I'm sitting in the BA lounge waiting on my flight to London, I'm going to have a glass of wine and bring you up to date with Sunday in Shetland.
Well Sunday dawned bright and shiney, so I headed down to breakfast with a ferry ride to Unst and walking on my mind. Unfortunately the mist rolled in and brought rain with it, so I decided not to travel to Unst and instead headed out for a drive North to Eshaness and Hllswick.
The view from the cliffs at Eshaness is wonderful, so wild and rugged, the rain had stopped so I geared up and decided a cliff top walk was just the ticket. Unfortunately about 15 minutes into my walk the clouds rolled back in and the rain came down so I decided to abandon the walk and head back to the car, yes I am a wimp!!
The North of Shetland is much more rugged than the South, the Atlantic waves pound against the shore even in the summer, I can only imagine what it's like during winter when the storms hit.
The topography changes from gentle hills covered in heather or grass and wildflowers to peat hills where crofters have cut peat for centuries, to rugged Tors, as I drove around it was fantastic to see peat that had been cut and left to dry. Every time you go over a hill a different vista opens, it might be the sea or a loch or just a new hill, there is a delight for the senses everywhere.
As I drove back South, the weather improved, and by the time I got to Lerwick the sun was out so I decided to catch the ferry to Bressay and have a drive around. Being Sunday, Bressay was deserted, I went into the Kirkyard and looked at graves dating back to the 16th Century as well as those from a few weeks ago, it just showed how Shetland has endured over the centuries.
As I drove back to Brae in the late afternoon sunshine I saw a sign for the original Shetland Fridge, there are several of these on Shetland, fridges where local produce can be purchased using an honesty box. I bought some biscuits and fudge for the staff at the hotel.
Okay, I didn't get to finish the post yesterday, so I'm now on board Eurostar heading to Paris with Terri.
The road to the Shetland Fridge took me down the centre of the main island and the scenery was still spectacular with hidden lochs and tiny hamlets of just a few houses. The road was, like many, a single track road with passing places and everyone is so courteous, they move into the passing place and let you through and then give you a wave, its wonderful to be able to reciprocate and know your courtesy is appreciated. Even the lorry drivers are courteous and wave you through or give you a flash of their lights and a wave if you let them through. It's a pity that our truckies wern't a bit more like them.
When got back to the hotel, a wave of tiredness hit me and I realised I hadn't really stopped since I arrived in the UK, so I had a hot bath, with bubbles, and relaxed before heading down to have a pre-dinner drink (oh that lovely seaweed gin!!) and then a quiet dinner before having an early night.
Monday morning dawned and I finished my packing and headed down to breakfast where the indefatigable Bradley set me up with a menu and a table at the window overlooking the bay. We had a good chat and I said how sorry I was to be leaving Shetland and I wished I was staying longer, Bradley offered to find me a room for as long as I wanted to stay - we had discussed American tourists and had similar views so we got on well together!!! I said unfortunately I had to leave today as I was meeting my daughter enroute to Paris. He asked me if I'd been to St Ninian's Isle which I hadn't and he said I couldn't leave Shetland without visiting.
After breakfast and saying farewell to the staff I headed off South towards Sumburgh with a side trip to St Ninian's Isle.
St Ninian's is amazing, its a small island connected to the mainland by the largest tombolo in the UK. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to explore all the way across to the island, but I did walk along the tombolo and take photos of the water on both sides.
After leaving St Ninian's I headed to the airport to catch my flight to Glasgow, just a word about being a woman travelling alone, at every airport in Scotland I have been singled out for swabbing and extra security checks, including search of my hand luggage. When I asked the security guy at Kirwall airport why me, he said oh it's just random to which I replied, how random, there are only 8 of us boarding the plane, to which he replied, well honestly, you are travelling alone and did arrive at the airport early. So obviously I had been profiled and then targeted.
Anyway I had an uneventful trip to Glasgow and then a 5 hour layover before boarding the flight to London and meeting Terri. Now the next leg of the trip begins, we are currently in the tunnel going under the English Channel. I will blog from Paris.
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