Severe but spectacular
Closer to Norway than they are to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, the Shetland Islands are already remote. But the isle of Foula (population: 30) makes other parts of the archipelago seem practically connected. Located 20 miles west of the next landfall, it’s the most isolated, inhabited island in all of the British Isles.
That, of course, was exactly the draw for Getty photographer Jeff J Mitchell. «It’s very difficult to get to in certain weather conditions,» he told BBC Travel. «You can get stuck there. You have to take your own food in because there’s no B&B to stay at.»
Then there was the weather: «It’s so exposed, the wind was waking me up at night. I felt it was going to blow the place apart.»
Mitchell’s photographs, the result of his four days shooting the island and its inhabitants, hint at what it’s like to live in such severe – but spectacular – conditions. (Credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty)