Over dinner the night before John, the Orca Hotel owner, had offered first to take me to the ferry terminal the next day and then suggested that he take me for a wee tour of the places I had not been able to get to in this section of the Shetland mainland. I jumped at the offer.
Before we set out in the morning (the ferry embarking wasn’t until half three) I asked to see his outbuildings that he had mentioned the night before. In one was a couple of motorcycles he had rebuilt from damaged bikes and a plane he was working on for a client.
And in another shed (the property is more of a complex with storage and workshops in addition to the hotel) was a plane he is building from a kit that someone had begun and tossed in the towel on. With a brand new engine previously destined elsewhere he had gotten on the cheap.
A natural-born wheeler-dealer, John has on a separate Shetland island, a very large shed and metal work boat he picked up from a salmon farm that had gone under. He showed me some pictures and it appears that he will not have much time on his hands over the summer between getting the boat, which needs some work done on a damaged prop and shaft, and the hotel, and the plane he is repairing for the client.
The first photo is an older one. In addition to the shaft work it need power washing and painting.
Our first stop was to Jarlshof, the best know prehistoric archeological site in Shetland with remains of a bronze-age settlement dating from 2500 BC. and a later iron-age one. Followed by Pictish and Viking remains. The protected harbor must have made this a good place to live for millenia.
Next we headed to the lighthouse I was not able to walk to earlier. It was more impressive from the radar station. We didn’t really have the time to clip up to it and still see all John had in mind. My legs were happy with the decision.
When we stopped for petrol I noticed clear evidence of how windy it gets when the storms rage the islands.
Before the blocks were attached, this shed had blown across the car park! They even have to tie down residential oil tanks.
And earlier I mentioned the lack of trees. Due to the high winds and the extremely peaty soil, trees just don’t grow. The few I saw were always situated on private property near the protection of buildings or in a valley.
Here is another building made from an old boat.
Scalloway Castle is a tower house built in 1600 by Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney whose father, Robert, was an illegitimate son of King James V and a genuine bad character. The son was promoted earlier than the father had planned!
Why someone thought it a good idea to install modern windows in a roofless building baffled both of us.
The colorful village of Scalloway
We stopped at a roadside plaque that was a little bit of nothing but historically significant as it turns out to be where the first parliament in the Shetlands were held on a long gone peninsular in Loch Tingwall where Viking lords would meet. The area was accessible only by a causeway and was very open which meant there could be no sudden surprise guests.
There is an overlook along the road to Lerwick that gives some very impressive views.
John soon dropped me off at the ferry. I highly recommend the Orca for all travelers.
This ship is one of those that bring petrol to the islands as there are no undersea pipes of course.
The tall irregular shaped building in the center of the photo is the Lerwick museum
And I soon settled into my sleeping pod to read and snooze, obviously contented with my first visit to the Shetlands. I do hope to return as there is much more to see on the Mainland and the other islands.
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