If every island off Scotland is unique, then Orkney and Shetland are more unique than most. They spent a long time under Norse rule, and only came into Scottish hands in 1469 as part of a Scandanavian national debt. Theoretically they are still only on loan, but it seems unlikely now that they would ever go back. In fact, when oil was first being exploited in the North Sea, the Scottish National Party pointed out that most of it was in Scottish waters; and if Scotland became independent, the oil revenues would accrue to Scotland rather than the whole UK. Then someone on Shetland pointed out that as most of the oil was closest to Shetland, if Shetland became independent it could become the richest country in the world!

The people on Orkney and Shetland have retained Norse traits. Ordinary people have remained landowners rather than tenants, and as such the islands are more prosperous and self-sufficient than the Gaelic islands of the west. Orkney has always been more prosperous than other parts of the Highlands and Islands, because it is made of soft sandstone rather than the harder rocks of the Highlands and consists (the cliff girt island of Hoy apart) of well husbanded if windy farmland. A strange feeling comes over the vistor to Orkney; from the map it appears that Ornkey should feel isolated, and yet the very reverse is true; it is the rest of the world, and Scotland in particular, that feels isolated from Orkney. These islands, it seems, have always been a popular place, for Orkney has the greatest concentration of prehistoric remains in northern Europe, and these are worth visiting, especially the stone age village of Skara Brae (engulfed by a sand dune around 3500BC and uncovered only last century), the large stone circle of Brodgar, and the carefully crafted tomb of Maes Howe. Indeed, these three monuments, along with the Stones of Steness and a number of other, smaller sites, form Orkney's World Heritage Site, a narrow strip of land between two lochs with obvious ceremonial importance to prehistoric peoples. The stone of Orkney, an easily cuttable sandstone that forms natural slabs and flags, is a natural building material on an island with few trees, and it is because this stone was preferred for building to more rottable wood or clay that Orkney can boast such a richness of ancient remains. To the north of the main island, Rousay provides more first class prehistoric remains, perhaps even more atmospheric than Skara Brae or the Broch of Gurness for being little visited and left to the seals, curlews, and gulls. In Norse times, Orkney was again an important centre. The ancestors of the Norman Invasion of Britain sailed from here to Normandy, Eric the Red (the first Viking in America) visited here, Orkney has its own Saga (like the rest of the Norse empire), and one of only two surviving medieaval Scottish cathedrals (except it was a Norse cathedral at the time of being built) are found in the Orkney capital, Kirkwall. Kirkwall can appear quite a grey, huddled town at first sight, and so the honey and red sandstone of St Magnus Cathedral comes as all the greater contrast. Although small compared to great cathedrals of Europe, the rough-hewn romanesque columns and crumbling sandstone give St Magnus a feeling of great age and character. With all these Norse influences on Orkney, it is not surprising that the people feel a breed apart from other people in Scotland, and indeed, when the Scots took over Orkney and Shetland in 1469, the aristocrats the Scots sent were of the rapacious and grasping variety, creating a feeling in the Northern Isles that the Norse period was their 'Golden Age,' and that the Scots were foreigners. Without the folk memory of the Wars of Independence, Orkney folk do not share the same historical emnity towards England that some Scots hold, and must be about the friendliest people in Scotland - certainly their beer, and readily available local produce is the best you can get. Perhaps this contributes towards their conviviality! Orkney's combination of prosperity, history, wildlife, healthy air, well organized transport links, and relaxed and safe island ambience makes it unique in Scotland, and should be on any visitor's itinerary.

Any tour of Orkney should include Scapa Flow. This large bay, almost entirely surrounded by islands, was Britain's biggest harbour in the two world wars. In 1919, the entire German fleet was brought here and, rather have his ships taken under British command, the German admiral ordered their scuttling, creating one of the world's most fascinating diving sites. If you are not a diver, you can still take a tour on a ship which deploys an ROV to investigate the wrecks. These German ships are the source of the highest quality steel available for the most sensitive scientific instruments, for all steel made since 1945 contains minute traces of radiation caused by nuclear explosions. In the Second World War, when the British fleet was at anchor, a German submarine managed to infiltrate the heavy defences and sink the battleship HMS Royal Oak with a large loss of life. As a result, a series of causeways known as the Churchill Barriers were built by Italian PoW's, blocking off all but two narrow entrances to Scapa Flow. The Italians also built a small but extraordinary chapel in their spare time, and little as ornate as this exists in almost any other church in Scotland, which generally prefers Presbyterian austerity to Catholic flamboyance. When one sees what an average group of Italians with limited time and means managed to create on a small island in Orkney, one can wonder if the Scots have been historically just too keen to destroy what they have already created in order to build something new. To the south of Scapa Flow lies Orkney's highest and most barren island, Hoy, forming a barrier between the Scottish mainland and the fertile lands of Orkney. Hoy's main landmark is the Old Man of Hoy, a red sandstone sea stack which, at 137m, is not the highest in Scotland, but is certainly the best known. The ferry from Scrabster to Stromness sails right past this remarkable finger of rock.

