 |
| The Shetland Isles lie 168 km North East from Scottish mainland |
On Sunday the 17th of June we arrived in the early hours and met up with Dave and Lucy in their beautiful house in Scarvister.
 |
| North Scarvister house |
As it was stunning weather Dave, Jaap and me went out for a kayak trip along the coastline from Westerwick to Reawick. Lucy was injured so she took photos of us from land.
 |
| Kayak trip Westerwick-Reawick |
 |
| More detailed map |
 |
| Jaap and Arctic tern |
 |
| Stunning linked cave at Westerwick |
 |
| There was a cave around every corner! |
 |
| Good conditions to explore every bit of the coastline |
 |
| Practicing our paddle strokes in narrower bits |
 |
| The geology there is mindblowing! |
 |
| Jaap in his element |
 |
| This rock structure at Clett looks like a bull |
 |
| Jaap is keeping a safe distance from crashing waves |
 |
| The cliffs at Reawick are made of sandstone |
 |
| Dave paddling at Reawick |
 |
| Lucy had a fantastic bird's eye view of us from land © Lucy Gilbert 2018 |
 |
| Exploring one of the many caves at Westerwick © Lucy Gilbert 2018 |
 |
| Approaching sea stacks at Sil Wick © Lucy Gilbert 2018 |
 |
| Another sea stack we could get through! © Lucy Gilbert 2018 |
 |
| Shags on rock |
 |
| Happy paddlers at Reawick |
The next day the weather changed and it got really windy so we went for an exciting coastal walk from Dale of Walls to Sandness.
 |
| Route coastal walk Dale of Walls to Sandness |
 |
| Happy couple |
 |
| Lucy watching the waves |
 |
| Beautifully coloured waves |
 |
| Exhilirating to watch the waves crashing against the cliffs! |
 |
| Huge surf at Sandness |
The third day the wind came from the South West, F4-5, so we decided to paddle on the East side, at Bressay. Lucy had to do work on Noss. It's a very short ferry crossing from Lerwick but you feel like you're miles away from mainland. We left the car at Setter and hoped to circumnavigate the island clockwise. At Bard Head the sea state was such that we decided to return the same way.
 |
| Route map of our trip along the East coast of Bressay |
 |
| Coffee break on the beach of Noss overlooking Bressay |
 |
| Seal basking in the sun |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| Stunning cloud formation above Noss |
Then it got too windy for kayaking so we visited Lerwick, its wonderful Shetland museum and Bonhoga Gallery.
 |
| The Viking influences can still be seen in Lerwick (image manipulated on Iphone) |
After a few wonderful days we left our friends and went up to Hamnavoe to stay at Johnnie Notions böd. In Shetland, a Böd was a building used to house fishermen and their gear during the fishing season. Now they offer basic accommodation: http://camping-bods.com/. We booked this place exclusively (it has 4 bunk beds). There is a simple kitchen (cold water), no shower but two toilets and it has a woodburning stove. Just perfect for a few nights, instead of camping in some windy and sometimes wet weather!
 |
| Johnnie Notions Böd in Hamnavoe |
 |
| Johnnie Notions Böd in Hamnavoe |
 |
| Information about Johnnie Notions |
 |
| Inside "our " böd |
We walked from Hamnavoe to Eshaness to Dore Holm back to Hamnavoe via Tangwick.
 |
| Map Eshaness |
 |
| A wee gang of cute puffins! |
 |
| Field of cotton grass |
 |
| Wild orchid |
 |
| Dore Holm (manipulated on Iphone) |
 |
| Wave in collapsed cave (manipulated on Iphone) |
On our last day we met up with Lucy and Dave again (who stayed over in our böd for 1 night) and did the Fethaland circular walk.
 |
| Route circular walk Fethaland |
 |
| A large rock of quartz had to be investigated upclose |
 |
| Close-up quartz |
 |
| Looking towards Isle of Fethaland |
 |
| Remains of old fishing houses |
 |
| Skillfully built fishing house |
 |
| House with a view |
After a superb week with some mixed weather it was time to go back home again. It was unfortunate that the moment we got on the ferry the weather looked very stable for the following week and it would have been just perfect for kayaking. Next time we go to Shetland we'll definitely stay longer! We already know a lovely place to stay at...
 |
| Goodbye inspiring Shetland, till next time! |
