You can also find out more about the following:t takes us 38 hours – two trains, a tube, the Caledonian Sleeper, a day in Aberdeen, a hire car and the NorthLink ferry – to reach Shetland from our home in Oxfordshire, and yet the immortal words “Are we there yet?” We don’t utter the immortal words “Are we there yet?” As the ferry docks in Lerwick the kids, Lydia (11), and Alex (8), are unusually quiet. They take in the sights: the town, huddled in a low-lying hill, the shimmering water in the morning sunlight, and the islands that stretch as far as the eyes can see.
We will be spending a whole week on the archipelago. First, we’ll travel around Mainland (the main island), and then head north to the lesser populated islands, Yell and Unst. These are connected by regular ferries. It is the ideal location for a holiday with your family: it takes only 80 minutes to travel from the southern tip to the northern tip of Mainland. You can also enjoy the thrill of a boat or a ferry ride every day.
We base ourselves on the Mainland Hayhoull B&B. Mary, the owner makes us feel part of her family, and prepares delicious meals that my picky son enjoys. After waking up to the stunning views of St Ninian’s Isle we head to Lerwick to join a boat ride with Shetland Seabird Tours. Skipper Phil says we will be sailing to Noss Island to see the Gannet colony. Alex stares at me wide-eyed. “They dive like rockets!” He whispers with excitement.
We first see eiders paddling outside the harbour and fulmars nestled in pairs on the cliffs. The latter, Phil tells us, “have a nasty defence mechanism against birds of prey – they vomit on them and ruin their flight feathers”. The children are both delighted and horrified at the same moment. There are also sentry-like shags in a cave and black guillemots, as well as a puffin bobbing along the waves.
It is the gannets who steal the show. The gannets are visible as we approach Noss. They can be identified by their yellow feathers and pointed white beaks. As the birds (about 600–700 according to Phil’s estimate) circle and call above us, Phil submerges a long metal tube in the water; he throws a mackerel down it and within seconds the first gannets are folding their wings back and in and shaping themselves into bird torpedoes, before plunging bullet-like into the deep blue water. This is an amazing sight. For the next 15 mins, I only hear “Wow!” from either child.
If there is one word to describe our trip to Shetland it would be “wow”. At Jarlshof prehistoric and Norse settlementThe kids were enthralled by the ruins of the buildings and pointed out things to each other. I thought it would be a 10 minute visit, but we ended up spending an hour.
Only a few miles away is Sumburgh Head lighthouseThe first puffins of the season have just arrived at. We hear a recording of a lighthouse foghorn so loud, the kids cover up their ears. We climb the tower of the foghorn to view the sea and land.
Then, you can also look at another boat trip Take a trip to the tiny, uninhabited island MousaRSPB, a nature reserve. The south-western shore of the island is home to a massive broch, an iron-age round tower. It’s currently closed but we peek through the gate at its layered stone interior to imagine what people and animals would have lived in it. We only have three hours to spend on Mousa. We wander the two mile path around it in a leisurely manner, watching seals play at East Pool and looking for nesting fulmars. Alex tells me to “stay away from them”. “You don’t want to get sick on.”
Back on land, we walk the short distance from our B&B to St Ninian’s Isle, reached via the UK’s largest active tombolo (a sand bar). While the children play, my husband & I cross to the island. From the top of the hill, we can clearly see both the children and the small islands and reefs (skerries) that are scattered along the island’s southern side.
Only a few miles away is West Lynne Cecil Tait, a multi-talented man, shows us his croft and Bess the sheepdog. Bess is convinced we also need to learn how to herd. Tait is a woodworker and furniture maker who runs courses in woodworking and also produces wool. He translated his native Shetland dialect to English. I watch them digest it. Alex replies, “Wow, mum, I didn’t realize English wasn’t the main language of everyone here.”
Unst is the northernmost island of the archipelago. It involves two ferry rides (Mainland from Yell to Unst, and Yell from Mainland), and driving through Mainland. The birds and dramatic coastline are the main reasons people visit. Hermaness national nature reserve, on the northern tip of the island, but we decide against a three-and-a-half-hour walk battling the wind (and the children). Catriona Waddington is the chairperson for the South Coast of the island. Wild Skies ShetlandThe island has been explored interactively with “sky stops”.
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We walk a mile on the blue-tinted beaches of Easting and then over the rocky shoreline, to Framgord. Catriona tells us that a Norse tale or fiddle tune “always make people waltz” can be heard at a listening post. They soon do just that. That night, they sleep – much to their excitement – in traditional alcove beds at the elegant Belmont House.
Brydon Thomason from Brydon Thomason Tours took us on a two-hour otter-watching excursion in Yell, before we continued our journey back to Mainland. Shetland Nature. The kids are armed with binoculars as they happily tramp for miles. They stop at every Brydon’s request to join him and scan the shore and waters.
It’s not about the distance or the cold. We have so much more to learn about them, including how we need to walk in the opposite direction to ensure they don’t smell us. And how to identify the toilets. Brydon has been otter–spotting since he was Alex’s age. He tells us, “I was thrilled by the thrill of finding them.” “It is like being a natural detective.”
They are also happy to be detectives. When the call to “Get down!” comes, they are ready. They are ready to drop on their backs, as Brydon instructs us to crawl onto the beach. In the water is a slick dark curve.
Brydon has his camera ready so that the children can capture the moment the otter arrives on the shore. She is not alone when she arrives; her two cubs are with her and they are busy destroying an octopus that she has captured. Through Brydon’s binoculars, we watch in silence, only broken by a few ecstatic wows. Brydon smiles, saying “This why I do this.” “For such reactions.”
I think that these are the only responses you can have in Shetland.
The trip was organized by visitscotland.com You can also find out more about the following: shetland.org. Transportation to Scotland was provided Caledonian SleeperTransport from Shetland to. NorthLink Ferries. It is best to view most seabirds from May through August. However, puffins are more active in the fall. head back out to sea in August
