Services from mainland Scotland to Orkney and Shetland were, from the dawn of steam navigation right up until 2002, in the hands of the North of Scotland, Orkney & Shetland Shipping Company, known as the North Company, whose predecessors dated back to 1790 and which became part of P&O Ferries in 1975.

In this book, Alistair Deayton uses his wonderful collection of photographs to tell the story of the ferries and steamers of the northern isles, including not only the North Company but its successors and competitors on the routes between mainland Scotland and the islands, including chartered vessels and wartime Ministry of War Transport ships travelling to Scapa Flow. The book also includes the inter-island ferries in both Orkney and Shetland, not forgetting the services to remote Foula and Fair Isle.

This book is a must for all those interested in the transport history of Orkney and Shetland and evokes the days when the only way to travel to the northern isles was by sea.

• The latest

  title in Amberley’s extensive Maritime range

• Features many previous unpublished illustrations
• Reviews in Ships Monthly, Sea Breezes and Shipping Today & Yesterday
  

• Reviews in the local press for Orkney and Shetland, for example Orkney Today, Orkneyjar, BBC Radio Orkney, The Shetland Times, BBC Radio Shetland.
• Reviews in local press on mainland Scotland, particularly Caithness and Aberdeen, for example the Press & Journal, The Northern Times.