We usually begin our tour in our capital town Lerwick (Norse name meaning 'Muddy Bay') and discover how Lerwick came to be. This is also the location where detective Jimmy Perez lives in the television series 'Shetland'.
From Lerwick, we head south passing through the following unspoilt places:
Fladdabister - (Norse for 'Flat Farm') is a wonderful home for some of Shetland's finest wild flowers in the summer as well as Shetland ponies and several croft house ruins.
Mousa Broch Viewpoint - We are able to see from a distance the best preserved broch in Scotland (Iron Age tower approx 300 BC).
St Ninian's Beach - A stunning example of a tombolo with its white sands connecting the mainland to St Ninian's Isle, home of the famous Pictish treasure dating back to around 800 AD.
Croft House Museum - At Boddam we come across a fine example of a croft dwelling which gives an insight as to how people lived a hundred years ago with the peat-burning fire.
Jarlshof - A dramatic timeline of settlement starting around 2700 BC to the 1600s AD hosting a Bronze Age smithy, Pictish wheel houses, a broch, Viking longhouses, a medeival farmhouse and a Laird's home.
Sumburgh Head Lighthouse - Endless horizon of stunning scenery and wildlife with the cliffs hosting thousands of sea birds including fabulous kittiwakes and cute puffins. The seabirds are around from mid-April to mid-August.
Scalloway - On our return journey to Lerwick we explore the ancient capital of Shetland, Scalloway, home to a castle built in 1599 by Earl Patrick Stewart, the half-nephew of Mary Queen of Scots. Scalloway was also the operational base for the 'Shetland Bus', a resistance movement against the Nazi occupation of Norway in WW2.
