Shetland Islands	Walking on Shetland, the most northerly archipelago of Britain, boasting abundant wildlife, a spectacular coastline and dozens of major archaeological sites. Voted by Lonely Planet as one of the places to visit.

Introduction to your walking holiday on the Shetland Islands

Mousa broch

Landscapes and seascapes that make you feel you've found one of the rawest edges of the world; superb wildlife and a history that stretches from the last war right back to the dawn of civilisation - you can experience all this on Shetland. The islands that make up Shetland lie far out in the North Atlantic, geographically and historically closer to Norway than to Scotland.

The Shetland Islands lie at about the same latitude as the south of Greenland, but, thanks to the North Atlantic Drift, the climate is much milder. The main island is Mainland with many huge headlands cut by beautiful, long, fjord-like seaways. There are hundreds of islands off Mainland, only fourteen of them are inhabited.

History
The Shetland Islands have been inhabited from Neolithic times. The first contact with Christianity was in the 6th century, but the islands have not been under church authority till the 8th century.
Norseman began to colonise the Shetland Islands in the 8th century and the islands became a vital link in their western sea routes. The Vikings used Shetland as a hub, for raiding the west coast of Scotland and Ireland, trading with the Isle of Man and crossing the Atlantic to Iceland and Greenland. Following the Battle of Largs in 1263, and the loss of the Western Isles in 1266, Shetland and Orkney were the only parts of Scotland to remain in Norwegian hands. It wasn't until 1468 that Shetland became part of Scotland.

Geology
Generally the rocks on the Shetland Islands are Precambrian and of the Dalradian group. These rocks do not decompose into fertile soil. Consequently there are large areas of blanket peat and few rock outcrops. The coastline has been eroded to form high cliffs which intrude everywhere. There are also large areas of red sandstone on the islands.

Bonxie - Great skua - on the Isle of Mousa

Wildlife
The wildlife to be found on the Shetlands is superb The islands being a birdwatchers' paradise and one of the major seabird breeding and feeding areas in the North Atlantic. More than a million birds breed in very large colonies; nowhere else in Britain, and hardly anywhere in Europe, can you get so close, so easily, to so many seabirds. You can sit on a cliff top watching puffins  just a few feet away from you; you can savour the spectacle of thousands of gannets diving into the sea.
We will certainly see common and grey seals. Shetland is one of the otter’s main strongholds in the UK, so there’s a good chance of seeing otters.
There are frequent sightings of harbour porpoises and occasionally dolphins and whales.
Botanical attractions include rare arctic-alpine plants, wildflower meadows, mosses and lichens. The ungrazed holms and sea cliffs are Shetland’s ‘hanging gardens’ with some of the lushest vegetation in the islands.

Day-by-day Programme

The programme will be subject to variables such as weather and the abilities of the group and changes may also be made to take account of lambing, deer stalking, etc. Any such alterations will always take into account the need to maintain the overall character of the holiday.

1. Sunday: Jarlshof and Mousa
2. Monday: Fair Isle
3. Tuesday: Muckle Roe
4. Wednesday: Papa Stour
5. Thursday: Unst
6. Friday: St Ninian’s Isle and Noss

Sunday: Jarlshof and Mousa
On our first day in Shetland we will explore the history of the islands. We will visit Jarlshof. This is an extraordinary settlement site embracing 4,000 years of human history. The site contains a remarkable sequence of stone structures – late Neolithic houses, Bronze-Age village, Iron-Age broch and wheelhouses, Norse longhouse, medieval farmstead, and 16th-century laird’s house.

Wheel House at Jarlshof, Mainland Shetland

We will have a 30 minutes crossing to Mousa in the afternoon. Mousa - ‘mossy island’ - is famous for its 2000 year old broch, the most complete broch to be found anywhere. The broch rises to 40ft/12m and it has an important part in the sagas. Storm petrils nest in cavities in the broch walls. We will hike around the island and visit the broch of course.
5 miles/8km, little ascent

Monday: Fair Isle
Fair Isle - ‘peaceful isle’ - is roughly halfway between the Shetland and Orkney islands. Red sandstone cliffs, natural sandstone arches and stacks surround the island.
We will go there by plane. This is a 25 minutes flight and it gives us a chance to see the Shetland archipelago from the air.
Our walk will take us to the north end of the island. The views from here are very impressive, taking in some of the finest rock scenery. From here we will walk up Ward Hill, with 217m the highest point on the island. We will continue southwards along the coastline past channels that cut deeply into the land and natural arches, before going inland back to the airstrip for our flight back to Mainland.
7.5 miles/12km and 820ft/250m of ascent

Muckle Roe

Tuesday: Muckle Roe
Muckle Roe offers splendid isolation with a dramatic coastline at your feet. There is so much to enjoy, one could spend days exploring Muckle Roe. Our walk will take us to the Hams. There is a deserted settlement between the beaches of North Ham and South Ham. It is set among spectacular red granite cliffs. Our next stop is the Geo of Stromness. Above its big geo is the ruin of a croft outbuilding. We continue south along the coast abound with cliffs, geos and beaches.
6.5 miles/10.5km, 330ft/100m of ascent

