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Behind Reality TV

Where is Shetland filmed in Norway?

The Shetland show is mostly filmed on the Shetland Islands and parts of Scotland, but some of the exterior scenes are filmed in Bergen and Vaksdal in Norway.

Shetland is an intriguing, but relatively easy to follow crime drama television series that has an interesting plotline and beautiful scenery.

Part of what makes up the beautiful landscape shots sprinkled throughout Shetland are the real-life Shetland Islands and some locations in Norway, including the western coast and other parts of Scotland.

Is Shetland worth the watch?

Although the crime-fighting, troubled detective trope has been played to death, Shetland has brought something new to the table that fans of the show really enjoy.

The Shetland crime drama television program is based on the series of novels by Ann Cleeves and this it is part of what has led the show to have such an intricate and enticing storyline.

The show has made a name for itself with unexpected plots and a good combination of drama and crime, but also heartfelt stories and family themes.

Each season of the show also has a singular main storyline or investigation, which makes it easier to follow than most plot-heavy crime dramas.

Where is Shetland filmed in Norway?

Another part of the Shetland series that has captured the attention of avid and casual viewers of the show, are the beautiful locations and the scenery that is shown throughout.

As the name suggests, Shetland, especially the landscape and exterior shots, are mostly filmed on the archipelago Shetland Islands.

Although the Shetland Islands have a tumultuous history as they were technically part of Norway until the fourteenth century, the islands are, according to some sources, closer to Norway than they are to Great Britain, the Shetland Islands currently form part of Scotland and not Norway.

However, since the north-eastern coast of Scotland, where the Shetland Islands are located, and Norway share such a similar climate and geography, the show has filmed some of its scenes in Norway.

This is especially true for season four of Shetland, which lists that some scenes were filmed in Western Norway including in Bergen and in Vaksdal.

If you are a Shetland fan and you want to visit some of the locations that the show was filmed in, you can travel from Norway to the Shetland Islands to see a host of different locations.

In this case, it is also important that you know where some of the other iconic locations from the show were filmed, so that you can visit them as you go.

Are the Shetland Islands part of Norway?

Although the Shetland Islands are just over 300 miles outside of Norway and many people still believe that the islands are closer to Norway than to Scotland, the Shetland Islands form part of Scotland and not Norway.

This means that even though Shetland films some of its scenes in Norway, this does not include the scenes that were shot on the Shetland Islands.

However, if you travel along the Shetland Islands, and even in Shetlands’ capital, Lerwick, while you are on your hunt to find popular locations from the Shetland show, you may notice some Nordic slang, accents, and even flags while you are there.

This is because Shetland used to be a part of Norway from the ninth century to the end of the fourteenth century, until Norway mortgaged the islands in a dowry agreement.

This is why Shetland, and its inhabitants remain friendly to both their Nordic and Scottish heritage and origins.

How can you travel to the Shetland Islands from Norway?

If you have already scouted out all of the locations that you could find from the Shetland show that were filmed in Bergen and in Vaksdal in Norway, you could always travel to the Shetland Islands from Norway so that you can visit the locations in which the majority of the landscapes are filmed for the show.

To do this, you can take a flight from Bergen in Norway, or you can take a Northlink Ferry for a more leisurely journey along the Norwegian Sea on the west side of the Shetland Islands.

Where were some of the iconic locations from Shetland filmed?

Since only some of the exterior scenes from the Shetland series were shot in Norway, you may also benefit from knowing where some of the iconic scenes and shots from the show were filmed. These locations include:

Iconic Shetland location in the show Where was this filmed?
Jimmy’s house
  • Exterior: Lerwick’s Commercial Street and Kilbarchan in Renfrewshire
  • Interior: On set in Glasgow and crofts located in Ayrshire
Police station
  • Exterior: The real Lerwick police station in Barrhead
  • Interior: On set in Glasgow