Episode 081: Cycle Touring On Shetland (& Orkney)

The Cycling Europe Podcast

Shetland is the northernmost part of the United Kingdom, 170 km from mainland Scotland and only 220 km from the Norwegian coast. Of its 100 islands, only 15 are inhabited (by a population of just over 20,000) but according to the local tourist board, the remote archipelago “…has everything a cyclist could hope for”. Tim Sanders, Anne Lawther and Jayne Moore have all visited Shetland in recent months and the writer Martyn Howe has been a regular visitor over the years both on foot and by bike. The Cycling Europe Podcast asked all four travellers to recount their cycling experiences. Does Shetland really live up to the tourist hype? Anne, Jayne and Martyn also reflect upon their visits to nearby Orkney. How does it compare to its near-Nordic northern neighbour?