Mention to most Scottish mainlanders that you are planning a trip to Shetland, and chances are that they will dimly recall one of two ready-made "facts". They might mention the strange , long-distant pawning of the islands by King Christian I of Norway, in lieu of a wedding dowry upon his daughter marrying James III, King of Scots; or, they could say something along the lines of: "Isn't that where they set fire to that big boat in winter?"

 

They probably won't be aware of the giant physical distances separating the islands from the rest of Scotland and the UK. Jo Grimond, the former Orkney and Shetland MP and Liberal leader , illustrated the remoteness of these isles quite clearly. Speaking on national radio from Aberdeen, he said: "To most of my listeners I am high in the north, yet to my constituents I am very far south."

If that doesn't get your mind toying with the geographical improbability of Shetland having the same national capital as Norwich or Brighton, then try these: most of Shetland lies above 60 degrees north; the island of Unst sits closer to Bergen in Norway than to Aberdeen; and Faroese radio station Utvarp Foroya swoops onto your dial at least as clearly as, say, BBC Radio Five. (It's on 531khz, if you're at all curious.)

 

If you want to really gain this "sense of distance", as the Shetland Islands tourist brochure suggests, then take the 14-hour overnight ferry crossing from Aberdeen to Lerwick. Otherwise, British Airways will get you from Edinburgh to Sumburgh in just over an hour. If that is your chosen option, then head for the Jarlshof Viking Exhibition not far north of the airport. It will perhaps best explain the history behind the feeling of "Shetlandishness" - a heady mix of Scottish, Scandinavian and something else, something quite indigenous - that is everywhere on these islands.

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Island capital Lerwick is about 25 miles north of Sumburgh Airport. This small, busy and friendly town is home of the aforementioned fire festival Up-Helly-Aa . The locals spend a year building a replica of a Viking longboat , only for 800 of them to set it alight in a spectacular blaze of fire and light, warming the chill of a Shetland January. If you want to go to the festival itself, be warned - accommodation around this time is at a tremendous premium, and booking for it now might not be a terribly bad idea.

 

In the town centre lies Market Cross, where each year, as part of the festival a "Proclamation" is posted. This is essentially a noticeboard of town jokes and gossip from the previous 12 months. Best then not to disgrace yourself whilst here, unless you don't mind your indiscretions being displayed to, and celebrated by, all of Lerwick next January.

 

The Up-Helly-Aa festival also has its own summer exhibition in St Sunniva Street. You won't exactly feel the heat from the flames, but you might get a clearer idea as to what drives the inhabitants of Lerwick to such unusual recreation.

 

Dwarfed by Lerwick, in as much as anywhere can be, is former capital Scalloway. Lying seven miles to the west, this town of 2,000 people is dominated by the ruined castle, built 400 years ago by Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney and Lord of Shetland. To visit the castle, go to the nearby Shetland Knitwear Shop and borrow a heavy, imposing-looking key.

 

Even in the middle of the day, with light streaming in through the non-existent roof, a solo trip inside the dark ruin is strangely disquieting - a feeling enhanced by Historic Scotland's commendable refusal to accommodate traditional tourist demands by providing anything more complicated than a few lights and a couple of signs.

 

Between them, Lerwick and Scalloway are home to about half of Shetland's population of 22,000. The rest live on 14 inhabited islands, from an archipelago numbering more than 100 in total. Yell and Unst can be reached by way of an excellent car-ferry service, run by Shetland Islands Council. Each journey for car and driver costs just £3, meaning that, from anywhere on the Shetland mainland, these islands can both be explored in a day for not much more than a tenner in ferry fares.

 

Frontier lovers will enjoy Unst. This, the northernmost inhabited island in the UK, is nearly ten degrees north of London (and frequently as many colder). The British road network stops here, some 150 miles north of John O'Groats. Drive to the houses at Skaw, and you really have driven to the top of the country, with uninhabited and tiny Muckle Flugga and Out Stack as the only scraps of Britain beyond.

 

Unst is home to a variety of "most northerns", from a church to a leisure centre. The most northerly post office in the country operated, until recently, from the village of Haroldswick. However, upon the retirement of the postmistress and no replacement being found, the title has moved to Baltasound's post office, a few miles to the south. You should still be impressed, though - it is, after all, still at a higher latitude than a fair chunk of Greenland.

 

Roads on Unst in particular are a joy to drive on. Fast, wide and all but empty, the main danger is actually that they will sweep you quickly from place to place without a chance for the delightful procrastination that a place such as Shetland should offer. For example (and please excuse yet another geographical superlative), you could miss the UK's "most northerly" brewery.

Valhalla, at Baltasound, brews three kinds of beer, including the intriguing White Wife, named after a mysterious apparition claimed to manifest itself in the vehicles of lone male motorists near the premises. She is not, however, a scheduled part of the brewery tour which can be enjoyed, together with a complimentary drink, for just £3.

 

From Unst, through Yell and back onto the mainland, you'll find yourself covering a lot of ground, not to mention water. You'll notice the time seemingly evaporate, as you see things, do things, talk about the things that you'd like to do, with friendly locals who are proud and knowledgeable in equal measure of their North Atlantic home. And there lies Shetland's pleasant difficulty. Can it really be a distant haven of indulgent idleness, when all it wants to do is keep you having fun?

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