I loved the scenery in Shetland: spectacular cliffs and sea views, rolling hills covered in heather (often ‘scarred’ by peat digs), numerous lochs dotted throughout the landscape, pretty beaches, and a lot of bird life.
But, what made it so hard to leave was the people: the Shetlanders were really welcoming, and I was lucky to be invited into homes on a number of occasions. I found that the other tourists I met were also very friendly. As a generalisation, they were a slightly different demographic to those in other parts of Europe: older, and more interested in enjoying and exploring the outdoors – well, we clearly were not there for the fast-paced city thrills!
My somewhat surreal introduction to Shetland involved breakfasting – at the local supermarket – with five young guys from the RAF (sadly, not in uniform)! - As I exited the ferry (at Lerwick) a guy just ahead of me turned around, and asked if I knew where the ‘Coop’ (supermarket) was. Of course, my response was: “I have no idea (where anything is)”, but as we both assumed our respective destinations would be towards town, we proceeded in the same direction together. As it turns out, the Coop was only a few hundred metres from the ferry terminal (where the other four RAF guys were waiting for their mate). I was invited to join them for breakfast, and thinking ‘why not?!’ I stood with them… waiting for the supermarket to open its doors at 8am! I don’t think any of us had ever queued for a supermarket before (it seemed a slightly odd thing to do). But it turns out, these guys were ‘in the know’… once it opened, the café did a roaring trade with local workers from the docks (and, as I later discovered, it is the only place serving breakfast before 9am).
The weather on that first day was grey and misty (with the occasional drizzle, but not really raining) and the air temperature was cool, but not cold. Walking around town, I thought that the mist obscuring the building tops gave the town a mysterious feel. I took an instant liking to Lerwick, although I wasn’t sure exactly why (it seemed somewhat irrational to be so happy, so quickly – in ‘sub-par’ weather!)
The hostel in Lerwick is manned by wardens from the Islesburgh community centre. They are all really friendly and welcoming, and instantly made me feel at home in the place. The hostel itself is a grand old building, with a fantastic lounge, huge kitchen and dining areas, and well laid out dorms. Interestingly, I felt that I was the youngest one staying there - by about 20 years… (this is only a slight exaggeration – there was a group of young school kids staying): It wasn’t until later on that I met one or two people of ‘my age’!
Historically, Shetland has seen human inhabitants for a really really long time… The site at ‘Jarlshof’ (meaning ‘Earl’s house) contains the ruins from 4000 years of human habitation (including Neolithic homes , an iron age broch, Viking longhouses and the lairds house c. 1500s); I found it really interesting to follow the progression of building ‘styles’ through the centuries. The museum in Lerwick is small, but well laid out (and a good place to visit on a rainy day). It was amazing to have all this history around me. I went out to Mousa (island) one day, and sat eating my lunch leaning against a 2000 year old (iron age) broch – Incredible!
Shetland is the place for avid bird watchers, and while I wouldn’t classify myself as one of these I REALLY wanted to see a puffin (they are so cute!) During my time at the hostel, I met several people, who had seen literally hundreds of puffins, and had managed to get within a couple of meters of them (and had some fantastic photos to prove it). August is the time of year that puffins start to migrate, but with so many sightings I thought I had a good chance… In the end, despite going to nearly every ‘recommended’ patch of coastline, I saw ONE (I did catch an occasional glimpse of a few others flying through the air). My one puffin obliged me on my second day in Shetland – I went down to the lighthouse at Sumburgh, it was a really grey and misty day; and to be honest, if I was a puffin, I wouldn’t have been parading around outside in that weather (to describe the scene: I’d been told that it was a short walk from Jarlshof to the lighthouse, but, with the mist covering everything I couldn’t see anything of the cliffs in the distance; and had to ask which way to go!) I walked and sat around the cliff areas for quite some time – to no avail – and eventually decided it was time to head back… as I headed down the road I stopped for one last time at a different point along the cliffs. About five minutes later he (I don’t know if it was a ‘he’) appeared, landing about 20 meters from where I was standing. He turned around a few times, stretched his wings, scratched his head… and then flew off. It wasn’t much, but I will remember him (and perhaps I’ll have to return if I want to see his mates?!)
With respect to other bird life, there were a lot of gannets which are quite spectacular to watch: they look quite magnificent gliding and turning with the wind, and because a lot of the islands have quite sheer cliffs I often found myself at a level with the soaring birds! (Does this make sense – or is this one of those ‘you have to be there’ situations?)
On my third day in Shetland, I headed to Scalloway (a small fishing village a short bus trip from Lerwick). There, I visited Scalloway castle; the ruins of a grand house built at the beginning of the 17th century by the (rather mad) Earl Patrick Stewart “he was given to terrible rages in which he tore his hair and screamed insults at all around him” (he treated the population so badly, and made so many enemies, that he was eventually imprisoned by the king, and later beheaded). At Scalloway, I met a couple of older gentleman (a local, and his friend visiting from England). I was invited back to Bob’s place for a cup of tea, and later on that evening he picked me up from the hostel in Lerwick and took me to an informal music evening at the local golf club. The club rooms were tiny, and packed - about 15-20 people with a range of instruments (fiddles, accordions, guitars, piano etc), and another 20-30 people in the ‘audience’. It was very informal: one person would start a tune, and the others would join in. At ‘half time’ we had coffee, tea and cake, and a chance for a chat. The whole evening was heaps of fun, and this is where I met Shirley (a Shetlander) and Steve (a New Zealander, now residing in Shetland), after the music they took me back into town, and we met up with Gibby (a Shetlander, now living in NZ ). Gibby lives just across the road from Kapiti College; where I did my high schooling. He recognised my brother’s name – and has a daughter who was one year behind Ranald at school… talk about small world!
