Shetland, April 2011

Jarlshof

I went to Shetland with a friend of mine in late April, 2011. Shortly after our arrival at airport Sumburgh, in the South of Mainland, we felt gale-force winds blowing in our faces. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was as blue as it could be.

The sea, directly behind the little runway, looked awesome and the sun was gleaming on it.

I was totally euphoric !!! It was a burning ambition of mine to visit Shetland  for a very long time and I finally made it here. Everything was different to what I had expected and anticipated: different scents, sounds,colours and landscapes!

Spring was yet to come. It was late April on the most northern point of the UK, and it felt about
15 C.

Levenwick

On the way to our B&B, located in the island's capital, Lerwick, we noticed there were absolutely no trees, just rocks and bushes. We started exploring the island from Lerwick, where a huge plaque in the harbour welcomed all visitors in English as well as in Norwegian, all of which reminded me of Shetland and Orkney, once belonging to Norway.

Sumburgh Head Lighthouse

The sights in the South of Mainland were definitely the "Jarlshof" and "Old Scatness", two prehistoric villages. It was amazing to see all the roundhouses built about 4000 years ago. We enjoyed a guided tour at "Old Sctatness" and were given some information about its history.

Being in the South of Mainland, we also walked to the lighthouse of Sumburgh Head. We kept looking for puffins because of the signs posted, and half an hour later, we discovered a single one between thousands of seagulls. It looked very funny ;)

Eshaness

The place to eat for us was at  "Sumburgh Hotel", which was typically furnished like in the English countryside: cosy armchairs, thick carpets and curtains with flower patterns. There were no more restaurants or cafés in Sumburgh but it was definitely worth having eaten there. It turned out to be the best lunch I've ever had (smoked salmon and raspberry cheesecake). And while we had lunch inside the hotel restaurant, the wind howled outside!

Eshaness

The next day we headed to Eshaness in the North West of Mainland and went hiking on the volcano trail. Before we reached the car park at Eshaness lighthouse, it started raining heavily. After that short rain shower, it remained grey and foggy. It felt like being in the middle of nowhere, just the elements around us, green grass, some sheep and a single Shetland pony :)

Eshaness

Nearly two hours later, we arrived at the cliffs of Eshaness and I was totally overwhelmed ! The wind howled and lashed the sea into a fury. We could hardly talk because it was so loud. For me, it was a place to be silent, to just watch and listen to the elements. It started raining from time to time again, but it didn't disturb us. I myself enjoyed the fresh air mostly, and furthermore realizied how little people are in these surroundings. I took only a few photos but these turned out to be the most special ones for me. It touched me deeply because everything looked so colossal.

Another walk on that day led us to St. Ninian's Isle, which was very beautiful. We reached the little island by passing a strait, which we had been told before, is not possible to flood.

The way to St. Ninian's Isle

Moreover, we visited Scalloway, the former capital of Shetland. Scalloway Castle still looks massive, although there were only ruins left of it. Interestingly, we noticed a row of houses that looked typically Norwegian: wooden houses in dark red and dark blue.

St. Ninian's Isle




The last day of our visit we went to the "Muckle Flugga" lighthouse, located in the "Hermaness Nature Reserve", on the Isle of Unst, passing through the North of Mainland, taking a ferry to the Isle of Yell and a second ferry to the Isle of Unst. Yell and Unst looked like a flat, barren landscape.

Muckle Flugga Lighthouse

There were only a few houses on Unst and the huge "Hermaness Nature Reserve". Having arrived at the car park, it took us about two hours to reach the UK's most northern point, with the "Muckle Flugga" lighthouse on top of it. It was a perfect day: the sun shone the whole day, it was about 15 C but with such a strong wind that we could hardly talk to each other.

A puffin close to Muckle Flugga

When we looked around, we discovered thousands of puffins. Definitely heart-warming. There was one very close to us, coming out of his cave from time to time, walking up and down. It was so cute. That was the highlight of our holiday.

The last bus stop on Unst

I would most definitely like to return to Shetland; its rough but beautiful landscape and colossal rocks touched me more than anything I had ever seen.