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Shetland 2024
  • Gayle Blackie
August 2024

Shetland 2024

12 days in Shetland Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 9, 2024
    Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 1 - Ferry from Aberdeen to Lerwick

    August 9, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    It's been such a drama getting to the point of arriving to the ferry.
    I was washing my bike in Tuesday and dad came out, so I laughed and pointed to him the flat bit on my rear tyre due to running up and down the a90, but I saw my flat bit was now bursting through to the next layer 😮. So dad ordered a tyre to be fitted Thurs morn. Wed night we took the rear wheel off, getting it ready. It took an hour to get a stuck bolt off! And once the brakes came free a part of a brake pad fell to the ground. Crap. So next morning I went to get the tyre fitted and thankfully Derek had a set of brake pads to fit my bike! Very lucky! I got home again and we started fitting everything. Once finished there was a bit left over! After some light hearted arguing about what this bit was or wasn't, turns out it was an important bit and I couldn't run the bike. So I took the bus to work. Friday came and we got the bike dismantled and put back together again, complete with spare part lol. Unfortunately my rear brake no longer works. We have no time to sort it as I leave for the ferry tonight at 5. So I'll be doing Shetland with just the front brake.
    I got to the ferry for 6 and they had me go straight on. I was munching steak pie at 6:05. I didn't realise, but this ferry is direct to Shetland, no Orkney stop. That explains the 7pm departure, not 5:30.
    I slept in a pod overnight. Well, I say slept, but I just can't sleep in these things. Not the most comfortable and the rooms really cold. My nose did that barometer thing where it gets cold.
    Side note, the ferry wasn't that full, with plenty room for more vehicles, so why did it show as fully booked to me when I was getting tickets? Daft.    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 2 - Lerwick and Scalloway

    August 10, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    The ferry arrived into Lerwick around 7:30am this morning, do once off I wasted some time until I could get a sassermaet roll and a Shetland book I wanted from the bookshop in Lerwick. I saw it on amazon then seen the seller was this shop, so thought I might as well wait and buy it from the shop!
    It was a very up and down morning, with some pretty heavy showers passing though and overall crappy weather.
    I wasted some time at the seal spot near Tesco in Lerwick, and still can't see any! Then I rode down to Leebitton, which is where the ferry to Mousa leaves from. This is another location seals are seen at, but no, not for me lol.
    I then went back up to Scalloway to grab some lunch, waste some time, then eventually head to the campsite. It's blooming windy!
    I got to the site and set up my tent. It's a nice site, but the grass is soaking. It's not proper grass either, it's wet looking stuff with weeds you normally see at a riverbank. They charged me £16 a night but I told them their website must have an error on it, because when you go over a week it drops to £13 a night. He eventually came back saying there's a weekly discount rate they forgot and I got a £20 refund. All good. I don't want them being diddled, but I also don't want diddled lol. The sites amenities room has lots in it, a bit on par with a hostel really. Nice and warm too.
    I hung around a little, had a 10 min nap, then once the weather cleared up (the sun made an appearance!) I decided to go for a wee run heading south. Well I didn't get far and the crappy weather came back lol. So I headed back to Lerwick to get a chippy and ate it at the campsite.
    Waste of a day really, but I blame the weather personally lol. This is why it's nice I have so many days... If one is wasted, it's OK.    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 3 - Sumburgh Head

    August 11, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    I really enjoyed today. I headed off around 10:30 with a wee visit into Lerwick for some petrol and lunch, then a stop into Scalloway because why not? It's cute lol. Well truth is a took a wrong turn so went with it 😄.
    I made my way south to Sumburgh Head and took the time to see Jarlshof. What an amazing historic site! It has different settlements spanning 4000 years. Similar to Scara Brae, in that a storm revealed some of it and excavation began, but way better than Scara Brae. They have a wheel house that's not that far off complete. So many great examples of their ancient ruins spanning from - 2500 to 1500s.
    Incredible.
    I then began the trip up to the lighthouse at the top of Sumburgh Head. I was expecting a nice cliff side wall up, but no, there was a rather tall dyke most of the way up. Sometimes I could barely see over it, and I kind of ruined the experience and wildlife watching. The views were lovely though and I did see a good dozen or so puffins.
    I somehow turnes a 2.5 mile walking into a 5.5 miler that took me a good 5 hours to complete! 😄. My walk finished off with some cute Shetland pony foals. Adorable little fluffy mohawk manes.
    I got back to the tent for some pasta and started conking out around 10:30pm! That's early for me 😄

