Shetland Nature – Otters, Seals and Winter Birds with a Guide
A day.
The route
Winter is a quiet and special time for wildlife in Shetland, and the guides of Shetland Nature choose where to look by the tide and the weather.
Their Winter Wildlife Watch spends the short daylight on the islands' shores, voes (sea inlets) and moors, searching for otters and their cubs, seals, sea ducks and great northern divers, and mountain hares in their white winter coats. It suits anyone happy to be out in the weather all day, with a warm café by the sea to finish in.
Before you go
Book Shetland Nature's Winter Wildlife Watch
Book Shetland Nature's Winter Wildlife Watch by email from its website or on 01595 760212 before you travel, for a day between November and March: there are no set dates, it needs at least three people booked (£165 a head for three, £130 for four at the time of writing), and it starts between 9am and 9.30am with a pick-up in or near Lerwick.
Book a table at Fjarå on its website or on 01595 697388 for when the tour ends: it's open until 10pm Tuesday to Saturday and until 5pm on Sundays, and shut on Mondays.
The day
Shetland
A small group, a guide who reads the shore and the tide, and a long, patient look for otters and winter birds, then a warm table above Breiwick Bay as the light goes.
About seven hours
Shetland Nature's Winter Wildlife Watch
Shetland Nature's Winter Wildlife Watch starts between 9am and 9.30am, when the guide collects you from where you're staying if that's practicable, or meets you at a central point in Lerwick: the pin is only the town centre. The guide chooses the shores and moors for the day's tide and weather, so no two days are the same. Otters are the heart of it, as winter is when the mothers are busiest feeding the year's cubs in the short daylight. You may also see common and grey seals, long-tailed ducks and eiders in the sheltered sounds, great northern divers, whooper swans on the bigger lochs and mountain hares, white against the brown heather, though nothing is ever promised. It lasts five to six hours, depending on the daylight, and is rated easy to moderate. Tea or coffee is included but lunch isn't, so bring a packed lunch, and dress for a long day outside in wind and rain. Small group days run only when at least three are booked, at £165 a head for three or £130 for four at the time of writing; children of 5 to 11 are £85 and under-5s go free.
5 min by car
Fjarå Café Bar
Supper
The tour brings you back to Lerwick in the middle of the afternoon. Fjarå Café Bar sits on its own small point above Breiwick Bay, off Sea Road on the south side of town, 5 minutes' drive from the centre. Its big windows look over the water, where seals and sometimes otters turn up. Warm up with a coffee and something baked that morning, or stay on for supper from the evening menu: it's open until 10pm Tuesday to Saturday, closes at 5pm on Sundays and is shut on Mondays. Families are very welcome; book on its website or on 01595 697388. If it's full, the café bar at Mareel on Hay's Dock serves sandwiches and cakes until 8pm, and it's shut on Mondays too.
If it rains
The tour goes out in most weather, much of it watched from the guide's vehicle and the shore, so dress for wind and rain; Fjarå is warm and indoors, with the bay on the other side of the glass.
