Day 6 - Lerwick 29 August

Gordon was waiting as arranged, on the dock when our tender arrived. Not a native Shetlander, but has lived on the island for 16 years and has really found his niche as a tour guide. He took us slowly through town pointing out some places of interest but all the time relating it all to the history of Shetland.

Shetland has the 60th parallel running through it, which puts it on the same latitude as the area just north of Bergen in the east and Greenland and Quebec to the west.

Our first stop outside town gave us sweeping views across a bay, of which there are many. All the time Gordon was explaining about the history behind crofting and showing us the various old crofters cottages. Crofting is now highly controlled so that the practices of unscrupulous lairds, who exploited their tenants no longer happens. You now have to deal with the Crofting Commission and jump through their hoops instead!

We saw St Ninian's Island where there used to be a monastic community. The ruined chapel is still just visible. The beach which joins the island to the mainland has recently been voted the best beach in 2018. Apparently the water, though inviting, is rather cold!

Our visit to the Croft House Museum was very interesting. An old crofter's cottage has been restored and furnished as a croft from the 1800s. 

A very harsh life they lived.

Then it was down to Sumburgh Head to see the lighthouse and learn of the role this place played in WWII. A radar station was built on the headland, much to the consternation of the lighthouse community who maintained they would be a target for German bombers. However, as it turned out the radar station picked up a large squadron of fighter bombers headed for the Orkney Islands where there was a large contingent of naval vessels. The bombers were attacked and destroyed and the equivalent of another Pearl Harbour disaster was averted.

Below the headland, near Sumburgh Hotel where we were to have lunch, is the site of one of the most unique archaeological finds in the world - Jarlshof. Here, an unexpected find at the waters edge was exposed after a severe storm. This started the excavations which have revealed astonishing communities dating back 4000 years to the Neolithic era, then a bronze age site, an iron age site, a Viking long house, a medieval house, all excavated below the ruins of a laird's 'summer house' which stands in ruin, long since abandoned.

After a hearty Scotch broth for lunch we headed back towards Lerwick taking the alternative coastal route to the one we went south on. One last stop to see Scalloway Castle ruins, the main home of the laird who built Jarlshof down at Sumburgh.

After a wander through the main street in town we returned to the ship. The sun had shone down after a cloudy and threatening morning, so we had an absolutely wonderful day.

Genuine Shetland sheep have mostly brown wool

A croft house

An abandoned croft house

Looking across towards St Ninians Island

The remains of the chapel are just visible above the cliff line

Gordon called up the Shetland ponies and had plenty of carrots on hand

A little altercation happening

The Croft House Museum

Gordon our guide explaining about the museum having pointed out that boats no longer used for fishing are used as roofing

The doors are very low to help keep the house warm

Sumburgh Hotel where we had lunch in a private room overlooking Jarlshof

Jimmy Perez's 'home' in Lerwick from the TV series Shetland