60 North

60 North is the title of the quarterly publication issued by the Promote Shetland organisation. Not surprisingly the Shetland Islands lie approximately 60º North. Winter days are noticeably shorter than farther south while, in summer, there is no real darkness. In March, a visitor staying for just a week sees the day lengthen by nearly 40 minutes, more than anywhere else in Britain.

Characterised by bare, peat-covered landscapes and a convoluted maze of sea lochs, bays and inlets – or ‘voes’ as they are known, Shetland has a distinctive character and spirit that separates it from the rest of Scotland. As a historic hub of Viking expansion, the Nordic culture is still part of Shetland life. Not least celebrated on the last Tuesday in January with the pagan fire festival of Up Helly Aa, when a full size replica of a Viking longship is set fire to, heralding the return of the sun after a long dark Winter.

And return it does, for one of the great highlights of a visit to these islands is a midnight walk in mid Summer, when you can watch the sun set briefly below the horizon before rising again a short time later. The ‘simmer dim’ twilight of mid Summer adds a touch of timelessness to holidays.

I am planning to visit the Shetland Islands next year.  Shetland is famed for its miniature ponies but it is birds that dominate the islands. Filling the sky and cliff ledges, huge colonies of gannets, guillemots, fulmars and puffins migrate and nest in Shetland, making it an ornithologists paradise. Botanists have around 500 species of plants to discover, and for naturalists there are vast quantities of seals to watch, basking on the rocks, and otters to be seen in the remoter coastal areas. Whales, sharks, dolphins and porpoises can also be seen off the coast.

The one drawback is the cost of getting there. I will need to fly from Gatwick to Edinburgh and then Edinburgh to Sumburgh, situated on Shetland mainland approximately 40 kilometres from Lerwick. The return flight will cost around £600 ($960).

Time to start saving again....