Our journey to Shetland began on Sunday 9 May at 10 am, when we set off from Knox by minibus bound for Aberdeen.  It took us about three to four hours to get to the ferry in Aberdeen.  The journey from Aberdeen to Lerwick, via Kirkwall in Orkney,  took us fourteen hours, but the ferry provided enough entertainment to satisfy everyone.  This included a cinema, a bar area, restaurants, an arcade and a deck that gets very windy!

Once in Lerwick we had a short wander in the fresh air.  Strangely enough the weather was constantly shifting but we still got to see some seals.  Before we headed to our hostel, we went to the Shetland Museum that contained exhibits about the history of Shetland and its inhabitants.  After spending some time in the museum, we headed to our hostel.  The accommodation was moderately comfortable with plenty of space to muck about in.  For the rest of the day, we tried to play rounders on the beach but the tide was too high so we skipped stones on the water for a while.

On Tuesday we went to the shopping area of Lerwick to purchase souvenirs.  The shops there were decent and had a colourful variety of products to buy.  In the afternoon we went to see Puffins at Sumburgh Head followed by a visit to a 18th Century Croft House and Watermill.  The lichens growing on the walls around Sumburgh Head were not yellow and powdery as in Haddington, but light green and bushy.  Before heading back to the hostel, we had a quick game of rounders and cricket on the beach.  If I hadn’t known where I was, I would have said that the beach was in a tropical region.

On Wednesday we headed for Unst, the most northerly inhabited island in the United Kingdom.  This involved two short ferry crossings from the mainland of Shetland.  Once there, we walked through the Hermaness nature reserve to see Muckle Flugga and its stack.  This really is as far North as the United Kingdom goes.  Whilst on the nature reserve we saw Bonxies – or Great Skuas – huge brown birds that swoop and shriek at visitors.

On the final day we went to another museum in Lerwick and to do some last minute shopping before setting off home.  The journey on the ferry was only twelve hours as it went straight from Lerwick to Aberdeen.  Arriving in Aberdeen at 7 am we set off for Haddington.

An enjoyable trip had by all.

William MacIntosh-Smith and Mr Jappy