I was just reading about these remote Scottish islands, and they sort of fascinate me. They’re inhabited by a tiny number of people living in a fairly harsh climate. I wonder what it’s like to live in a place like that, at a time like this. What are the inhabitants like?
Anyone ever been to them, or know someone who has?
I’ve been to Lerwick (in the Shetlands) many times, but never to the Skerries. Probably sailed past them going from Lerwick to the nothernmost Forties, but didn’t know what they were called.
Once I found an active archeological dig taking place near* Lerwick. The workers let me wander thru and photograph it. It was an odd, hobbit-ish underground settlement IIRC. I’ll try to find the pictures I took and figure out where it was.
Sorry, but that’s as close as I can get to your question.
*I think that’s where it was. Memories fade after 3 decades. 
I used to go up to Sullom Voe on business, and frankly the Shetlands are remote enough to detect certain distinct characteristics of the people that are happy to live the life style up there.
I don’t think you need to go the the extreme of living on the Out Skerries.
Life is harsh but very livable nowadays. Previously, of course, such remote islanders have found life so harsh as to request evacuation. The most famous relatively recent example being St Kilda - a location forty miles west of the Outer Hebredes that makes the Out Skerries seem like Edinburgh. The last 36 inhabitants were evacuated in 1930 at their own request.
See St Kilda, Scotland - Wikipedia
The hobbit village near Lerwick I do not know of but presumably it could be the same culture that build Skara Brae on Orkney around 3000 BC and that I have visited. It is awe inspiring!
… and what distinct characteristics might those be?
Self reliance I would say. Many of them seem to have multiple jobs and they get on and are willing to muck in and get their hands dirty.
Also - and I may be wrong here - I get the impression that a higher proportion of them play musical instruments than here on the mainland of Scotland. Certainly there was more music in the pubs and bars then even rural locations I visit in the North West Highlands.
Thank you!
I’ve experienced a few of the Shetland Isles. None of them are quite as remote as you think - even Skerries has 5 ferries to the mainland per week. They don’t live anything like a remote lifestyle as people think, it’s just people living a normal life, with the commute to work/shops/stuff being more of a hassle/weather dependant.
It appears a romantic/mysterious lifestyle, but in reality, just as mundane as anywhere else, with more travel problems !
The Shetland Islands have a heritage that is much more Norse/Viking derived than the rest of Scotland, which is predominantly Celtic and Anglo-Saxon. In fact, the Shetland Islands were part of Norway for many years, until they were transferred over to Scotland as part of a treaty.
(peers out window in direction of Norwegian-heritage town) Extremely tall people, bad driving, and great gelato?
Actually they were never transferred, only pawned. There were rights of redemption that were attempted to be exercised on many occasions which the King of Scotland simply ignored. There were also guarantees to preserve the Norwegian language and the Laws of Norway - which were also breached.
If legal control was ever formally transferred, it was by James III annexing the Northern Isles (Shetland and Orkney) to the Crown on 20 February 1472.
I think the last attempt to regain control by exercising the theoretical rights under the terms of the loan were as late as the second half of the 17th century but as that was a commercial agreement rather than an international legal treaty enforcement is the real issue so somewhere along the line the claims stopped.
I have no idea of Norway has ever formally acknowledged the de facto position in International Law.
But, given that Norway - or at least the Norwegian monarchy - was subsumed into other kingdoms for quite a period up until 1905, when they installed a prince from Denmark as a new king, how would that affect any claims that a previous independent Norwegian monarchy might have wanted to pursue?