Around 6:00 a.m. of day one, we had a wake-up call — the ship bells chimed and a voice came over the loudspeaker to tell us that we’d soon be arriving in Lerwick. I quickly dressed and ran to the top deck to enjoy the view and take some pictures. Lerwick to the west …
… and the island of Bressay to the east.
We pulled in to the dock around 7:00 a.m. and were joined by a few friendly locals.
We weren’t due to be picked up until 9:00 a.m. which was perfect. It gave us plenty of time to pack and eat breakfast while the other passengers disembarked.
Just before 9:00, our hostesses, Mary Jane and Gudrun picked us up in the waiting room. We would be driving to our guesthouse for the week, but first they took us to a grocery store so that we could each choose what we wanted for lunch. It was fun to see how well stocked the grocery store was when you consider how far Shetland is from mainland Scotland. Groceries and other supplies arrive every morning on the ferry. I was sorry I didn’t think to take pictures in the grocery store, but it seemed like any other grocery store in Scotland — we had many choices of fresh produce and prepared sandwiches. I’d never seen prawn sandwiches before (made just like chicken or egg salad), so I decided to try one, and they became my sandwich-of-choice whenever we stopped to pick up lunch on our hiking days.
With our shopping finished, we walked across the street to the Broch of Clickimin. A broch is an Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland (you can read about them here). It was really interesting to be able to walk around the structure. Luckily, we were accompanied by our trusty bus-driver for the week, Sorley, Gudrun’s brother. He was a wealth of knowledge for all of our stops on this trip — he’s the Grand Shetland Adventure’s best-kept secret!
(Say hi to Bonnie!)
After our broch visit, we drove to Burrastow House, our guesthouse for the week. We were given the afternoon to do as we wished, while we waited for some of our group to arrive from the airport. I think most people opted to stay in and knit and get to know each other a little better, but I couldn’t wait to get out and do a little hiking and see some beautiful Shetland scenery. As it turns out, after everyone arrived, Mary Jane and Gudrun took us on a group hike that covered some of the same places I’d been by myself. It was very windy, but oh-so-beautiful! And, of course, with the sheep everywhere, I was in heaven!
Stiles. You couldn’t hike the Shetland countryside without them!
The building to the right is a little bothy. Wikipedia says a bothy is a basic shelter, usually left unlocked and available for anyone to use free of charge. I’m a little unclear what happens if you hike way out to a bothy and find it occupied by someone else — do you share it for the night? It looks like a really fun way to see the remote parts of Scotland!
I mistakenly thought all the little tufts of white were hentilags (a tuft of wool fallen or torn from a sheep’s back) but my travel companion Bonnie informed me (graciously, without making fun of me LOL) that they’re actually little plants called bog cotton.
The island of Foula in the distance.
After our hike we had the first of several gourmet dinners prepared by Chef Pierre, our host for the week. I’m not much of a look-what-I-had-for-dinner photographer, but if I’d known how amazing our dinners were going to be, I would have been. Our day one dinner was a perfect introduction to Shetland: a first course of Salad, followed by Skate, Mashed Potatoes with Skins (presented in perfect little circles, as if they’d been cut with a biscuit cutter), and Broccoli, and then for dessert, a divine Pavlova. After dinner was always free time — Gudrun and Mary Jane went back to their cottage every night and we were free to knit, socialize, post pictures or crash!