Distance from Dover, UK to Lerwick, UK: 615 Nautical Miles
A foggy day in Lerwick, Scotland…
Port Information: The Shetland Islands are technically part of Scotland. The archipelago consists of more than 100 islands – only 12 islands are inhabited. The largest of the Shetlands is Mainland with Lerwick serving as the capitol. Lerwick was founded by Dutch herring fishermen in the 17th century. Mainland measures 50 by 20 miles long – the Shetlands have a population of around 26,000 with 7000 people living in Lerwick. Known for its Shetland Ponies (only about 1000 ponies are registered), the islands are also home to Shetland sheep. There are virtually no trees on the islands due to the incompatible soil and windy conditions. The Shetlands became part of Scotland when the Stewarts, Robert and Patrick, became governors.
The Ocean Princess is docked at Holmsgarth Pier in Lerwick, about 15 minutes from town. We are on an afternoon tour today, “Northernmost Scotland”, so we are going to walk into the town in the morning to look for WiFi and check out the old town.
There is a lot of activity going on in Lerwick. Three thousand workers have been brought in to work on a new oil processing plant. There aren’t enough hotels in town so ships (some cruisers) have been brought in to accommodate the workers (“Floatels”). Oil supplies a good deal of the income for the Shetlands.
The walk to town is very short – less than 10 minutes. Most of the town is still not open but the fog has lifted and it is a little warmer. The streets are narrow and the town is built on a hill.
The most imposing structure near the port is Fort Charlotte, which was built in 1663 to keep out the Dutch.
Ft. Charlotte
Ellen in Lerwick
Lerwick – deserted but quaint
The town library is about three blocks up a pretty steep hill but we both survived. The area around the Library consists of stone government buildings including the magnificent Town Hall. There are also very nice homes and parks – looks the best part of town.
Beautiful Flower Garden in Hill Area Home
Lerwick Town Hall
Green Space and Fine Homes on Hill
The Library did have WiFi (in fact, the signal could be picked up blocks away in the city). The WiFi connection was quirky – it allowed emails to come in but we could not send anything. To get around this, we used the Library’s laptops to access G-mail and send off our messages. Note: No matter what I tried, I could not sign into Yahoo Mail (Yahoo doesn’t trust foreign IP addresses apparently). After finishing up our correspondence, we headed back to the ship to get a quick lunch and head off on our tour.
I should mention that the thin crust pizza is terrific on this ship. Pizza is our fall-back option for food.
While we waited for our tour to depart, we had a chance to watch the dancers rehearse.
A 5, 6, 7, 8…
Our tour - “Northernmost Scotland” – left right on time at 12:30 PM. Our tour guide is Peter from Holland and our driver is Nick (who knows about birds).
As we left the harbor for the countryside, the fog was still evident. When the fog blew in, it was chilly but when the sun broke through, it was warm. In any event, the weather was not an issue.
On our way
Three things to mention: First, peat covers the entire island. The locals harvest the peat (carbon rich), dry it, bag it, and use it for fuel for their stoves and heat. The landscape is covered with peat pits and peat bags. Second: The ground is not porous so rain water collects in numerous lochs, which don’t drain. So lochs and peat pretty much describes the countryside (along with Shetland ponies and sheep). Third: With all of the sheep around, you really have to watch where you are walking.
Village on a Loch
Our next stop was in Northmavine, the northernmost part of the Shetland Mainland. Here, a short strip of land, Mavis Grind, separates the North Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. The distance between the two bodies of water is about 30 meters.
The North Sea at Mavis Grind
The Atlantic Ocean at Mavis Grind
Selfie at Mavis Grind (the Atlantic Ocean)
Atlantic Ocean in the distance and Inlet
Didn’t see too many beaches but this area had a beach (but no people or even sheep).
Three above: Peat pits
Some of the other Shetland Islands are visible in the photo below.
Our next stop was the Tangwick Haa (“House”) Museum. I was hoping for some WiFi but there wasn’t any (in fact, Peter told me that there wasn’t any WiFi on the island – only satellite based internet). I spent only a few minutes in the small museum, which actually sold little bags of peat as souvenirs.
Me at the Museum
As we drove along, Peter pointed out that the rock in the distance in the water was part of the volcanic system of the Shetland Islands. The rock is very hard since it is the remnant of the magma itself.
Volcanic Rock in the Atlantic
We also saw an interesting rock formation called the “Green Pony”.
The Green Pony
We stopped at the Esha Ness Stevenson Lighthouse. Built in 1929 by David Stevenson (related to Robert Louis Stevenson). It’s 20 meters high and square in construction. It is the last Stevenson Lighthouse built.
The final and most spectacular stop was the “Cliffs of Esha Ness”. The Cliffs had no guard rails and the passengers went right up the edge. It looked like a shear drop of at least 100 feet. It was a little scary since some of the folks were not terribly steady on their feet.
The shot below is the spot where all of the previous photos were taken. Note the overhang people are standing on.
The view away from the cliffs is also spectacular (more lochs and interesting rock formations).
The Cliffs were our final stop and the bus headed back to Lerwick. From my side of the bus, I was now able to get a picture of the highest spot on the Shetlands (according to Google this would be Ronas Hill) – this is a magna cone from a long extinct volcano. The winds and weather have eroded the surface leaving only the hard magna.
Magna Cone – Volcano
The Shetlands also farm mussels – mussel farms consist of buoys with attached ropes. The mussels will attach to the ropes and when they are mature, the ropes are reeled in and the mussels removed. The farms look like a flock of birds sitting in the lochs.
Two above: Mussel Farms
On our way back to the ship, we passed by the a golf course that was built by the oil companies for the enjoyment of the locals. It was a nice course, a links course with no “link” to the sea.
Shetland Golf Course
After returning to the ship from this terrific tour, we had a nice relaxing dinner in the Panorama Buffet.
Tonight’s headliner is Caroline Dennis, a pianist-vocalist from the UK. She is very perky and a terrific pianist but I actually liked her vocals better. I get a Petula Clark vibe from her for some reason.
Caroline Dennis
Seas are smooth.
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