Russians come for a look at Shetland

Shetland is the most northerly point in the UK and has always been a strategic place for any military activity, During WW2 (see ww2preserved.blogspot.co.uk) Shetland was invaded by over 20,000 British servicemen. On Unst, a new radar site was built and became operational recently and its already picked up a number of Russian planes

The latest threat came yesterday when 6 Russian Bombers set off flying over Scandinavia and down the coast of Scotland. Both British and French fighters intercepted the planes ,  three TU-160 supersonic bombers and three TU-95 propeller driven bombers. This is the norm now, the Russians testing the UK defences on a regular basis.

The Drongs

Hillswick

Lots of interesting rock features at Hillswick

While Shetland missed the worst of Storm Ali it did get up the 75mph in places with a roof ripped off at Sellaness and a flying trampoline caught up in pylons in Lerwick

The rain has been falling the last few days and the reservoir at Sandy Loch, Lerwick now filling up after a warning a few days before to be careful using water. Shetland had its driest summer since 1984

It was good to get out and see a different view of the Drongs, just a 40 min walk from Hillswick

While everything looked great in the sun news came out this week that Shetland had been hit by at least two Tsunamis in the last 10,000 years

The 9th Shetland Wool week starts this weekend and at least 600 people are due to attend from various parts of the world. Its a big attraction and growing each year, not far behind this is the Accordion & Fiddle festival. We have always attended this since moving to Shetland and it showcases a great variety of music, mostly from Shetland but also Norway, Scotland and Ireland.

Lerwick surprise

Lerwick always hold some surprises no matter how many times you visit. The boats are always changing bringing colour to the harbour. It may be a bit quieter as far as visitors go but a few folk still make long distance trips from Norway, America, France and Germany looking at the flags on visiting yachts, this may be down to the fact that it is Shetland Wool week 

The Shetland Wool week has now been going for 7 years and is now an internationally acclaimed festival. Another is the Accordion and Fiddle festival, we have tickets but many of the halls are already sold out. This is very popular with people coming from all over the world

Lerwick is a mix of old and new and offers many interesting subjects to photograph, you just have to get your eyes locked in and look for the creative photos

Wind farms are back on the agenda with the Shetland Island Council backing the development of major wind farm in Yell. This will be 17 wind turbines at 145 feet high , Scatsta airport, BP and the RSPB have all made objections.

Like the other proposed large wind farms including the Viking project, the go ahead will all be down to whether or not the Westminster government gives the go ahead to allow onshore windfarm to bid in the round of renewable contracts- Lets hope not !

                                                                 The view through a hole in the wall

It was interesting to find out that two Russian Bombers were intercepted west of Shetland by RAF fighters. It take you back to the cold war days when Shetland was considered one of the best places for an early warning system to be installed at Saxa Vord. This was dismantled not too long ago

More Shetland photos at www.amazingshetland.co.uk