    Random things today. The Sumburgh Hotel has a helipad and a helicopter landed dropping off guests or something! I saw it while on my walk.
    You have to drive over an airport runway to get to Sumburgh Head! It has crossing lights to stop you if a plane is due in. Never seen that before. A bit different!    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 4 - wind and rain

    August 12, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    The weather wasn't good today, with 49mph gusts, rain and thunder forecasted. So I spent most of the day in the kitchen area chatting lol.
    I ventured out a wee bit, with a visit to a nearby beach at Gulberwick to try get wave photos, but it was blowing through spitters and the waves weren't splashing big here. Saw lots of gabbers diving though. Then I headed into Lerwick and got some shopping at Tesco.

    In the morning I was chatting to a couple brothers who were walking everywhere... They were heading up north now and making their way south again. In the afternoon the young German couple finally started talking! And we all chatted for HOURS! It was great. Others came and went joining in. The English couple who had the 2 single tents joined in later. They used to live on Unst but are back down south now.. But they have pretty good knowledge of Shetland as a result.
    Chatted to Shaun who is originally Yorkshire but lives near John o Groats Now and is a ducati man. He knows Derek Blackie.

    I got a bit more creative with my late tea, having chorizo, chicken, peppers in a flavoured rice. It turned out well! Really easy to make too.

    There was a massive aurora tonight but we had mist and cloud, which is just typical. Perfect location too!    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 5 - West Burra

    August 13, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Today I grabbed a few bits for lunch in Scalloway and headed off to West Burra. This is such a cute area, with winding roads and lovely, colourful houses dotted around.
    We had mist last night, so this morning offered some lovely views of low lying mist as it slowly cleared away.
    I stopped to see Meal Beach. It was busier than last year when I visited. Is Shetland getting busier? There's a lot more tour coaches around too, because they keep blocking roads lol grrr! I chilled at Meal for a while, having my lunch.
    I then headed down to Minn Beach. Again, this was way busier than last year. I think there was 3 people on it last year, this time there was about 15 and another dozen out on kayaks / paddle boards lol.
    Its great Shetland is making money with tourism, but I'll miss quiet beaches. The same is for Harris and Lewis.... It's getting so busy!

    I headed back north, then south on the Mainland to St Ninians isle. I finally managed to walk the isle. Unfortunately it was with 50mph winds and everything was a bit blowy! I went right to start with, and once I reached the trig point at the furthest side, showery rain started lol. Rain in 50mph winds! Fun 😄.
    I decided to cut the back chunk out to shorted my trip. This meant problems navigating walls and fences, but I eventually did get back on the path again. Rainbows began appearing which was cool! I wish I was in a better position over the tombola when it was happening though, how cool would that have been!
    I walked back over the tombola, taking some photos of the sand blowing and waves battling the wind. It was pretty cool.
    Tourist coaches are getting annoying. Today 4 coaches were stopped at the end of the road from my campsite. That would be fine if it wasn't on a single track road with enough parking for 3, not 4! Lol. All so tourists could look at Shetland ponies.
    Tourist also spill out of the coaches that park anywhere, then they just stand about in the middle of the road. I'll pull up needing passed and they don't move. No recognition of their ignorance. It admittedly annoys me! It shouldn't, but it does 😄.
    Grrrrr! 😠    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 6 - Raewick and Dale walk

    August 14, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Today I wanted to explore the skeld / sandwick area, so I headed off to see Raewick beach first. I love this beach! It has unusual red sand, like I've never seen before. The contrast between the red sand and blue water is lovely!
    I chilled here a bit and ate my lunch.
    After I headed over to Dale, enjoying my bike ride on the way. Some of the roads have lovely wee twists in them and sheep scattered around... Some braver than others as I pass by.
    I reached my destination and began my walk. There was a lot of walking uphill involved! But the views were amazing. Some really interesting cliffs and thrashing water going on. I also walked through a field with some Shetland ponies and got to pet them for a few minutes.
    The return path up Sandness Hill wasn't very clear and I ended up having a bit of hunting for which direction to go. I finally got back to the bike though. I'm the first to admit I'm a total faff on walks like this as I stop loads and enjoy the views. The walk was just over 4 miles and took me nearly 4 hours! 😄. I ended up taking 4 dodgy steps into boggy water up to my ankles too! Ah well.    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 7 - ferries to Yell then Unst

