Half an hour later on, I glimpsed kittiwakes and guillemots on the cliffs at the RSPB reserve at Sumburgh Head, on the southern pointer of Mainland. Unfortunately, I was too late for the puffins. "They've usually gone by early August," discussed Hugh Harrop, of specialist tour operator Shetland Wildlife. Nevertheless, by method of recompense, I saw plenty of Shetland ponies.
Undoubtedly, I counted more Shetland flags (an off-centre white cross on a blue background) than I did Scottish saltires. This unique cultural heritage is popular every Janauary in Up Helly Aa the Viking Fire Celebration, an amazing torchlit procession culminating in the burning of a Viking galley boat. It shows up in other methods too: for instance, an advert for Norseman Pale Ale in the bar room window at the Queen's Hotel in Lerwick claims, rather implausibly, that it's "The option of Vikings!".
It is one of Scotland's essential historical websites, featuring a Stone Age hut, an Iron Age broch and a Viking town that were revealed by vicious storms in the 19th century. As VIVA99 strolled around the amazing historical website by the water's edge, the wind in my hair, it was impossible not to be transported back to the past.
The capital is also home to other locations that appear in the drama, such as the Lounge, the liveliest location in the area on a Friday night, and Lerwick police headquarters. Douglas Henshall and Steven Robertson in Shetland the TV series/ BBC/ITV Studios, Gastronomically, Shetland has much to recommend it too, not least the seafood.
Nearby, the Scalloway Museum brings to life the amazing story of the "Shetland Bus" the fleet of little fishing boats that ferried resistance fighters to Nazi-occupied Norway throughout the war. Nevertheless, no journey to Shetland is total without a visit to Frankie's Fish & Chips in Brae, Britain's most northern chippie and voted No 1 fish and chip store in the UK in this year's National Fish & Chip Awards.
While you most likely will not see Jimmy Perez sporting a Sarah Lund-style jumper on screen, Shetland does produce prominent knits. You can get a chunky, wool Fair Islander for around 120 at Anderson & Co, among a handful of stores in Lerwick selling the conventional patterned jumpers long knitted on Fair Isle, midway in between Shetland and Orkney.
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