Weather fails to dampen fire festival

The traditional event is held every January

Crowds braved rain and gales as Shetland staged its traditional Up Helly Aa festival.

The inhabitants of Lerwick dress in full Norse costume for the event and celebrate by burning a Viking galley.

The annual festival, which is held on the last Tuesday of January, draws visitors from across the world to experience a day and night of revelry.

Up Helly Aa is descended from the ancient festival of Yule, which the Vikings held to celebrate the rebirth of the sun.

The chief Viking, the Guizer Jarl, and his squad of 50 bearded Vikings unveiled their costumes and longships for spectators on Tuesday morning.

At night almost 1,000 guizers, dressed in assorted costumes, paraded through Lerwick before burning their replica longship.

Spectators ignored the weather to watch the parade, which was followed by a tour of 11 halls around the town providing entertainment of a suitably extravagant Norse style.

The party ended at breakfast on Wednesday, which is traditionally a public holiday to allow everyone time to recover.

Shetland's villages hold their own fire festivals in the first months of every year.