The Furthest North

Wednesday 31st May

We sleep well in the high level bed at the Peerie Nuek which stays warm all night without the need to fire up the log stove. The wind has eased considerably since yesterday and the forecast is for it to be dry all day so we gear ourselves up for a walk round the Hermaness National Nature Reserve. This requires a 3 mile drive to the car park at the entrance to the reserve.

The car park is quite busy and there are plenty of people setting off up the path which climbs quite steeply up to an area of tussocky moorland. The sound of skylark songs fills the air. The terrain changes to boggy peat but the management have seen fit to install a Filcris boardwalk with steps so our feet stay dry.

For those unfamiliar with Filcris it is a product manufactured from recycled plastic and produced as planks, posts and spars. It doesn't rot, requires no maintenance and can be sawn and drilled just like wood. Enough with the commercials. We climb to a boggy plateau, still accompanied by singing skylarks, but we also hear the distinctive drumming noise of snipe flying overhead. 

A mile or so brings us to the cliff edge where we are confronted with the North Atlantic crashing in at the base of the cliffs 500 feet below where we stand. The breeze has stepped up to fresh but it is still dry as we turn south to follow the Saito trail marked by blue dots on the map at the top of the post. This gives us views of gannets and fulmars soaring on the air currents in front of the cliff as well as the occasional puffin perched right at the edge. 

We round a corner to find cliffs full of gannets with their distinctive odour of guano. Gannets were early victims of avian flu so it is cheering to see them in good numbers. Higher up the cliffs there are fulmars nesting on tiny rock shelves while the puffins nest in burrows dug into the sandy soil at the very top. 

Shetland sheep come in every colour from off white to muddy brown and many of them sport luxuriant mutton chop whiskers. Today we met the black sheep of the family. 

As we retrace our steps to Toolie we cut a corner and get a great view of a Dunlin, a small wader that quite likes the peat bogs. From Toolie we walk north along the coast towards Muggle Flugga. All the birds that we hoped to see are here. Gannets, Puffins, Bonxies (Great Skuas), Black Backed Gulls and even a couple of the smaller Arctic Skuas. But the puffins steal the show.

At the Clingra Stack viewpoint we gaze upon Muckle Flugga, home to the most northerly light house in the UK. Until 1995 there were resident lighthouse keepers but now the light is operated remotely.

From here the path turns inland and climbs up steeply to the highest point of the Hermaness peninsula. We start to notice a lot of Bonxies, some apparently nesting and others flying circuits, presumably looking for food. A source suggests that Hermaness hosts the third largest colony of Great Skuas in the world. Who are we to argue. Only 52 weeks ago we were thrilled to spot our very first one from the ferry as we sailed into Lerwick for the first time. 

Having reached the summit we are back on the Filcris boardwalk which stretches out in front. The lochans to either side apparently host Red Throated Divers and we manage to spot one in the extreme distance. We are only able to confirm this when we have chance to load the photo onto D's tablet and get a good look at the distinctive shape of the swimming bird.

By the time we complete our seven mile circuit, listed as strenuous, R is in need of fortification. On the way back towards Haroldswick we see a group of birds on the edge of a fresh water loch, just a few hundred yards inland. At first we think that they are geese but then realise that it is a group of about three dozen Bonxies.

A huge pot of tea and the world's largest scone provide suitable fortification. As we gaze out of the window at Victoria's Vintage Tea Room we see a Viking longship on the far side of the bay. This we have to visit.

According to an information board this replica was built in the 1990s and in 2000 a group of enthusiasts set sail from Sweden to prove that they could get to America in her. They got as far as Unst and gave up. There is also a replica Viking longhouse which is quite impressive.

We move on to do a bit of replenishment at the quaintly named furthest North supermarket.

Back at the Peerie Nuek R lays down to recover and D starts to sort through the hundreds of photos that he took today. D is also appointed duty chef and, under supervision, produces tonight's supper, prawns and fried potatoes. Delicious.