles to Norway yet about the same to Aberdeen. Its nearer the Arctic circle than Sheffield

Shetland isn't particularly cold being so close to the sea and the gulf stream and has the same rainfall as western Scotland, but can be windy especially in winter.

It gores without saying that the wildlife found is Shetland is both varied and unusual in that birds that are common in England are rare in Shetland. You can see otters in Shetland throughout the day and they have the highest density in Europe. Whales , Dolphins and Porpoise can be seen in increasing numbers. 

The quality of light makes photography even better, the sunrises, sunsets, the Aurora and night sky makes viewing compulsive. 

Lets not forget that Frankies Fish and chip shop scooped four National awards last years.

This is only a minute fraction of what can be found and we are looking at discovering far more over a longer period of time.