I achieved my lifelong ambition of seeing otters in the wild on this remote Scottish island

Otters on Shetland. PIC: Josh Jaggard, www.wildlife-photos.co.uk

There aren’t many things that will persuade me to get out of my snuggly bed at five o’clock in the morning – let alone spend some 48 hours travelling by coach, train and overnight ferry to experience.

But you see, there is one little animal I have wanted to see in the wild for my whole life, and it’s just not happened so far.

Massive gorillas and weeny pygmy shrews, whales and great white sharks, lions and tigers and bears, oh my, I’ve seen them all…but otters? A big fat zero.

Guide Josh Jaggard, www.wildlife-photos.co.uk

Though slightly traumatised as a child by Gavin Maxwell’s brilliant autobiographical book, Ring of Bright Water, published in 1960, I was also captivated by Mij and pals. After all, what’s not to love about otters?

They come in different varieties – semi-aquatic, aquatic, marine – and are found on every continent except Antarctica and Australasia.

Sizes vary from small-clawed to giant. Sea otters are particularly cute and fluffy, but our otters, Eurasian or European, are very gorgeous: dark, twinkly eyes full of mischief, button nose, stubby little ears, long, sleek body and big, powerful tail.

Energetic and inquisitive, they’re excellent swimmers and hunters, slinking through the water and chomping up fish like nobody’s business.

Female otters are sows and males are boars. Baby otters are called pups, kits or kittens. A family of otters is a bevy, lodge, or romp – very appropriate. Otters are shy of humans – who can blame them – so you have more chance of seeing one in less people-y locations in Scotland.

More importantly, with at least 800 of them, Shetland has the highest density of Eurasian otters in Europe and quite possibly the world. You still need patience, luck, plus the services of an otter expert. Luckily, I found one…

Wildlife lovers come to Shetland for seals, common or harbour and grey, and known as selkies. They come for puffins – head for Sumburgh Head or Hermaness National Nature Reserve, Unst. Plus orcas, if you’re very fortunate, and a rare bird called a red-necked phalarope – the males look after the eggs and chicks apparently.

They also come for draatsies, as otters are known here, and Shetland’s island of Unst has to be otter heaven.

Unst, in the news recently as the site of a test rocket fire at its space port development, is 12 miles long and five miles wide and Britain’s most northerly inhabited isle – around 700 people live there.

It has spectacular skies all year, day and night. Wild Skies, a charity run by volunteers, has created the SkyTrail, featuring 13 of the island’s most beautiful places, with informative panels on subjects such as Viking astronomy and the Northern Lights, wildskiesshetland.com

It’s also home to Shetland Nature, set up by naturalist, photographer and Shetlander Brydon Thomason, which offers spectacular wildlife and birdwatching trips.

My guide is fellow otter fanatic Josh Jaggard, who’s also a wildlife photographer, cameraman and drone pilot. He has worked on TV shows including the BBC’s Springwatch, Wild Britain and the David Attenborough series, Wild Isles.

Josh has been guiding for Shetland Nature for nine years. Six-hour tours for a minimum of two on Unst or Yell cost from £165pp; on the mainland £175pp, shetlandnature.net

Unst was beautiful at the crack of dawn, with such peace, quiet and gentle light. I climbed into the car and thought I’d catch a nap before I needed to pay attention.

But unbelievably, what seemed like only ten minutes later, we’d parked by the water and Josh was pointing to a spot where not one, but three otters swimming along – a mum and two cubs.

At first, I’d thought he was having me on, as I couldn’t see anything – another reason you need an expert guide.

But soon, I spotted them too. Wow, mission accomplished.

What do we do now, I wondered… well, we drove for a bit to another stretch of water and ridiculously, there are three more otters, padding along the beach, nosing up bits of seaweed and rocks.

Carefully, we negotiated the slippy rocks and seaweed, and settled down at a respectful distance. I was enchanted.

Josh told me all about otters’ habits, what they eat, how they live, as we watched.

Then mum obviously decided it was home time, and to my utter delight, the trio started making their way up the beach to the side of us, 10 metres away.

Twice she raised herself up and stared straight at us. She so knew we were there. I held my breath and struggled with foot cramp, not daring to move.

Finally, she squeaked at the youngster lagging behind to catch up, before guiding her little ones off into an adjacent field, maybe to the family holt for a nap.

That was one of best sightings of the season, Josh revealed. I hadn’t told him beforehand just how long I’d been wanting to see an otter, imagine the pressure.

Who’d have thought that on the same trip, I'd see six otters, two mums, two cubs each. Incredible. I spent the rest of my time in Shetland grinning…

LNER’s London Kings Cross to Aberdeen services also stop at Edinburgh and other places. Prices vary, book ahead to save, lner.co.uk Book Northlink Ferries’ overnight Aberdeen to Lerwick service well in advance, too. On-board accommodation includes cabins, pods and seats. Aberdeen to Lerwick return for a foot passenger in a seat costs from £58; two passengers with a car and cabin from £482, northlinkferries.co.uk In Shetland, book a hire car through Bolts Car Hire, boltshirecar.co.uk Pre-book inter-island ferries to Yell, Unst etc on Shetland.gov.uk/ferries For more wildlife, book the Mousa Boat tour to an island RSPB Nature Reserve for a lovely walk – look out for storm petrels. Adults £18, mousa.co.uk If you love gannets, take Shetland Seabird Tours’ wildlife and photography trip on the Noss Boat, £60 adults, shetlandseabirdtours.com On Unst, stay at Ordaal Cottage, Baltasound, sleeping three in two bedrooms self-catering, price varies, two-night minimum, airbnb.co.uk For more information on holidays in Scotland, visit: visitscotland.com For more on Shetland, shetland.org