After some years where my focus was on the high mountains of Africa (Rwenzori, Mount Kenya, Bale Mts.. and Simien Mts.) and the European Alps, I decided to return to one of my favourite spots in Europe - the Shetland Islands. To make it worth while I added the Orkney Islands, where I was joined by Christina.
One of the main reasons to go to Shetland was the combination of unique landscapes and plenty of wildlife (seabirds). Orkney was a very different destination as the amazing neolithic and iron age monuments are hard to beat by any other place in europe. All the same I was pleasantly surprised by the cliffs some of the islands had to offer.
The whole trip suffered from really (mean terrible....) bad weather. Therefore some locations had to be dropped and nearly no wildlife photography was possible. A good reason to come back.
In terms of logistics, I decided to go by our own car. The ferry connection to the Northern Isles are quite good and it was a drive from home to Amsterdam, ferry to Newcastle, drive to Aberdeen, ferry to Lerwick, Shetland.
Have a look and have fun....