Beautiful scenery, interesting history but slow progress southwards

cliffs of Esha Ness, Shetland

We now have spent almost two weeks in Shetland and Orkney. Beth, our friend, joined us in Lerwick as our excellent tour guide. We explored these remote and fascinating islands without having a strong feeling of being back in the UK. Having spent 2 years in Norway, it was the perfect way to appreciate just how deep the Norse connection in these most northern of the British Isles and their Viking past still is. We were glad that we arrived in Shetland and Orkney after having been in Norway!

Mousa Broch (~900 AD), Shetland

Jarlshof settlement, Shetland

One of the most memorable impressions were the dramatic cliffs and moor-covered hills. Walking around the early settlements excavated around Jarlshof, dating from the Bronze Age through to about 1600 with wheelouses, Viking longhouses and a broch made us feel walking back in time amongst Neolithic, Pictic, Viking and Medieval remains. There are in one single place almost like in a heap close to the magnificent Sumburgh Head, a paradise for birdwatchers with a number of nesting seabirds and puffins. You could wander through the remains and imagine…The Broch (circular stone tower built around the beginning of the Christian era, having an inner and an outer wall) on Musa Island was also very impressive.

For me, one of the most exciting moments was seeing puffins on the cliffs! When we were in Norway, we saw the nesting sites from afar. We only saw them as small dots in the sky. Here, they were so close that you could almost touch them!

We abandoned our plan to sail to Fair Isle on our way to Kirkwall due to the persistent southwesterly wind. We didn’t want to get caught on Fair Isle in strong adverse wind because Beth had a plane to catch on the 6^th of July. We still wanted to see many more Neolithic sites on Orkney, including the Ring of Brodgar.

a puffin with its catch

We sailed from Lerwick to Sumburgh and anchored at Grutness Voe (59º 52’.4N 01º 16’.5W) on the 1^st of July, a stone throw from Jarlshof. Unfortunately for us, it was wind against the tide and the sea was quite choppy. Sailing in a southerly direction, we could not sail against the wind at all. We left the anchorage in the morning in time to catch the favourable tide and avoid the worst of the ‘roost’ (strong tidal stream) off the southern tip of Sumburgh Head. There was not much wind, yet the waves around Sumburgh Head were still quite impressive.

We set sails for a while as soon as a gentle breeze from the southwest started to blow. It was a very pleasant, gentle sail, but the course was unfortunately taking us further away from our destination. Anyway, the wind dropped after an hour or so and we had to continue towards Kirkwall under engine.

Sunsets so far north at sea are often spectacular this time of the year. They linger on for at least two hours. It was a majestic display of ever changing cloud formations illuminated by the dwindling sun. The sky still had a tinge of pink when we arrived in Kirkwall (58º 59’.4N 02º 57’.8W) at 02:00. By the time we had a ‘dram’ of whisky and something to eat, it was already getting light. (2/3.7.16). Not wanting to disturb any boats in the marina, we anchored outside the harbour wall and waited until the morning to get in.

Orkney is very different from Shetland. The low-lying islands appear to be so lush and green after the austere landscape further north. It looks much more prosperous because of its extensive agriculture.

the Ring of Brodgar, Orkney

Since arriving back to Britain, we have been ‘glued’ to the radio. Normally we don’t follow the news very closely when we are on Easy Rider. But with the drama unfolding and the turmoil surrounding politics and its predominant sense of uncertainty has overshadowed our stay here.

The weather forecast is still not brilliant. The southwesterly wind seems to dominate the next week or so. We will have to face the wind over tide to get to Inverness and then across the Caledonian Canal to be sure to be in Fort William in time to greet Christian, Sydney and Andy who will join us from San Francisco to sail down the southwest coast of Scotland to Bangor and Dublin ten days from now.

approaching midnight at sea