Bressay and Shetland tour - 05/09/04

Lerwick is deserted on Sunday morning. Go up Charlotte Street, come out by the Town Hall and the Museum at the top of the hill. It's 10 a.m., but nothing stirs. Return to the town centre to go on the first ferry of the day to Bressay. It drops me off there just before 11, giving me about an hour to hare round the island. From Bressay, you can actually cross to the nature reserve at Noss, but I won't have time for that. My tour starts at 1 pm. Walk down the shore road to the school and shop, then proceed to the little housing estate at Glebe. From here, a track winds uphill to the summit of the Ward of Bressay. Because of time-constraints, I can't go quite to the summit, so I turn back. Walk back to the pier via the Gunnista Road. Hop on the ferry and am back in Lerwick at 12.20. Have something like lunch in a takeaway bar at the harbour and eat it on a bench in the bright sunlight. A very large, yellow fishing boat from Whalsay is in port. Report to the TIC at 1 pm, where a pleasant lady, Sarah, is ready with her minibus for today's tour. We set off, with a compliment of 8, down the A970 to Hollander Knowe, from where the B9073 provides a shortcut through to Scalloway. This has the ruins of a castle. Scalloway used to be capital of shetland. We continue north, through the valley of Tingwall. This means Valley of the Althing, the old viking parliament. Nowadays there is the Asta golf-course. On the island at the northern end of Loch of Tingwall, called Law Ting Holm, judgement would be passed in the Viking era. If the culprit managed to outrun his executors and the rest of the crowd (who were all at license to carry out any death sentence) and reach the church, he would be safe. We proceed past Tingwall Airport up the A971 to a long stretched-out series of settlements on the Weisdale Voe. At the top of the Voe, we carry on north to Kergord, which has the only woods in the whole of Shetland. This is latitude 60°N. We rejoin the A970 and carry on to Voe village. We leave the A968, which branches off to the Yell ferry, to our right and carry on along the shore of Olna Firth to Brae. Just over a mile to the west lies Mavis Grind. That is not a female, but a narrow isthmus. To the west lies the Atlantic, off Mangaster Voe, to the east the North Sea, from Sullom Voe. The oil terminal at Sullom Voe is situated 6 miles to the northeast, but this complex is clearly visible. Oil has brought wealth to Shetland. For every barrel of oil that passed through Sullom Voe, Shetland Council would receive 1p. To date, this has amassed to a staggering £1,000 million pounds! Carry on north for another 6 miles, then fork west in the direction of Hillswick and Eshaness. Visibility is poor today; Foula nor Papa Stour are visible to the south and west. We go north briefly to Ronas Voe. This is a spectacular Shetland Ffjord, over which Ronas Hill towers at 450 m / 1500 feet. We alight from the minbus and enjoy the vista. Clouds clear from the summit of the mountain. Next port of call is Eshaness Lighthouse, about 7.5 miles to the west. This is situated amidst some spectacular coastal scenery, resulting from dramatic coastal erosion. The lighthouse is automated, but the outbuildings are occupied by a writer. She has just left for the winter. Out to the south sits Dore Holm, a natural arch that looks liek a crouching elephant. Finally, after about half an hour of looking round, we toddle off to a museum at Tangwick, which shows life in Shetland in times gone by. At 4 pm, we drive off under a glazing sky, back down the 35 miles to Lerwick. Shetland is bigger than you'd think from the map. We're overtaking by a motorcyclist who tops 100 mph. The descent into Lerwick is down a very long and steep hill. One of our group gets dropped off at the ferry terminal to go on the 7 pm ferry, the rest in Market Square. I dawdle around for the next piece of excitement: a trip in a replica Viking Boat, the Dim Riv. At 7pm, a group of seven are issued with life jackets and we board the boat. We motor into the haroubr, until we're abreast of the ferry terminal. There we cut the engine, and the sail is raised. Slight problem: we have wind force zero this evening. Oh, we do make headway tonight, but that's the tide carrying us south. I've been told that this boat has been as far as Dublin. She can be rowed, but us poor tourists are spared that ordeal. Once abreast of the harbour, we allow a skiff with 8 rowers to go in first, before we motor into port at 8pm. Go to the Queen Hotel for supper. They take their leisure at serving, but ok, it does come.

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