Shetland attractions

Well the last Up Helly Aa took place  at Delting in the north mainland recently and the weather was terrible with very strong winds and freezing temperatures . These events never get cancelled due to the weather and the only break was during the war years.

                                                             The Galley ready for buring number two

The south mainland Up Helly Aa seems to have the best weather of all the fire festivals this year.

Events like these and the very successful BBC1 drama - `Shetland' has certainly drawn people to the islands. This year will see about 92,000 cruise liner passengers set foot on the islands, around twice the amount that came last year. These will be brought on a record number of cruise ships, but next year will be even better with 109 cruise liners due bringing 107,000 passengers.

                                                                                          Quendale Beach

Recently the  RAF radar, built at Saxa Vord was officially opened and one of the first visitor a few days later was a Russian fighter which flew down the north isles and was seen by a number of early risers.

I doubt whether any Eurofighters from Lossiemouth would have been able to intercept the plane as it would be have been far away when they arrived in Shetland.

                                                                                     Old buildings at Quendale

Russian bombers and fighter are becoming more frequently encountered around Shetland so its no wonder that Radar was installed in Unst.

                                                                                         Ireland (in Shetland)

Unst is also a possible launching area for UK satellites but we still have to wait and see whether this will be the chosen location.

                                                                     Ireland looking south to St Ninian's

I have been giving talks to the WI groups recently and its always to see so many people interested in Wildlife or the Night sky. I was also interviewed by the Shetland Life magazine who wanted an article on the various aspects of photography in Shetland, I talked about the Night Sky which is a favourite subject for my photography courses.

The next one fully booked again with a number of folk on the waiting list. My facebook group, Shetland Aurora Hunter continues to grow and it is now just under 2,000 members, not bad for 16 months. If you want to see some very rare Aurora `Steve' photos then go to shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk

                                                                  Superb Aurora see above for more

For anyone in Sheffield, I will be giving a talk on `Amazing Shetland' at St Augustine Church Brocco Bank on Tuesday 26 June at 7.30 (I can send you details just contact me for further information)

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