Lerwick

Lerwick is the capital of Shetland and Britain's most northerly town, a compact port of grey-stone lanes and a working harbour with a strong Norse streak to its culture. It's known for the Shetland Museum, the Up Helly Aa fire festival each January, the Iron Age Clickimin Broch, and as the base for getting out into the rest of Shetland.

Lerwick doesn't feel like anywhere else in Scotland. The old town, with flagstone Commercial Street running along the waterfront, has an atmosphere all its own, the Shetland Museum is excellent and free, and the harbour is always busy. If you're visiting Shetland, it's the natural base.

Up Helly Aa is Lerwick's fire festival, held on the last Tuesday of January and the largest of its kind in Europe. Hundreds of costumed 'guizers', led by the Guizer Jarl in the role of Viking chieftain, haul a full-size replica longship through the town and set it ablaze in a torchlit ceremony. It's rooted in Shetland's Norse past and runs deep in local identity.

NorthLink Ferries run overnight from Aberdeen, a crossing of around 12 to 14 hours. There are also direct flights to Sumburgh Airport, about 25 miles south of Lerwick, from Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Bergen in Norway. Hopscotch's Shetland itineraries build the ferry journey in as part of the experience.