Up Helly Aa Viking fire festival

Someday.....

I find it interesting that just the other night on the episode of Coast that aired in our area, Neil Oliver traveled to Cape Breton (Canada) to show how the locals maintain so much Scottish culture and feel like they are still Scots. Meanwhile in Scotland they are celebrating their Viking heritage.

I suppose these days everyone is looking back at their roots.

Andrea,
Ah, but historically Shetland is Viking/Norse, not Scottish. It was settled by Vikings (same as the Faroes further north, and Iceland)
In 1469 it was pawned by the King of Norway to Scotland, but they never claimed it back. Historically the Islands spoke old Norse, not Scottish Gaelic.

Shetland? Ours now , ha ha ha!

Seriously the differences between Shetland, and Orkney, on one hand and the rest of (Gaelic) Scotland were raised (often) during the referendum with the northern isles being quite strong No voting areas because of it. The Shetland flag is an interesting result of its history, being Scotland's light blue and white arranged in the Scandinavian design.

I recall during our 2013 Scotland trip a dramatic difference in the visual presence of the referendum versus that on the mainland. I wish I had discussed it a bit with some locals.

Yes there is a big difference between Scotland and the Northern Isles! And even the Western Isles have a very strong does of Viking--As does Ireland!

Pam