Up Helly Aa - Shetland's Festival of Fire

Departing: January 2027 - January 2027

Each January, Shetland bursts into flame as Lerwick’s Up Helly Aa brings Viking-inspired tradition, music and spectacle to the winter darkness. Watch costumed squads process through the town carrying flaming torches before the dramatic burning of a replica Viking longship, a centuries-old tradition reimagined for the modern islands. Beyond the festival, discover another side of Shetland through its remarkable archaeology, rugged landscapes and distinctive island communities. At Jarlshof, uncover 3,000 years of settlement, while journeys through Yell and Unst reveal dramatic coastlines, ancient history and the remote character of the northern isles. Visit picturesque Scalloway and learn more about Shetland’s rich past before returning to Lerwick for the unforgettable atmosphere of Up Helly Aa. With the excitement of the fire festival balanced by quieter moments of discovery, this is a fascinating winter journey into one of Britain’s most distinctive island cultures.

Included

Explore Baltasound & Saxa Vord Hill, with entrance fees included
All other visits as outlined in the itinerary
Professional Tour Manager
2 nights at the Brae Hotel, Brae, Shetland
1 night in 2-berth cabins on Serco Northlink
Return domestic flights from Aberdeen to Sumburgh (alternative flights from/to Edinburgh are available at a supplement)
Ferries Hrossey or Hjaltland (outside cabins are available on request)
3 breakfasts & 3 dinners
Private air-conditioned coach travel

Highlights

Fire festival of Up Helly Aa
3,000 years of archaeological history at Jarlshof
The dramatic, rugged scenery of Yell and Unst
The picturesque village of Scalloway

Sue Pomeroy

Having studied Horticulture in places ranging from New Zealand to Chile. Her personal garden is open to the public and it has featured in Country Life and Gardeners’ World.

Tour Itinerary

We depart this morning from Aberdeen Airport on an early morning flight to Sumburgh (flights from Edinburgh Airport are available at a supplement). On arrival we will head north and begin our scenic excursion of the north mainland of Shetland. Our route will take us over the Mavis Grind, an isthmus just 100 yards wide, and through a stark landscape of hills, moors and lochans. We will stop for a walk (weather permitting) along the spectacular sea cliffs at Eshaness, which offer spectacular views over the many skerries, islets and offshore rocks. There are also many caverns and sea caves, one of which was recently declared the largest in the Britain. Look out too for the lighthouse which was built by David Alan Stevenson, one of the famous ‘lighthouse’ Stevensons, between 1925 and 1929.

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Brae Hotel

After breakfast today we will head for Lerwick, where you are free to explore at your leisure and view the various activities associated with the Up Helly Aa festival which takes place today. Keep an eye out for the various ‘squads’ of ‘guizers’ – groups of about 20 men who choose a theme and dress up as whatever takes their fancy each year. Only one squad, a different one every year, is allowed to dress up as Vikings and are known as ‘jarls’, the Viking term for Earl. As darkness falls (mid-afternoon at this time of year) the squads begin to assemble for the torchlight parade and eventually a procession of 1,000 men snakes its way through the streets carrying aloft flaming brands of paraffin-soaked hessian and carrying the superbly crafted galley which will then be ceremoniously burned in the spectacular finale to the day’s events. Dinner this evening will be served in a local restaurant. At an agreed time we will be transferred back to our hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Brae Hotel

After a leisurely breakfast we depart for a full day tour which, weather permitting, will take us to the northern isles of Yell and Unst. We travel north through Tingwall and Girlsta and past the oil terminal at Sullom Voe, which has transformed life in Shetland over the last 25 years, before arriving at Toft, where the ferry departs for the island of Yell. After a 15-minute crossing we travel across Yell to Gutcher at the north end of the island, where we take another short ferry crossing to the island of Unst and drive north to Baltasound, our lunch stop. After lunch (not included) we continue northwards again, (about as far north as it is possible to travel by coach in the British Isles) and enjoy the marvellous views from Saxa Vord Hill. Our return route takes us via East Yell and Burravoe. Back at Lerwick we will re-join our ship, which sails at 1730 hrs for Aberdeen. Dinner is served on board.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Brae Hotel

This morning following breakfast we check out of the hotel and depart on a tour which begins with a visit to Scalloway, the original capital of Shetland. The castle built by Earl Patrick Stewart (not a man you would want to have crossed) still dominates the skyline. More recently Scalloway was the secret base for the heroes of the Norwegian Resistance and the wartime exploits of the ‘Shetland Bus’ form a courageous memoir. Later we head for the south of Mainland Shetland, where we visit the outstanding Prehistoric and Norse Settlement of Jarlshof, with over 3 acres of remains, spanning 3000 years since the days of the Stone Age, including oval shaped bronze age houses, iron age broch and wheel houses, Viking long houses and medieval farmhouses. We continue to Sumburgh Head, the southern tip of mainland Shetland, which is an RSPB reserve and site of a lighthouse that is still functioning remotely, but incorporates museum aspects of its earlier operation as a manned station. In season, thousands of puffins, kittiwakes and razorbills nest here, but in January/February they will still be out at sea. We then return to Sumburgh Airport in time for our return flight to Aberdeen (or Edinburgh)

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation

Set in the village of Brae in Shetland’s North Mainland, the Brae Hotel offers a comfortable and practical base for exploring the islands. Guest rooms feature TV, satellite TV, tea and coffee-making facilities and free Wi-Fi, with a straightforward, functional style suited to this remote corner of Shetland.

Availability & Booking

2027

25th January from $2,445

Call to Book

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