    August 15, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    I didn't plan for a lot today as it was mostly about making my way to Unst.
    I had a chilled morningthen grabbed a sandwich for lunch in Scalloway and headed off to catch my first ferry.
    I arrived and tried to book the next ferry, but it needs to be done 30+ minutes prior and that passed as iw as on the website popping in info lol. So I wasn't booked on, but this didn't seem to matter as the ferry wasn't that busy. I paid £13 for a return ticket to Yell.
    This is a ferry where most people don't leave their vehicle as it's so short. You can't see anything, and the journey is so gentle, that if it wasn't for the moving clouds, you wouldn't know you were moving yet 😄.
    Once on Yell I headed down the south east road. I made a visit to the Old Haa Museum. It was a cool wee building but not a lot to see and learn in here to be honest. The only interesting this was the sunken ship called Bohus in 1926.
    I didn't have time to visit the White Lady, which is th ornament from the front of the ship... I just made my way to the next ferry.
    Again, not booked on. There was only 4 vehicles and no one came to take my fare. I'm wondering if this hop is part of the first ticket, even though it quoted mainland to Yell. Yell to Unst is an even shorter ferry lol.
    Once on Unst I made my way to Guardiesfauld hostel in Uyeasound. This is the hostel that Wullie recommended to me! It's a cute wee place and has a lovely sun room / conservatory at the front to enjoy the views. My room is for 2 people but I have it to myself, and it comes with a waterfront view! I'm very impressed for £20 a night.
    It was nearly teatime once I arrived, so I munched some food and chilled a little before heading out to see a couple things in the evening.
    I went to Muness Castle first. This is a cool wee castle! Free entry and some of it is roofed with a door entrance. It seems to have been a posh castle, shame the owner was a dickhead! Lol.
    Next I went to Easting / Sandwick beach. I didn't realise the historical interest here. It was different norse settlements, Pictish and viking history, iron age remains. It was kind of dark when I visited as the sun was nearly down, so I didn't get the white sands and blue water sparkling at me. Cool location though! I'll go back sometime and have a proper walk around it.    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 8 - Unst wind and rain

    August 16, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    This was my full day on Unst and I was going to spend a chunk of it doing the Hermaness walk, but the weather had other ideas.
    40+mph gusts and rain.
    Forecasts weren't agreeing with each other, and some though a few hours in the afternoon might be a bit dryer. So once the rain stopped around 1pm I got myself really and off I went. I rode up to Baltasound and stopped in at the petrol station to get food at their cafe. 2 bacon egg rolls and a hot chocolate! Very nice.
    While there I got chatting to a man from Canada called Jason who was on a big walking adventure. On this trip he was getting his mums ashes and taking them back to Canada, but previously he's been on other adventures. He sold his house and most of his possessions and basically lives a wanderer lifestyle. Isn't that amazing! Good on him.
    I grabbed a few bits from the shop bt once I left the cafe / shop it was battering down again. So I admitted defeat and headed back to the hostel.
    It didn't turn out boring though. I went down to the conservatory where 2 folk were chatting and joined in. Other folk came and went but we spent a good 7+ hours chatting away about our lives and adventures. Andrew from yorkshire, Michael from Glasgow, Joe from Elgin. Those 3 were all on bicycles. Also Andrea and his friend who were French and the couple I met in Scalloway campsite popped in at one point too.
    It was such a good afternoon. Just goes to show you that we humans do best in groups and being sociable. We are not solitary creatures.    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 9 - Unst (Hermaness)

    August 17, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Today was a better day, though there was still some wind gusting over 30mph.
    I packed up and headed away. Joe and Michael were still around so I said my goodbyes to them first. I got myself a bacon and egg roll from Final Stop, which is also Scotland's most northerly petrol station. They do nice rolls! Then I headed up to Hermaness.
    When I arrived there was some rain and I covered my bike up, realising I wasn't getting the nicer day I hoped for.
    The start of the walk had toilets, which was great!
    I began my walk, spotting Jason the Canadians backpack at the first gate. The walk began fine, nothing steep or challenging all the way to the split in the paths. The left route to the gannet colony wasn't very far to go and I had great views of the gannets. I sat there a wee bit enjoying them, but really getting a strong wind in the face, which made me a little unstable at times. Very hard to hold the camera steady! My eyes and nose were both leaking!    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 10 - Braewick

