Shetland-Orkneyinga Saga

I realised I hadn't put a blog page up for my Ilse of Skye trip. If anyone would like to comment, please do.

I'll be putting up more photos whenever I can. There are some taken on Staffin beach the other evening showing Staffin Island and the dinosaur footprints along with the cliffs of Kilt Rock and waterfall. Otherwise Facebook and the posts should explain the rest of the photos so far.

Today saw Diane heading back home on the early boat. The weather had improved again and we went back to Eagle Watch after lunch. Before that we visited Glengorm Castle in the north of the island. There were great views of Tirree and the Ardnamurchan peninsula; the Small Isle and Skye could also be seen in the distance.

I spent a couple of hours watching eagles and buzzards in the afternoon. The results can be seen on the Isle of Mull Eagles page and the photos around Glengorm are on the Isle of Mull 4 page.

Well the Mull trip is going well. We were joined by Diane on Monday and have been enjoying some great weather (unusual for Mull, I'm told). However today was wet and misty all day. We did head out to the Eagle Watch but it was cancelled due to the poor visibility near the nest area. We may try again tomorrow. On the trip back to the cottage we did spy a large group of red deer close to the road. No photos today but I've posted some from our trip to Iona yesterday.

A new trip. This time to the Isle of Mull with my brother Graham & my sister Diane.

Photos & a daily diary can be found on the Isle of Mull 1 tab alongside.

The weather is behaving itself but Mull is reknowned for its rainfall. Let's hope it keeps sunny for the rest of the week.

So it's Senior Race Day of this year's TT. I thought the bank holiday was just to celebrate my return home.

I left Unst on Tuesday morning; bright sunshine, T-shirt.

Lerwick 60+ miles & 2 ferry journeys later it's wet, windy and two extra layers of clothing.

The boat from Lerwick to Aberdeen was definitely rough, as far as I could tell but I slept fairly well (Executive Cabin). The drive down through Scotland wasn't too bad. But yesterday the motorway was water-logged; not pleasant at all. The ferry crossing wasn't what you would call calm.

So, glad to get back home and have a rest. Then I start planning the delayed Orkney trip.

Today I drove off-road again. This time to see the WW2 RAF Station - RAF Skaw. This was the site of a radar staion guarding the north of Britain during the war.

I drove past the sign (no barrier this time) "unsuitable for road vehicles"; thankfully I don't think I have a road vehicle and the Landie didn't let me down. Many of the buildings still remains and the foundations of the others are clear to see. It covers the headland of Lamba Ness and felt very secluded. I had the whole area to myself. Once I'd spent a few hours looking over the buildings I sat on the cliff tops with the birds passing withing a couple of feet of me. At last I have some really good shots of more sea birds; fulmars, gannets, guillemots or shags. Some of these are often at the foot of the cliffs and are not easy to photograph. Here the cliffs are lower and not so steep and I was able to approach them.

I think my Dad would have enjoyed this; an old RAF base and bird watching. If only there had been some cricket he'd have been in paradise.

To finish the day I dropped in at the shop/cafe in Balta Sound and visited the Unst Heritage Centre.

Stayed around the hostel yesterday - not too well, so I guess I needed a rest day.

Today I had a Viking long house day. There are a number of these sites on Unst and most are very accessible. I also saw the spectacular remains of the broch at Underhoull on the road to Westing; longhouse, broch and viking farmstead all next to each other. I also saw the longhouse at Hamar and then walked up the hill to the Keen of Hamar. This is an odd geological feature; dry rocky desert terrain on the east coast of a Shetland Isle! There are a number of rare alpine-type plants growing here. Just to the north and beside the main road is an area of rock boulders which is also a little out of place with the rest of the terrain.

When the weather had improved I headed out for a good drive around the island.

The weather wasn't great for taking photos so I may call back another day to see the more interesting sites.

Visited Muness Castle, the standing stone beside the Westing road and had a look for otters at some of the recommended spots (none seen).

After speaking to the locals, I drove up the hill to the north of the hostel. A decent road due to the military. The radomes are no longer to be seen as they were dismantled in 2014 after suffering damage from storms. The wonderful views from the headland are of Hermaness, Muckle Flugga & Outstack. Where Atlantic meets North Sea, the furthest points north of the British Isles. It may be windy but it's T-shirt weather. (The barrier I had to raise to get here was unlocked. I have signed the Official Secrets Act so I can't tell you what the sign said or who gave me permission to go through. Anyway I think it was in Scottish)

I drove round to the Hermaness visitors centre and watched the hardy many start the hike to Herma Ness, another bird sanctuary. I think my drive had been a much better choice.

Back to Haroldswick and tea & cake at Victoria's Tearooms. It don't get more civilised than that.

The weather started poor but improved as the day went on.

Unst is the furthest north you can get in the UK. To be expected really - the internet is very slow and the phone only works very sporadically.

There is a replica viking longboat at Haroldswick, just between the road and the shore. There's a set of steps so that you can climb in. We should have one of these in the Isle of Man; not in a museum but out in the open accessible to anyone. They rowed this one over from Norway which is not as far from here as it might sound.

There is also a local boat museum where you can see the open rowing and sailing boats that they took out fishing up until the mid 20th century. The fishing banks are up to 60 miles into the Atlantic; a hard way to make a living.

Saxa Vord where I am staying is the accommodation for the early warning station on the hill to the north (also Saxa Vord). This operated until the end of the Cold War. There's a museum and cafe on the site too. If you are ever up this way don't miss it.