Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland
Today is our last day in the UK and we have landed in Lerwick on Mainland Island, the largest of the Shetland Islands. It as at the same latitude is the southern most part of Greenland or Oslo, Norway. Shetland Islands is an archipelago lying between Orkney, where we were yesterday, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about 50 miles to the northeast of Orkney, 110 miles from mainland Scotland and 140 miles west of Norway. They form part of the border between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. Their total area is 566 square miles, and 2019 the population was just less than 23,000.
The islands comprise the Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament. The local authority, the Shetland Islands Council, is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The islands' administrative centre, largest settlement and only burgh is Lerwick, which has been the capital of Shetland since 1708, before which time the capital was Scalloway.
The archipelago has an oceanic climate, complex geology, rugged coastline, and many low, rolling hills. The largest island, known as "the Mainland", has an area of 373 sq mi (967 km2), and is the fifth-largest island in the British Isles. It is one of 16 inhabited islands in Shetland.
People have lived on the islands since the Mesolithic period. The islands were taken over by Scotland in the same dowry dispute as the Orkney Islands. The discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s significantly boosted Shetland's economy, employment and public-sector revenues. Fishing has always been an important part of the islands' economy, and now tourism is also.
The guide was fairly instant that they were Nordic not Scottish, and most definitely not English. Several time she repeated that the local way of life reflects their Norse heritage. One example, a photo of which she passed around, was the Up Helly Aa fire festival. She was quick to point out that their musical tradition, especially the traditional fiddle style was more Norse than Scottish. Most all place names in the islands have Norse origin. The islands have produced a variety of prose writers and poets, who have often written in the distinctive Shetland dialect of the Scots language.
Many areas on the islands have been set aside to protect the local fauna and flora, including a number of important seabird nesting sites. She also pointed out the furrows on the hillside where, in the past, people dug peat as fuel, a precipice that id now strongly discouraged. The Shetland pony and Shetland Sheepdog are two well-known Shetland animal breeds. Other animals with local breeds include the Shetland sheep, cow, goose, and duck. The Shetland pig, or grice, has been extinct since about 1930.
The islands' motto, which appears on the Council's coat of arms, is "Með lögum skal land byggja" ("By law shall the land be built"). The phrase is of Old Norse origin, is mentioned in Njáls saga, and was likely borrowed from provincial Norwegian laws such as the Frostathing Law. So many she is right.
The excursion is mainly a motor coach ride around the island to give us a feel for the people, culture and lifestyle. Glad to be on the motor coach, even though as the guide pointed out it is a beautiful day in the Shetland Islands, because it isn’t quite 60 this morning. Our first stop was on the side of the road looking out at the North Sea above the town of Sandsayre. Our attention was directed to the near by island of Mousa and the Broch of Mousa.
Broch of Mousa or Mousa Broch is a preserved Iron Age broch or round tower. It is the tallest broch still standing and amongst the best-preserved prehistoric buildings in Europe. It is thought to have been constructed c. 300 BC and is one of more than 500 brochs built in Scotland. The site is managed by Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument. It is accessible only by boat. It stands on the flat rock surface of a low promontory near the shore overlooking Mousa Sound.
As I stood on the windswept hill overlooking the Mousa Sound, I strained my eyes to see the broch. Maybe …. It seems everyone else on the motor coach could see it. I think not, we were told to look and we did and not wanting to disappoint the guide we said yes. The photo, taken at 15x magnification didn’t reveal the broch clearly. It did reveal an island devoid of pretty much anything. Looked like a flat rock out in the sound.
The motor coach turned south and then west across the island towards St. Ninian’s beach and continued south towards the Bay of Scousburgh and Rewick Beach on the western side of the island. The Rerwick beach access is difficult and because of this seals feel safe to haul out on the sand, sometimes in large numbers. This morning there were six or seven seals to be spotted.
The guide pointed to Colsay a small island in the bay. Small, maybe 650 yards long, and rising out of the sea the highest point is maybe 150 feet. She also said there were the remains of a cairn at the highest point. Colsay is used for summer grazing of sheep. The sheep are transported by small boats from Spiggie beach to the only landing place at the far side of Colsay, called the “Owsin Gaet”. The land on Colsay is fertile and green (farmland is at a premium in Shetland). Again, like the broch, the cairn wasn’t visible, although I think I heard several people say “oh I see it.” Just so you know, a cairn is a pile of stones that is used as a boundary marker, a memorial, or a burial site. Cairns are usually conical in shape and were often erected on high ground. Burial cairns date primarily from the Neolithic Period and the Early Bronze Age. Yes, like they could see a ruins of a cairn a mile off the coast.
Our next stop was at Jarlshof. Jarlshof lies near the southern tip of the Shetland Mainland, close to the settlements of Sumburgh and Grutness and to the south end of Sumburgh Airport. Now and interesting point. The road, due to a lack of space, actually crosses the runway of the airport. Yes, there are gates like they used to have at railway crossings to close the road so an airplane could land. Fortunately no planes were in the glide path as we crossed.
Jarlshof is the best-known prehistoric archaeological site. It is located near the town of Sumburgh and has been described as "one of the most remarkable archaeological sites ever excavated in the British Isles". It contains remains of buildings dating from 2500 BC up to the 17th century AD.
The Bronze Age settlers left evidence of several small oval houses with thick stone walls and various artifacts including a decorated bone object. The Iron Age ruins include several different types of structures, including a broch and a defensive wall around the site. The Pictish period provides various works of art including a painted pebble and a symbol stone. The Viking Age ruins make up the largest such site visible anywhere in Britain and include a longhouse; excavations provided numerous tools and a detailed insight into life in Shetland at this time. The most visible structures on the site are the walls of the Scottish period fortified manor house, which inspired the name "Jarlshof" that first appears in an 1821 novel by Walter Scott. In 2012 "Zenith of Iron Age Shetland" including Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof was added to the UK's tentative list of proposed World Heritage Sites. They are definitely cool enough to included in World Heritage sites!
After our visit to Jarlshof we started back up the east coast of the Mainland towards Lerwick. We stopped in a very small village called Hoswick. They had a small visitor center that offered restrooms, coffee and locally crafted artisanal art and knitwear. There were two small shops, a couple houses, and an artesian jewelry shop (Karlis Anderson). Interesting that the guide pointed out that there is more silver used to make jewelry in the Shetlands Islands than anywhere else in Europe.
I walked down to the beach just a little north of the village. There was a lovely feeling about the area, but also an isolation and loneliness. It is certainly beautiful and peaceful. Just not sure how one survives living here all year.
We made our way back to the ship just in time to board and get underway for Norway. Dinner was in the Compass Rose. There was a Seven Seas member only reception in the theater at 6. There were maybe 50 people there. Now everyone on board is a Seven Seas member. You are as soon as you board your first voyage with Regent. On the World Cruise not everyone would show up but probably more than 10% that showed up here.
Dinner was extremely slow. I made the mistake of ordering the Pad Thai. What was I thinking. The dinning is the same over all of the ships. They didn’t use fettuccine noodles this time, they were rice noodles. There was just no flavor. I chose to eat the crackers and cheese dessert plate. The other food looked like it had sat under the lights in the kitchen for a while before being brought out. Sad.
Tomorrow Norway, county 66 for me. 66 out of 196 = .33846. Ok, I am now officially 1/3 of the way through the list. Mary is working on 53, so she is now .27179 or more than a quarter of the way on the list. Feeling good.
Buonanotte e ciao, Enrico & Maria
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