Radinunst

Tuesday 30th May. The alarm goes at 0730 and getting up is quite difficult, although necessary as we have boats to catch. It is another overcast and breezy day with a forecast high of 12°C. We didn't come for the weather. We fill up with diesel which is not too expensive at 140.9p per litre. What is a surprise is that petrol is five pence a litre more . Our route takes us north along the main road from Lerwick, then north east to the ferry terminal at Toft. Here we discover the benefits of pre-booking as we take up access in a priority boarding lane.  We have a few minutes to wait until we are invited to board but are kept entertained by Arctic Terns fishing in the harbour beside us. These birds are known as Tirricks in the local dialect, which is a passable rendition of the noise that they make. The crossing takes around 20 minutes and delivers us to Ulsta, at the southern end of the island of Yell. The boat is big enough to have a passenger lou...

Monday 29th May into Tuesday 30th . We really enjoyed our trip to Mousa last Friday and decided to sign up for the night trip to see Storm Petrels, small birds that feed 300 km out to sea to avoid predators. Part of their defence is to delay returning to shore until last light. They roost in piles of stones, rocky beaches, dry stone walls and most of all in the stonework of Mousa Broch. Watching the Petrels return to Mousa is considered one of the truly extraordinary sights on Shetland. We left Lerwick in almost broad daylight at 21.30 and drove south to the landing stage for the Mousa boat. There are plenty of people already waiting and Darren (who we mistakenly called Brendan on Friday) is preparing the boat. Today he is definitely the mate as his dad, Rodney, is running the show. After the obligatory safety brief we set out across the Sound of Mousa. It is overcast but not too breezy and the sea is calm. Departure is at 22.30 prompt and our party is around th...

Monday 29th May At 06.15 it is bright and sunny. By breakfast time it looks like this out of our penthouse. This is our last day in Lerwick before we head north, leaving the fleshpots behind. We put together a catering plan and then head to Tesco for supplies. In the entrance is a display of water shoes which we have neglected to pack and we treat ourselves. These fashionable accessories will be very handy if the opportunity to go plodging arises in the next few days. After lunch the drizzle just about relents and we walk down to Commercial Street, the bustling retail hub of the town. We browse a bit and call in at the Tourist Office where we find a couple of information leaflets about Unst, the most northerly island, where we are going tomorrow. We stop for a coffee in a cafe that offers Unicorn Poo ice cream. It looks disgusting. There seems to be some kind of fixation with edible poo around here as many of the shops stock this. ...

Sunday 28th May We wake up to sunny skies and much less breeze than yesterday. Today's plan is to visit a few places on the west coast of the South Mainland. After breakfast we prepare a picnic and set out, taking the main road south out of Lerwick. As we draw level with Mousa we see quite a large cruise ship in the sound.  The Broch will be busy this morning. Our first target is the Loch of Spiggie where there is an RSPB hide looking out over a couple of rafts that have been moored in the Loch to encourage Arctic Terns to breed. The rafts deter predators such as rats from stealing the eggs. There is no action in the immediate vicinity of the hide but when we move on to the nearby Bay of Scousburgh we can see Terns flying over the water. On the far side of the bay we just make out seals sunbathing on the sand. Our route takes us along the cliffs above and gives the opportunity for a photo. Next up is the tombolo that connects St Ninian's Isle with the ma...

Saturday 27th May We sleep quite well, only occasionally disturbed by the gale blowing outside. Just after six am some philistine lets the front door that is just by our room slam and the day begins. Wordle, World, Globle and Quordle all go reasonably well. Nigel provides a reasonable breakfast buffet with enough slack to cater for lunch as well. Épater la bourgeoisie!  We are on the road south by 09.00 with Sumburgh Head, the most southerly point on the island, our destination. The weather forecast is not great for today and the clearly visible low cloud and distant rain flurries reinforce the BBC's line on this. We do get the opportunity to step out into the howling wind for this year's first Shetland Pony shot. At Sumburgh the rain is holding off but the wind is fierce, making it hard work to open the car doors. Looking back northwards suggests that precipitation is imminent but we enjoy breezy, almost temperate dryness as we walk up to the lighthous...

Friday 26th May The onboard wi-fi was underwhelming but otherwise our crossing went without problems. At some point in the night the ship called in at Kirkwall on Orkney but we both slept through. The sea got a little lumpy but it had all calmed down by breakfast time when we were sailing up the east side of Shetland's Mainland. The MV Hjaltland arrived on schedule at 07.30 and after only a few minutes wait we were off the ferry. The plan for today lacks detail but basically involves visiting Scalloway, once the principal town of the Shetlands. We visited on our trip last year and found everything closed, which we thought a bit odd for a Saturday. One might think that Friday would be a safe bet but, to be on the safe side, we decided to give them chance to get out of bed. We took a scenic route out of Lerwick and killed an hour driving. When we arrived in Scalloway there were some signs of life and the Cornerstone Cafe was open. Time for second breakfast. Fo...

Thursday 25th May. We're on our travels again. This time a ten day trip to the very North of the British Isles. We travelling by car and ferries so no carefully posed luggage shot for this blog. First stop on the drive north is the bakery in Forfar where we buy Forfar Bridies for our lunch. We opt for the flaky pastry variant rather than shortcrust.  Then it is about five miles to the Scottish Wildlife Trust nature reserve at Balgevies Loch. This is one of our favourite spots with a hide offering great views of an osprey's nest. There is also a 5km circular walk around the loch which we plan to do this morning. In the past we have had some great sightings on this circuit. This year the pickings are a bit slimmer but we did at least see a few of these. The path follows a disused railway line along the north side of the loch and this will be the total railway content of this blog.  Our destination is well beyond the pale as far as rail is concerned. ...