Wednesday: Papa Stour
Papa Stour - ‘big island of the priests’ - is formed from volcanic lava and ash and then sculptured by the sea, resulting in an impressive coast line with caves, arches, stacks, skerries and subterranean passages. It is one of the most fertile of the Shetland Islands; its only failing being a total lack of fuel in the form of peat.
The ferry crossing is 40 minutes and we will have 4 hours on the island. Our walk will take us over to the wild west coast.
We will return to Lerwick in the afternoon, which will give us time to visit the Shetland Museum and explore Lerwick.
5.5 miles/9 km, 330ft/100m of ascent

Gannet colony Hermaness, Unst

Thursday: Unst
Unst - ‘home of the eagle’ - is Britain’s most northerly inhabited island with the Herma Ness the most northerly point. The Hermaness peninsula is a wild area almost uncontaminated by man. This is where today’s walk will be.
The geology of Unst is very different from what we have seen on the first two days. A geological fault line runs from north to south through the island. On the west side the undulating hills and high cliffs are gneiss and chist. East of the fault line the rocks are mainly serpentine and gabbro. Many unusual and rare wild flowers that are unique to Unst grow on these rocks.
In order to get to the island we will first take the ferry from Mainland to Yell - ‘barren’ - and drive across Yell for the ferry to Unst. The ferry goes till well into the evening, so we have plenty of time to explore other corners of Unst after the walk.
8 miles/13km, 820ft/250m of ascent

Noss

Friday: St Ninian's Isle and Noss
We start the day on St Ninian's Isle. This island is connected to Mainland by a 'tombolo' - a narrow spit of sand. The island is named after a 12th century church where an ancient Pictisch treasure hoard was found during an excavation in 1958. Historians believe that the site was used as a domestic residence from the 1st century BC.
3.5 miles/5.5km
After having been on top of many seabird cliffs during our holiday, today we will view them from the sea. This will be done by hired boat to the Isle of Noss. Noss - 'nose' - is a national nature reserve. The old red sandstone cliffs of Noss are carved by the sea into thousands of ledges. These are ideal sites for seabirds' dream-houses and competition is intense. We will get a very close to the cliffs packed with seabirds and our senses will be assaulted by the sight of thousands of birds, their deafening noise and the overpowering smell.
The boat will take us back to Lerwick and drop us off at the ferry terminal from where we will sail back to Aberdeen.

Saturday: Aberdeen - Glasgow
We will arrive in Aberdeen around 7.00 hours and we will travel back to Glasgow by train.

Shetland Islands walking holiday photos

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Am I fit enough?

This walking holiday is designed for people who are fit and used to walking all day. We will walk up to 11 miles (17 km) per day with an average 1000ft/300m of ascent. On one day it might be as much as 3000ft/900m but there are also easier days. Our routes sometimes traverse pathless glens, climb mountains or thread remote passes and there may be some scrambling. On most days as much of our time is spent off path as on it. Scotland can be very wild and tough going: 10 miles here is often much harder than 10 miles elsewhere. All that said, we don’t want to break any speed records, especially not when going uphill and you’ll have all the rewards of walking in one of the most beautiful and fascinating parts of the Highlands and Islands.

We partnered with Fit for Trips to make sure that you will fully enjoy your hiking trip to Scotland and reduce the risk of injuries. They have developed fitness programmes specific to our walking tours and hiking holidays to help you to get in shape. Customers of About Argyll Walking Holidays will get 20% discount. Click here for details.

If you're still not sure whether or not you can cope after you've read this and the details of the week's programme, please get in touch to discuss it further.

Accommodation

This is either in carefully selected Bed & Breakfast accommodation or Guest Houses. You can rely on the quality of the accommodation that we find for you - its comfort, its food and the professionalism and welcoming nature of those who run it. The B&Bs and guest houses we use are more personal and the quality of the accommodation is as good or even better than of hotels in the same category. Double and twin rooms will have an en suite or private bathroom.
If you have particular requirements or prefer to stay in a hotel, please let us know so that we can do our best to meet them.
Details of where you will be staying will be sent to you well in advance of your holiday.

Clothing and Equipment

You will need to bring boots with a good tread that provide adequate ankle support, warm clothing, waterproofs (top and over-trousers) and a rucksack big enough for your spare clothes, a packed lunch and whatever else you normally like to have with you (binoculars, a camera, etc.).
Boots are especially important. They don't have to be particularly heavy, but wearing ultra lightweight ones may mean your feet get wet and trainers definitely aren't adequate nor, on some of the rougher and steeper going, however short it may be, are they safe. Trekking poles can be very useful, especially for anyone with knee problems.

Dates and Prices for 2012

The price includes:

• The services of our well-qualified, well-informed and welcoming guide.
• Small group - usually between 4 and 8.
• An attractive, well-thought-out walking programme (6 walking days).
• Train journey Glasgow - Aberdeen v.v
• First and last night on the ferry Aberdeen - Lerwick, sharing a 4-berth cabin with 3 or 4 members of the group.
• 5 nights in carefully selected B&B accommodation in Lerwick in twin/double room, breakfast and plus picnic lunch on walking days.
• Transport by minibus, trains, ferries, boats and planes, as needed, throughout your holiday and from / to Glasgow Queen Street Station, at its beginning and end.
• Entrance fee to museums, if visited.
• Short evening get-togethers to set the scene for the next day's walking.
• 20% discount on Fit for Trips customised fitness programmes.

and most especially

• Personal care and attention in all that we do for you.

For general information and booking, please click here.