At the far north of the United Kingdom, this string of a hundred or so islands stretches into the North Sea, between Scotland and Scandinavia. Under the dazzling light of an ever-changing sky emerge long white sandy beaches and imposing schist cliffs. Between splendid lochs, lush green valleys covered with heather and Viking ruins, you can encounter the emblematic ponies and sheep of the Shetland Islands. More than one million sea birds nest here each year between April and August, in this veritable sanctuary protected by the mildness of the sea currents. These include the northern gannet, the Atlantic puffin, the northern fulmar, the common murre, the razorbill, the black-legged kittiwake, the Arctic tern and the great skua.