# How does one get to the Shetland islands? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220 "2013-12-01T18:41:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/41 "2013-12-05T14:09:16Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > The [scenery](http://goo.gl/maps/wPjG4), of course. 😛 > Actually, I’m kidding, it does look [rather picturesque](http://goo.gl/maps/X3Kb2) in a rugged windswept sort of way. Loks like the Falkland islands! And, why did they build all of those walls? No people around. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/42 "2013-12-05T14:21:41Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Loks like the Falkland islands! And, why did they build all of those walls? No people around. The fields are filled with stones that you have to take away and you need somewhere to put them. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/43 "2013-12-05T14:49:25Z")
Wall-building is a traditional Shetland sport. They have one of the world’s strongest teams. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/44 "2013-12-05T15:02:01Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > They have one of the world’s strongest teams. But they’re nothing against the farmers in Southern Sweden: [stengĂ€rdsgĂ„rd smĂ„land - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?as_st=y&tbm=isch&hl=en&as_q=steng%C3%A4rdsg%C3%A5rd+sm%C3%A5land&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&imgsz=&imgar=&imgc=&imgcolor=&imgtype=&cr=&as_sitesearch=&safe=images&as_filetype=&as_rights=) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/45 "2013-12-05T16:43:11Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Very exaggerated, I’d say. If you can get nineteen hours of daylight near the summer solstice (and twilight for the rest), how much daylight do you think you’ll get near the winter solstice, and how high will the sun be even for those few hours? Of course, that does make it all the easier to spot the Aurora Borealis, though even as far north as the Shetlands you can’t guarantee it during, say, a two-week stay and the tourist websites suggest you go there with something else in mind and take the light-show as a bonus if it does happen. There’s wildlife, of course - and winters that are surprisingly mild for latitude sixty north. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/46 "2013-12-05T19:22:18Z")
Has anybody been to the Up Helly A" festival? You get to dress up as Vikings, drink mead, and burn a Viking ship! ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/47 "2013-12-05T19:28:30Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Would the weather conditions make a difference? I guess that the water in Florida is a lot calmer than that between Orkney and Shetland, but I don’t really know. > > And as you say, I suspect the demand wouldn’t justify the cost of the project, assuming it were technically possible. I’m still waiting for the Miami-San Juan, PR expressway. You could have two lanes - one for people who forgot their passport that goes straight back and forth over international waters and another that has exits for the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and the Dominican Republic and is staffed by immigration officials. Let’s also connect all of the Virgin Islands with PR while we’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/48 "2013-12-05T19:30:13Z")
> [@For You](#): > > 
Then, of course, you would be spending £50B for what, some sheep? Not going to happen. You obviously never met any Scotsmen. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/49 "2013-12-05T19:43:15Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Has anybody been to the Up Helly A" festival? You get to dress up as Vikings, drink mead, and burn a Viking ship! I’ve never been, sadly. There are some tremendous photos of it from the Boston Globe’s Big Picture here: [http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/fiery\_european\_festivals.html](http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/fiery_european_festivals.html) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/50 "2013-12-05T20:01:31Z")
For anyone interested, here are some good links from a cruise site. > **[Everything you need to know...SHETLAND](https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1729858-everything-you-need-to-knowshetland/)** > > Hi everyone, If you are booked on a cruise to visit Shetland or you are contemplating visiting our islands i thought it would be a handy thing to pull together all relevant info/Links on our islands under one thread instead of having them scattered... ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/51 "2013-12-05T20:24:10Z")
I want to go because basically all of the things that stir my soul are there: Iron Age ruins, dry stone walls, stormy seas, Shetland wool/knitting, and the aforementioned burning ship. It would be a pilgrimage for me. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/52 "2013-12-06T10:59:53Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > If you can get nineteen hours of daylight near the summer solstice (and twilight for the rest), how much daylight do you think you’ll get near the winter solstice, and how high will the sun be even for those few hours? > > Of course, that does make it all the easier to spot the Aurora Borealis, though even as far north as the Shetlands you can’t guarantee it during, say, a two-week stay and the tourist websites suggest you go there with something else in mind and take the light-show as a bonus if it does happen. > > There’s wildlife, of course - and winters that are surprisingly mild for latitude sixty north. I think Floater’s point, as a fellow inhabitant of Southern Scandinavia, was that “hardly any daylight in winter” is a relative term that for those of use familiar with conditions further north seems absurd to use about daylight at 60 North. At the absolute worst, at solstice, there’s still 5 hours and 40 minutes of sun. (Of course, Shetland is at 61, and gets 10 minutes less, but still.) ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/53 "2013-12-06T11:22:07Z")
Mange takk, that’s exactly what I meant. The days are a bit shortish at this time of the year, but I’m used to it and wouldn’t say “hardly any daylight”. If you like to read crime stories I can recommend the Shetland Island quartet by [Ann Cleaves](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Cleeves). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/54 "2013-12-06T11:55:39Z")
There’s a good live webcam from Shetland [here](http://www.lunnahouse.co.uk/camera.html). It currently isn’t showing much at all (snow over the lens? Giant sheep blocking the view?) but [here](http://www.lunnahouse.co.uk/camera7days.html) you can see pics from the last few days. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/55 "2013-12-07T12:29:17Z")
I was there a few years ago. Took the overnight ferry from Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands (approximately 7 hours) and flew back to Edinburgh. Absolutely the most amazing place ever. Expensive to get to, yes, but worth every penny. ---
**Author:** ![RearEchelon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RearEchelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RearEchelon)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220/56 "2013-12-07T23:55:30Z")
By miniature boat, of course! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-get-to-the-shetland-islands/675220.md?page=2)