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Half an hour later, I glimpsed kittiwakes and guillemots on the cliffs at the RSPB reserve at Sumburgh Head, on the southern tip of Mainland. Sadly, I was far too late for the puffins. "They've typically gone by early August," described Hugh Harrop, of specialist trip operator Shetland Wildlife. However, by  VIVA99  of compensation, I saw lots of Shetland ponies.

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Undoubtedly, I counted more Shetland flags (an off-centre white cross on a blue background) than I did Scottish saltires. This distinct cultural heritage is renowned every Janauary in Up Helly Aa the Viking Fire Festival, a spectacular torchlit procession culminating in the burning of a Viking galley boat. It's visible in other ways too: for example, an advert for Norseman Pale Ale in the bar space window at the Queen's Hotel in Lerwick claims, rather implausibly, that it's "The choice of Vikings!".

Fly fishing the Shetland islands

It is one of Scotland's most important archaeological websites, featuring a Stone Age hut, an Iron Age broch and a Viking village that were revealed by vicious storms in the 19th century. As I walked the remarkable historical website by the water's edge, the wind in my hair, it was impossible not to be carried back to the past.

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The capital is likewise home to other locations that appear in the drama, such as the Lounge, the liveliest place in town on a Friday night, and Lerwick police headquarters. Douglas Henshall and Steven Robertson in Shetland the television series/ BBC/ITV Studios, Gastronomically, Shetland has much to suggest it too, not least the seafood.

Nearby, the Scalloway Museum brings to life the impressive story of the "Shetland Bus" the fleet of small fishing boats that shuttled resistance fighters to Nazi-occupied Norway throughout the war. However, no journey to Shetland is complete without a visit to Frankie's Fish & Chips in Brae, Britain's a lot of northern chippie and voted No 1 fish and chip shop in the UK in this year's National Fish & Chip Awards.

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While you probably won't see Jimmy Perez sporting a Sarah Lund-style jumper on screen, Shetland does produce prominent knits. You can choose up a chunky, wool Fair Islander for around 120 at Anderson & Co, among a handful of shops in Lerwick selling the traditional patterned jumpers long knitted on Fair Island, halfway between Shetland and Orkney.