5 December, 2006

AROUND 500 Faroese Christmas shoppers will descend on Inverness next week.

The islanders will be sailing into Invergordon on board Smyril Line's superferry Norröna in what is the first of this type of Christmas cruises.

Coaches will be laid on to carry the visitors to the Inverness Retail Park and into the city centre.

The cruise is part of the Smyril's efforts to connect with the Scottish mainland rather than with Shetland.

For the last five years the vessel has regularly docked at Lerwick, but last month the company closed its Shetland office and reduced the number of sailings to Shetland for 2007.

Shetland Development Trust has a 19.6 per cent stake in the Faroese company.