Shetland move and experiences

We are now onto our 13th couple who are due to look round our house tomorrow evening.We never expect very much from the younger couples as they always want larger gardens. I may have said before we have a very tiny garden which would possibly suit someone older or who has a very busy life.

Its hard to think about our move to Shetland sometimes especially when you cannot pin a date down. As time goes on it moves our move further down into the winter months as you can nearly always expect around a 3 month gap from agreeing to sell to actually moving. You have to get on with life and plan ahead, I have even got talks booked by the RSPB into next year so i cannot afford to turn down any work. If the moves comes sooner, then things will have to change quickly. We  have even stopped looking at houses for sale in Shetland as we may fall in love with one that we have no hope of getting.

                                                                               Otters - Fetlar is a great place to see them
You have to be realistic, we cannot afford to rent our house as some people have suggested as we will have to use some money from the house sale to move and store our belongings, we estimate over £10,000 in total to actually cover the move.  Not cheap but we are fully committed to going to Shetland.

In the meantime I can live the dream through the illustrated talks I will be giving on Shetland, I have several booked for the rest of the year and people are always interested in hearing about the history and natural history of the islands.

On Sunday night  BBC Countryfile covered the life on Fetlar, coverage from the TV has been very good over these past few years. Fetlar is always a place we love to visit, its not always clear and sunny but the wildlife never fails to impress with the Red necked Phalaropes and red throated Divers on the Lock of Funzie and the numerous waders.

For us, talking to Bobby Tullock and Bill Oddie a number of years ago down at the hide at the Mires of Funzie, just highlight again how much people enjoy the natural world and all that goes into it. Shetland is blessed with an abundance of wildlife, superb countryside, a closeness to the sea we are looking forward to and a people with an interest in what happens to the wildlife

We got talking to a couple of people who had moved to Fetlar, they said it was the best thing they had done. They too had to move into rented accommodation for a year and had just bought a house in the middle of the island, where most of the 80 + people live. Living in a small community you have to get involved and that's our plan too