Shetland lesson #1: I was quickly learning that conversations in Shetland go something like: Where are you from?… You have ancestors from Shetland? What was their name… Where were they from?... It only takes a few minutes, and they’ve determined ‘who you are’, based on who your family is. Everyone seems to know their family genealogy, and can generally connect you with someone they know – from the same town or the same family line. The upshot of all this, was that I’d be provided with a ‘mine’ of information and leads to follow up – and was told that I’d probably never leave (as it turns out, they weren’t far off the mark!)
Shetland lesson #2: ‘News travels fast’: it didn’t take long till I couldn’t walk down the street without bumping into someone that I knew, and one conversation was usually translated to multiple other people (before you can take the story back yourself)… I guess this is very efficient: I didn’t need to repeat anything! (But it’s also clear that there are no secrets in such a small place!)
Shetland lesson #3: It is possible to establish even very distant family connections: I met a guy at the family history centre, and when we established I was researching the ‘Doull’ family he used the computer database to determine our relationship (something ridiculous like great –great / third cousin / five times removed…)
Up Helly Aa is the big ceremony in January each year – most of you will probably have seen images of the Viking procession through the town (at the end of which they set fire to the replica Viking long ship). I visited the exhibition, and talked to several people who had been involved in previous years ‘Jarl’s squads’ (i.e. they played the role of Viking). I now have a much greater appreciation of the whole progress of planning, costume design and manufacture. The selection of the ‘Jarl’ (squad leader) is made 16 years before he actually gets to fulfil the role (he spends 15 years ‘doing time’ on the organising committee). New costumes are designed each year, and the whole process of design and planning is started several years in advance - the degree of craftsmanship in the costumes is quite amazing. Only about 50 people are in the Jarl’s squad, but there are a whole range of other squads who create skits for entertainment during the day. Actually, I first learned about this process when I asked the question “what do you do during the winter, (when the days are very short, and the weather isn’t good)”… Up Helly Aa preparations take a lot of time (with a fair amount of socialising for good measure).
Shetland lesson #4: Heating is a topic of conversation throughout the summer. Heating is turned on year-round (possibly only for a few hours a day in summer, but still… it’s supposed to be summer!) Many people in the town of Lerwick are on a central heating plan (using heat from waste burning – I think)… the decision on the type and cost of each heating option is also a hot topic (sorry - the pun really wasn’t intended!)
I hired a car for five days; which was a fantastic way to explore some of the surrounding countryside:
I drove out West to see the area that my great-great-grandmother grew up in. Several of my relatives have been to visit this area, so I was able to go to see the old house, and was welcomed inside by the current owner. (Actually, the house that stands now isn’t the original: the original having been struck by lightning! However, the current house is over 100 years old, and was apparently built from the original stones).
I drove up to the very north of Shetland: passing from ‘Mainland’ to the island of Yell, and then on to Unst.
Shetland lesson #5: The income from the oil money is evident in Shetland – in the extent of community facilities (there are leisure centres on each of the main islands and several on Mainland) – and also in the subsidising of some services (ferry transport between the islands is ridiculously cheap!)
On Unst, I stayed at the old RAF base: ‘Saxa Vord’ is now a hotel / hostel and restaurant. The hostel is in the old Officer’s mess, so all the accommodation is in individual rooms, and they are HUGE (for hostel accommodation… much bigger than my room at university too!) Being on Unst is a ticket to do / see all the ‘most northerly in Britain’ locations…
· The most northerly church – TICK
· The most northerly restaurant – TICK
· The most northerly post office, house and bus stop – TICK, TICK, TICK!
My current most favourite place is the world is on Unst: I walked through the Hermaness reserve to a point where a grassy ledge looks out across a short stretch of water towards Muckle Flugga, Britain’s most northerly lighthouse, and the Out Stack (the most northerly land mass in Britain). It was a beautiful day: clear blue sky, perfect view, (although a bit chilly in the wind). The most amazing thing was that there was NO-ONE there: I sat for about an hour, and had to keep looking behind me to confirm that I really was completely alone! The only noise was the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below, the occasional ‘baa’ of a sheep, and distant sounds from the sea birds – there were thousands of birds circling around right in front of me (spectacular to watch once again) – but they were almost silent. It was such a perfect spot; it was incredibly difficult to leave.
Shetland lesson #6: EVERYWHERE in Shetland is Windy (with a capital W)! Admittedly, this may be because I tended to seek out the spectacular locations on cliff tops (not exactly the most sheltered of places).
I did go to some other beautiful locations in Shetland: the cliffs at Eshaness are quite spectacular, St Ninian’s Isle with a sand tombolo (a stretch of sand connecting the island with the mainland) is really lovely, but the tip of the UK remains my favourite.
As I said at the start, it was the people in Shetland who made my experiences special: I found myself drinking cups of tea in the homes of (previous) strangers, having a barbeque (with two Shetlanders and a Kiwi!) on a sunny Lerwick evening and staying up till 3am at a farewell party with people from around the globe (Shetland, Norway, Poland, Germany, Chile and New Zealand were all represented).
Final mention needs to go to Bruce. Bruce is one of the wardens at the Islesburgh hostel, and made me feel incredibly welcome on my arrival. After a few days I asked if I could extend my stay at the hostel (my usual… plan only a couple of days in advance), and instead, Bruce offered to put me up in his spare room. He was an amazing host, endlessly kind and generous, and made me feel like I have my very own family in Shetland. I cannot thank him enough.
After two weeks I felt completely at home; everyone seems to have some kind of connection to New Zealand, and I’m lucky to have a family connection to Shetland (giving me a real sense of belonging somewhere). I didn’t really want to leave, but on the other hand, I have always wanted to go to Orkney…
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