This trip has seen a few firsts:
- It’s the first time I’ve been to Scotland.
- It’s the first time I’ve driven more than 20 roundabouts in a day.
- It’s the first time I’ve eaten fish and chips 3- 4 times in a week.
- It’s the first time I’ve seen this many sheep. Yes, New Zealand may have more sheep than people, but I swear I never saw this many sheep there.
- It’s the first time I’ve driven a Skoda.
And it turns out it’s no taller than the grass in Scotland. This little car makes travelling in Shetland fast and rather terrifyingly shaky. I took many a corner too fast and challenged this little tin can quite a bit.
In it, we crossed Mavis Grind, the narrowest part between the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Indeed, in the past, they used to drag their boats across land to get to the other water body.
Yesterday we went South, today we headed North and covered areas like Esha Ness.
The cliffs, caves and arches were quite amazing, but because it was the wrong season, the water wasn’t thrashing about and doing it’s erosive work.
We thought those white bits were the leftover shearings we’d seen on the ground, but this is actually a weed that produces a cottonwool-like flower.
Other than lamb, we saw lhamas…
… ginormous pigs…
… which makes you wonder why bacon is still so expensive.
And… this horned animal.
We also saw a bird make a few dives for dinner. And it was quite fascinating watching it plock! as it went into the water. It wasn’t done with any finesse. It took like 5-6 tries.
I didn’t get a good shot of it fishing. But it did get dinner.
Sure you can catch this on TV with closeups and slow motion and all, but there’s nothing like getting the chance to see this in real life. It’s all timing and opportunity. And the off chance that nature and you agree – which is so rare – is exciting.
We ate at Frankie’s Fish and Chip shop. It’s supposed to be the Northern-most fish and chip shop in the UK and also Scotland’s best.
But, while the haddock was the freshest of all fish and chips I’ve ever tasted, the batter wasn’t as crisp as I’d hoped. Right now, the best batter still is the one from Stonehaven’s The Bay Fish and Chips. And the best chips come from Mrs Bridges in Peterhead. Of course, this comparison is only within my limited experience.
I had the fish cakes from the same place. It is made up of haddock and smoked haddock. it was okay. Not great. Not enough flavour of smoked haddock. The batter was good though.
We also had the Cullen Skink again, which was thicker and more pleasing than the one served by Mrs Bridges. Since it was only our second try of the soup, I cannot decide yet what’s the best until I’ve had another.
The scallops were very fresh, but a tad overcooked. It had an interesting vinegar sauce.
And this is why I don’t dig history.
There was this Scord of Brouster. What was it right? There’s this huge slope and I can see the info board at the top of this slope. So I think… okay, fine, let’s do this. After all, had a big meal. Time to work it off a bit. So I haul ass up the hill and…
Yeah, that’s it. Info board tells me that the earliest settlers here cut down trees for their sheep to roam. And this caused the ground to get peaty and so no crops could be grown. Ever since they destroyed the land, no one has been able to cultivate it.
(Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve seen a single tree on the island.)
Anyway, those two rounds of brick? The one on the left is a cairn and the other on the right is a house. Just in case you couldn’t guess, you know?