It's fairly involved to get to the Shetland Islands (some say it's easier to get to the Red Sea!), but you shouldn't let this put you off. You can fly into Sumburgh Airport with British Airways (tel: 0345 222111) from Edinburgh, Inverness or Aberdeen four times each weekday and three times on Saturday and Sunday.

Other routes take much longer: options include catching the P&O ferry mv St Clair or mv St Sunniva from either Aberdeen or Scrabster via the Orkneys.

The largest island, Mainland, is pretty big and you will definitely need a hire car if you fly in, as it's more than 55 miles long (although you're never actually more than three miles from the sea at any point). The roads, and other services, are superb and it will take you at least an hour to drive from the airport up to Brae, handiest for diving Muckle Roe (and where the preferred accommodation is to be found). For diving, get the Admiralty Charts, Nos 3281 to 3283, available from Hay & Co (Ships' Agents), Commercial Street, Lerwick, or the official tourist board map 1:128,000.

The Brae Hotel (see accommodation, below) has a custom-built Hardy with inboard Volvo Penta engine and operates from the marina at Muckle Roe, which is just two minutes from the hotel. Brei Ness is only ten minutes away by boat and there's easy access to a sheltered bay where the dive begins. This is also your local air station.

As far as weather is concerned, it doesn't matter which time of year you plan to visit Shetland as, with so many islands, there is always a lee shore. The only delay you may experience will probably be due to the periodic bouts of fog, which can descend rapidly and leave the islands isolated from all air traffic. The winter storms, which are predominantly north-westerlies, have carved and eroded the west coast of Shetland into some of the most amazing landscapes you will see anywhere. The Drongs, in particular, off the coast of Northmavine, are a series of thin, rocky pinnacles that resemble a fleet of sailing ships in the distance.

FOOD

Lerwick has some very fine restaurants and take-away outlets, but when you're staying at Brae you'll tend to eat in the immediate vicinity, and all the local hotels and guest houses offer heaped plates of fine Scottish fare. It's hardly worth the effort of travelling anywhere else anyway, as you'll be far too exhausted from all the diving you'll want to do!

ACCOMMODATION

The Brae Hotel at Brae is 35 miles north-west of Lerwick near Mavis Grind. Owned and operated by Joe Rocks, the hotel sprang up with the oil boom and, although lacking in style, it's clean and has a fine menu using local produce. Joe is also a diver and very experienced in the Shetlands. He concentrates on the area around Muckle Roe but, when weather permits, travels as far as Papa Stour, the Ve Skerries and Dore Holm on Esha Ness. The Brae Hotel (tel: 01806 522456) charges around £55 per night B&B, for two people sharing a room, or £300 for the week.

Busta House Hotel (tel: 01806 522506), on the way to Muckle Roe marina, is much more 'olde worlde' and has 120 malt whiskies in its cellar! Prices are more expensive, however; two people sharing a room should expect to pay £75 per night B&B.

There are a few much smaller guest houses in the Brae and Muckle Roe areas. These charge around £25 for dinner, bed and breakfast.

For more information about places to stay on the islands, contact the Shetland Islands Tourist Board, Market Place, Lerwick (tel: 01595 693434).

WHERE ELSE TO VISIT

Seals are common all around the Shetlands and you'll meet plenty of them while diving. The island of Mousa, which lies to the south of Lerwick, is home to several hundred of them, and you can approach them easily while they rest in large tidal pools. Otters are also evident in several locations and there are regular sight-seeing tours organised by the local tourist board to view these beautiful, endangered animals.

The Shetlands are part of a vast flooded landscape which occurred during the last Ice Age. Many of the terrestrial cliffs plunge deep below the sea, eroded platforms at various depths indicating the past. The islands are also home to the largest tombola in the British Isles - a bar of sand or gravel created by the wind and sea to form a barrier between one island and another, or between one island and the mainland.

The island of Unst (which lies to the far north of Mainland) is actually the shape drawn by Robert Louis Stevenson for his fictional Treasure Island and, in fact, there are more than 1,000 wrecks around the islands, many of which require special permission to dive. Shetland is second only to the Caribbean for its number of treasure ships and of particular note are the wrecks of the De Liefde, lost in 1711, and the Welenda, also known as the 'Silver Ship', lost in 1745. Many of the recovered artefacts can be viewed in the Shetland County Museum, which is at Hillhead, Lerwick.