Shetland
A friend and his family moved to Shetland a couple of years ago. As it was somewhere I had wanted to visit for a while, this provided us with a good excuse to go.
To get there, we first took the train to Aberdeen, which is a seven hour journey. We spent a night in Aberdeen, seeing the sights and visiting the cute village of Footdee (pronounced Fiddies) at the southern end of Aberdeen's beach.
The following evening, we took an overnight ferry to Lerwick, the capital of Shetland, where we were met off the boat by my mate Matt for the five minute journey to his house on the other side of town.
The day we got there, Matt said was the first day that year he had been able to wear shorts outside the house. It was a lovely summer's day so my family and his went to St. Ninians, a beautiful beach. More specifically, it is a tombolo. A sand bar linking an island to the mainland. Whatever it is, it was lovely and despite being unusually busy (there were about seven other people), it was extremely picturesque and a nice first stop in Shetland.
We rented a lovely cottage in Semblister, about half an hour's drive from Lerwick. The views across the loch opposite were generally lovely, if the weather was clear.
As we would drive around Shetland, there would be spectacular views aound many turns. The scenery was variable and lovely.
Jarlshof is the site of an ancient settlement, where there is a good museum with very helpful and informative staff, as well as an excellent audio guide.
There are interconnected structures of different ages, with a real sense of the habitation that was there.
The rolling stones are believed to have been used for milling and are found throughout the site.
Shetland ponies are famously hardy and diminutive. This was our first time seeing them in their natural environment.
On another fine sunny day, we went to the beach at Burra Meal.
We also went to Burra Minn, where unlike the ladies, I decided to appreciate the sea without swimming in it's frigid cold water.
At Sumburgh we saw a pilot whale from the lighthouse. It was some way away. There were also colonies of birds nesting along the cliffs there.
From the viewpoint above Rerwick beach it is possible to see the seals lounging, swimiing, fighting and so forth.
We took a boat over to the island of Moussa which is very picturesque. It is home to a spectacular ancient broch (c. 2500 y.o.) and some bird colonies.
The staircase in Moussa Broch is reckoned to be one of the oldest in the world. A broch is built with an inner and outer wall. In this case, the stairs go up in between them. For ventilation and light there are openings with stone lintels.
It is a five minute walk from where one can park the car, down to the beach at Culswick. Once there, there is no noise except the gentle lapping of the waves onto the pebbles.
Westerwick has dramatic cliffs and coves, with crystal clear water.
Eshaness has some sheer cliffs with precipitous drops, as well as a rock archway that looks a bit like an elephant.
Clickimin Broch is in Lerwick and across a small walkway into the loch. It is across the road from the petrol station and behind it can be seen the large secondary school and leisure centre.
The west of the mainland is even quieter than the rest of the island. It also has some lovely and distinct beaches and views.
A couple of things I don't have photos of that were distinct about Sheland are:
1. Cake Fridges - Around the roads are fridges with cakes and somtimes some other products. They run on an honesty system for people to purchase from.
2. Their style of wedding invitations were two stuffed effigies, one for the bride and another for the groom. Sometimes with their photos stuck on as faces, dressed as a bridal couple. There would be a poster stuck on the front saying their names, as well as when and where they are getting married. Then it can spread via word of mouth and whoever sees it is free to turn up to celebrate the nuptials.