If Orkney is isolated, prosperous, self sufficent but accommodating, then Shetland is even more so. It is also larger than you think. It is 86 miles by road from the southern end of Shetland to the north, something to bear in mind when visiting for a couple of days without a car! This barren and windswept group of islands, known to the natives as 'The Rock,' owes its prosperity to the sea, especially the fishing industry and the large, modern boats which ply the North Sea and Atlantic. The UK is part of the European Union, and it is of disadvantage to the fishing people of northern Scotland, for other European countries have negotiated fishing rights in the waters around Shetland, the richest in Europe. (It was largely for this reason that Norway declined to join the European Union in a recent referendum, for they know that most of their wealth comes from the sea.) However, unlike many other fishing areas, Shetland has a very international outlook and is quite welcoming of strangers; perhaps this goes back to the days when the people landing unexpectedly on Shetland were often lost or shipwrecked, and in dire need of a helping hand. Or perhaps it dates to the times when Shetland was in fact an important hub of the Norse world: and Shetland still lies today on an important migratory route for birds. At either side of winter, the skies of Shetland come alive with terns and geese, and there are many seabirds based here all year round.

Shetland has the best seacliffs in Britain, and much of them make for magnificent if hard to reach walking. The islands of Papa Stour and isolated Foula are the best, but a boat comes in handy. Muckle Roe, Eshaness, and Fitful Head are also worth a visit. It was near Fitful head that the Braer tanker ran aground, spilling her load. Shetland is one of the most important places in Europe for birds and sealife, and environmental disaster was gloomily expected. But such was the strength of the storm that ran the tanker to ground, the oil was completely dispersed in the following week. It must have gone somewhere, but Shetland's shores remained relatively unscathed, when compared to the Exxon Valdez disaster which occured in Alaska in 1989. The seabirds which one can see include the puffin with its colourful beak and amusing gait, a favourite amongst birdwatchers. An albatross also turns up every year in search of a mate, the lonliest bird in the world as every other albatross lives in the Southern Hemisphere. Bonxies (Great Skuas) also live on the moors of Shetland, and these aggressive pests should be avoided during the summer nesting season, as they attack in dive-bomb formation, tearing at hair and being a general nuisance. Orcas also live in these seas and the lucky sailor will spot one. Whilst I was on an oil rig in the North Atlantic off Shetland, a large school of porpoises swam past, backs circling out of the water, a magical sight.

The lifeboat based in Lerwick, Shetland's capital, is the busiest in the country, and many Shetlanders are well versed in the ways of the sea. It was these northern and western isles which bore Britain's heaviest casualties during Europe's major wars of the last century, for it was the merchant navies who were the hardest hit, and a disproportionate proportion of the crews came from the Scottish islands. Thanks to being in seaborne service, however, many Shetlanders are far better travelled than their isolated position might suggest, a position that has caused some intriguing anomalies. In the First World War, German U-boats used Shetland's isolated voes for shelter, and during the Cold War, Soviet ships would routinely call in at Lerwick for supplies, something that would have been unthinkable in a mainland port. The north of Shetland is as close to Norway as it is to the rest of Scotland, and Norweigan flags are not uncommon in the shops and tourist spots. In fact, local fire festivals run through winter and celebrate Shetland's viking heritage. The biggest is Lerwick's Up Helly Aa in the last week of January every year, and although visitors are welcome, this is very much a festival for the local population rather than a tourist attraction. The finest example of a broch - a prehistoric style of architecture unique to Scotland - is found on Mousa island just off the Shetland mainland. Brochs were built by an unknown people during a short period of time 2000 years ago, and consist of high, round towers in a curiously modern shape (think of the pot-like curves of a power station cooling tower). They are thought to be defensive towers to where the population retreated temporarily when seaborne raiders appeared, and in the case of Mousa, proved impregnable to a raiding party well into Viking times, when an couple hid here in safety, against the wishes of the eloping woman's powerful family.

Orkney and Shetland are a place apart from the rest of Scotland. To find the heart of Gaelic culture, which has shaped so much of Scotland's self image, one must head west.