Orkney and Shetland
Two world class bird observatories
For 2008 we are offering a brand new holiday incorporating stays at both North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory on Orkney and its sister establishment on Fair Isle, the most southerly of the Shetland Islands. The tour is specially designed for people who have an equal love of islands and of birds and offers the opportunity not only to enjoy fantastic seabird colonies but also some of the northern specialities for which the islands are renowned - Red-necked Phalarope, Whimbrel and Red-throated Diver to name but three.
This holiday takes advantage of a new air service introduced by Loganair last year and linking the two observatory islands with twice-weekly flights. And, as well as the birds, we'll also be taking a little time to enjoy some of the other aspects of the two archipelagos of Orkney and Shetland - 
two starkly contrasting groups of islands each with its own character and attraction and yet also having so much in common though their Norse heritage and strategic positions at the crossroads of the North Atlantic.
Our holiday starts in Inverness where we join the Orkney bus for a drive up Scotland's north east coast to John o' Groats. Here we make the short ferry crossing to South Ronaldsay in Orkney before continuing by road to the islands' capital, Kirkwall. We'll spend a full day on Mainland - Orkney's principal island - taking time to enjoy some of the highlights of what is known as the Neolithic Heartland, including the fantastic site of Skara Brae. We'll also visit some of the top birding sites. The next day we fly up to North Ronaldsay for our first Observatory experience on this delightful island where the sheep eat seaweed (and taste the better for it!).
The island of Fair Isle is famous for many things - not least its bird observatory but also its knitwear and its strong community spirit. We'll spend four nights here before continuing our adventure with a flight to Mainland Shetland from where we head north to the island of Unst with Britain's most northerly everything. We've made time for a visit to the island of Fetlar, once home to Britain's only breeding Snowy Owls and now a southerly outpost for the Red-necked Phalarope, a bird which otherwise breeds in the Arctic. The holiday finishes up with an overnight ferry journey (cabin provided!) to Aberdeen where the tour ends.
