On our last day in the Shetlands, we visited the middle areas of the island.
We went driving into Trondra, East and West Burra, that are now all linked by bridge to the mainland.
It was a bright and sunny but blustery day.
Just after the bridge that connects the mainland to Trondra, there’s a Croft Trail, which is a working farm, a real life example of life on the Shetland farms. It was a fun place to see the local animals up close.
We headed to Hamnavoe. There’s more than one Hamnavoe in Shetland Islands, which adds to the confusion. It’s a fishing village, quiet nice place.
Out of Hamnavoe, we went to Meal Beach which is the best beach in the whole of Shetland Islands.
The water was very very clear and the sand very fine. The water was also very cold.
Then, driving on to Bridge End, we joined the road to West Burra. This is where I took more photos of sheep.
We also walked across the sand bar and it was so windy that the fine sand blowing around was painful to walk in.
And on to East Burra toward Houss. Even while you reach the end of the road, it’s not the end of the island. You have to take the rest on foot. However, we didn’t have much time, so we went on.
Just out of Houss, at the fishing factory, we spoke to some guys there. They told us they were breeding salmon. They would’ve been open to bringing us out to the farm, but their boat was being serviced and the other one was out.
We had lunch in the car, overlooking the old Tingwall Parliament – and, like many ruins, just looks like a patch of grass in the middle of the lake.
Around 2pm, we headed into Lerwick, the capital of Shetland Islands. We arrived here, but never got into town until the very last minute. It was 2 hours more to the boarding of our ship.
Lerwick looks like some cramped English town. Quite interesting, but nothing particularly stood out.
The public toilets in Shetland islands are really nicely maintained. There’s soap and blue paper towels. It doesn’t smell, the flushes always work well. This particular one in Lerwick also offers showers. And for a higher fee, you can get a towel and soap too.
Because of the wind, the travel by 6 hour ferry journey to Orkney was choppy. I threw up twice and spent most of the trip sleeping after.
We arrived in Orkney at 2300 and by 2330, we found our self-catering apartment in the tiny village of Finstown. Again, I picked a place out of town.
The apartment is on the second floor and has two rooms. One has a double bed and one has two bunk beds. I feel like a kid again. The roof has a window and I can hear the wind beating about.