Shetland, Orkney & the Outer Hebrides

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The island groups of Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides are places of superlatives. Towering cliffs that are home to over a million seabirds, including endearingly cute puffins, thousands of greyandcommon seals and a wonderful array of marine mammals from dolphins to killer whales.

• Shetland: over 100 islands and some of Britain’s greatest natural spectacles. Gannets, great skuas (known locally as Bonxies), as well as fulmars, storm petrels, guillemots, kittiwakes, razorbills and arctic terns.  Birds such as the whimbrel and red-necked phalarope nest on the isles, and the serpentine heath on Unst is botanically unique.
  

• Orkney: day-hunting short-eared owls, wailing red-throated divers (known as the rain-goose) and nesting shorebirds. Brown hares share flowery meadows with the unique Orkney vole.
  

• Outer Hebrides: deserted white beaches, turquoise waters and wild beauty, as well as a treasure trove of species including puffins, golden eagles, basking sharks, minke whalesandotters.  Machair meadows are a haven for the elusive corncrake and internationally important populations of nesting waders.  The offshore Monach Islands are important pupping sites for Atlantic grey seals, and farthest west is St Kilda, a World Heritage Site and UNESCO reserve with seabirds.