    August 18, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Today I leave Scalloway campsite and head north to a wigwam at Braewick.
    I made sure to properly clean and dry the tent, separating the inner tent from the fly. The wind has broken one of my poles, which must have happened while I was on Unst. Glad I have plenty spare poles now with 2 tents.
    I headed up and landed at Braewick the back of 1. I mentioned I had a wigwam booked but didn't know checking in time, but I was going to have lunch here anyway. She hadn't cleaned the red wigwam which I booked and I got put into the yellow one again. Not what I wanted as the yellow one is the furthest over and I have all the stones to walk over, plus the view of the Drongs has a house spoiling it lol. I was also hoping the seats weren't such a mess in the red one, but I peaked in and they are... All ripped.
    She let me have the key early though, which was nice. So I settled in and later that afternoon I headed out for a wee run to see Dore Holm. What a cool rock formation it is! It gets called the drinking horse I think. The waves were crashing too, so I was trying to get some cool action shots.
    I got rained on a couple times though and eventually gave in and headed back to the wigwam. When putting the cover on the bike the Andre appeared! Him and Matthiew are staying in the red wigwam lol. Another campervan couple o was chatting too at Scalloway were also staying. Lots of yapping! My tea ended up being like 22:30 as we were all stood in the building chatting. There was a 70 yearold solo female traveller called Jane who was chatting too.

    My 14-42 olympus lens has started acting up with a message about checking the lens. It feels like a connection issue but I try cleaning the points and nothing helps. Not sure! Thankfully it was a cheapish lens.    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 11 - rainy in Braewick

    August 19, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    This was a wasted day as I sat in the wigwam most of it, hiding from the rain.

    It dried up a bit around 5pm, so I popped to the co-op in Brae, then to Frankie's chip shop... Which is nice, but I don't think is that superior to warrant all the raving about it.

    I had a video call with the boys later that night which was a nice catch up.    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 12 - Roe Beach

    August 20, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    The rain from last night began to clear after 10am, and it turned into a nice day.
    I wasn't sure what to do today, so ended up trying to navigate the view from the wigwams. I headed down the path at the back of the campsite but once I reached the beach I couldn't get over a river the splits the beach in 2. All the rain recently has meant everything is a bit boggy and rivers are running full.
    So I had to double back to the campsite again. I had a good look at my phone to find a spot that would get me access to this area, and after another failed attempt, I finally found a pull in bit with access.
    The walk was fine. I had 4 or 5 fences to climb, but nothing bad. The cliff views were great! Roe Sand is a stunning beach too, with very red sand. I have no idea if you can get down to it or not. I didn't try. I walked out to the far point which looks onto Hillwick and ended up coming back the same way I came in. I walked 4 or 5 miles, which is more than I'd have expected. Probably all my faffing!

    I headed back to the wigwam and felt lethargic unfortunately. Struggling to muster energy to head out again after tea.    Read more

  • Gayle BlackieTravelerShetland 2024

    Day 13 - last day and ferry

    August 21, 2024 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    It was my last few hours on Shetland before the ferry at 5:30.
    I got myself packed and had a lovely breakfast at Braewick Café. The dad remembered me from last year which was nice. He told me to put something under my feet / calves to make the pods more comfortable... Nice tip! Lol.
    I got a woman going again today with my battery jumpstart. She was French and had a converted kangoo, but had clearly run her battery down. We got her bonnet open and plug it in... It started no bother. I was very happy! Actually pretty chuffed lol.
    I told her to not turn the car off if stopping to take a photo... And that it needs a good run to bring the battery back up. She headed left out of the campsite though, which takes you to dead ends lol, so I suspect she'll be needing another jump soon!
    I headed off, taking a quick run up to North Roe area, as I haven't been up there before. It's pretty hilly! It has Ronas Hill, shetlands tallest. Then I headed down to Brae for petrol and eventually on to Lerwick. I faffed a bit then went to the ferry. They were asking bikes to check in between 2 and 2:30. I didn't know why so wondered if it was because of the weather... But no, turns out there's a hike rally on in Orkney and 20 bikes were booked on for Kirkwall. That wasn't me. So I headed off for a wee run to West Burra and grabbed a cheesecake pudding from Scalloway Meat Co, before going back to the ferry again and finally checking in. The lad warned me it'd be a bit of a rough crossing... WONDERFUL lol.    Read more

    Trip end
    August 14, 2024
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