Shetland and Orkney. 2019

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Shetland and Orkney. August 2019
The Clitheroe Bike Club head off to the far north.
The eight of us start by taking two cars to Aberdeen Airport for parking before taking the overnight ferry to Lerwick.
Landed to meet rain and dark skies at we disembarked and headed to the Isleburgh hostel. Luckily our room was available so we made up our beds hoping the rain would abate. No such luck, so off we went on our way to Burra and then back to the Scalloway Museum and Castle. The museum was well worth a visit with great staff and interesting exhibits. The castle was built by an Earl who was given the job of looking after Shetland and Norway but ended up being greedy and making the locals poverty stricken so ended up being executed. The evening meal was taken at the community hub next door, pretty average. They do breakfast from 8.30am, which is a bit late for us so we googled the Preedie cafe in town which opened at 8 so off we went. Very good too. Next we went south following the east coast around all the bays which were very picturesque, even though it was overcast and raining gently. Morning brew was had at Hoswick Heritage Centre where the freshly baked scones were to die for. The rain eventually slackened off enough for me to remove my cape just before Sumburgh. We were amazed when we came to the airport and some lights flashed and a chap dashed out of his cabin and brought a barrier down over the road to allow an aeroplane to take off over the highway. Off it went taking off in a side wind which made it bank to the right as soon as the wheels left the tarmac. Lunch of soup and sandwiches was at the airport and the visit to Jarlshof Prehistoric Heritage site was unfortunately given a miss due to the cold wind. The return following the west coast this time was quite (actually, very) pleasant, especially with the fierce tail wind and the nice beaches. We realised how strong the wind was when we had to turn east occasionally and we were buffeted about. Tesco shares must now have gone up as we stopped at their store to stock up on food for the visit to Unst on Sunday and Monday. We stocked up because many stores are closed on Sunday and Monday, plus the fact that we are told the tourist season ended in mid August.
I cooked a packet Chinese meal in the microwave to prove my culinary skills. Andy did the best by buying a bottle of Merlot for aperitif - bravo. The weather is looking slightly better for the next few days as we head so we hope it is true.

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