Scalloway

You have to feel sorry for the tourist as the fog has been very thick four out of the last five days. Coach tours have turned up at the top of the Scord to look down on Scalloway or the fog and it was only when the were close by they could actually see the castle

On Friday it was beautiful sunshine and warm enough to be out in a tea shirt so it was time, after work, to visit the western end of Scalloway

 I made my way passed the college and up the steep hill and took the second left, through a gate and followed the road up to the sewerage works

 From there I cut over the moorland, passed the small beach and carried up the other side which was full of small flowers. Bell heath, lousewort and a few sundew to name a few

 Clouds rolled up from the north creating a nice leading line for a photo, while sheep stood and watched this photographer at work, they even posed for a photo or two before continuing to graze.

 The Lighthouse is small and remote working off solar power. 

 There was several small boats connected to the salmon farming in the sheltered voe.

 In the distance and well off the beaten track, several deserted crofts tried to blend into the multi coloured landscape while several Shetland ponies came to investigate this intrepid photographer

 After a lovely short walk that had certainly recharged my batteries a small boat was just passing the college heading out to sea, hopeful taking back plenty of Shetland stories

The views across the Voe today would have satisfied all of the tourists, pity they had to leave

Scalloway is a very attractive place with lots of interesting colourful buildings which remind me of Mull

 Coming back over Black Gaet over towards Gulberwick I had to stop and take photos of the bay.

 One resident of Scalloway a great fiddle player is Linda Gair (Left) with Martin Henderson and her sister Pauline Irvine who played at the Shetland Showcase earlier in the week

Sumburgh Head

With living only 12 miles north of Sumburgh it has become a regular weekly destination for us throughout the year. At this time of year lots of tourist head to the area to see the Puffins and other seabirds

Sumburgh head is more than just a Seabird site its a great place to see Whales and Dolphins and in  Autumn great for bird migration

You can even stay at the Lighthouse in the cottage in one of the buildings. All the outside area is free to access but for the indoor exhibitions you will have to pay.

The fog horn was  built in 1905 and came into operation in 1906, it was last used in 1987 but is now used on special occasions

Great views from the head looking north to Scatness and Fitful Head

The Radar Hut is a special place for me as I am interested in WW2, see ww2preserved.blogspot.co.uk for more WW2 in Shetland. The Radar station started up in December 1939

Work on the lighthouse started 1819 by Robert Stevenson, Grandfather to author Robert Louis and this is 17m high and the top is reached by 53 steps

The Lighthouse Buildings (not the lighthouse) have been recently renovated at a cost of £5.4m and was officially opened by the Princess Royal in 2014

Sumburgh Lighthouse is the oldest Lighthouse in Shetland

#Shetland, #Lighthouse,#Sumburgh Head, #Bird Migration

Shetland Top 10 destination-Lonely Planet

Shetland has been named as one of the top 10 European destinations by the Lonely Planet today. Not that we needed to be told

The house of Jimmy Perez

It came 6th and the only UK  destination chosen. This top award together with all the TV programmes such as Jimmy Perez `Shetland', Wild Shetland, the Island Medics and all aboard is very good news for the tourist industry.

It doesn't matter whether you see Shetland day or night, summer or winter it is an exceptional place to live, visit and work

Tengmalm Owl at Tresta

Shetland is a top place for seeing rare birds and this spring has been outstanding. To see more photos visit shetlandsfp.blogspot.co.uk

 Tall ships visit on a regular basis and there is always something interesting to see in both Lerwick and Scalloway harbours

 Lerwick

Tronda

Up Helly Aa attracts many visitors in the winter

Sumburgh Head

Rough seas at Scatness

Dales Voe

The Drongs

Lots of folk from all over the world now come to Shetland for Wool Week

Aurora on most people's bucket list

Shetland has to be one of the best places in the UK to see the Aurora, for more join Shetland Aurora Hunter on facebook and shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk

More photos at http://amazingshetland.co.uk

#Wool Week, #Shetland, #Shetland Aurora Hunter, #Aurora Shetland, #Shetland rare birds, #Jimmy Perez, #Up Helly Aa, #Lonely Plant awards, #Lerwick, #Scalloway, #amazing shetland

Shetland past

Spring is progressing fast, the nights are so light you can read a book outside at midnight, nearly `Simmer Dim'

Lots of old derelict  crofts can be found around Shetland and there is always something of interest inside. Many people now preferring to build new houses.

This one is at Quendale. There is now about 23,000 people living in Shetland but at this time of year many visitors arrive and most struggle to find accommodation. Its a bit of surprise to many to find 4 hotels up for sale while a brand new one, the Brevik Hotel may end up being knocked down and a replaced by a 91 bedroom hotel owned by the Premier Inn.

A recent report shows that 53% of Shetlanders live in fuel poverty, with 22% in extreme fuel poverty. Electricity is a lot dearer in Shetland and bills continue to rise to pay for the new Wind Farms. Most Shetlanders don't want these turbines all over Shetland and the decision as to whether they will go here will be made very soon.

We applied for a grant for insulation but they couldn't install underfloor insulation as the gap was too small and because we already had 100mm of loft insulation they couldn't put any more in. You have to make your house as warm as possible and these old croft with there massive stone walls are very difficult to insulate

The other night we attended a very good concert at the Garrison theatre, Shetland for Wirds'`. This was founded in 2004 to encourage the use of written and spoke dialect as a valued and essential part of the Shetland heritage.

The concert included poems, song, film a play and music  the Shetland way. I just love hearing the Whalsay dialect so make sure if you visit you make time to go an experience this speech.  At one time the teachers were made to rid Shetland dialect from the schools in favour of the English language and now with over 1/2 the Shetland population from `outside' then its vital that the Shetland Dialect and their ways are preserved.

Please take a look at my other blogs and website

http://www.amazingshetland.co.uk
http://shetlandsky.blogspot.co.uk
http://shetlandsfp.blogspot.co.uk
http://ww2preserved.blogspot.co.uk

#shetland,#Garrisontheatre, #Shetlanddialect,#Whalsay, #Shetlandheritage, #amazingshetland, #windfarms, #Simmerdim