Shetland Wool Week .. pt 8 .. end of the tour ..

Yesterday we transferred from our cottage to the The Scalloway Hotel, stopping first for some “Shetland Wool Week” retail therapy at "The Maker's Market". A. bought some loose yarn from the Silly Sheep Fibre Company to spin at home, whilst I bought a Shetland Tweed clad Hip Flask by SHetland by Sheila Hankin.

The Scalloway Hotel was comfortable for the one-night stay, but we are disappointed overall with the quality of the food which was mediocre by the standards of the promised menu. I opened my holiday read for only the second time on the trip and sat in the bar sipping on Lerwick Brewery’s finest and try and ignore the very sweary locals who are watching sport on TV.

There are some interesting sculptures on the harbour-side adjacent to the hotel – and on a rainy day we do not venture out much further than this (and with the Castle being closed). A. receives notice that we are able to take the car on the same boat as we were travelling on, this is welcomed as it removes one level of complication from our return journey. On the downside we were unable to be allocated a cabin for the overnight trip, but there will be many others like this too, whose departure has been unavoidably delayed - a small price for island touring.

This morning, the weather grey and wet again, we drive slowly through Tingwall (Þingvǫllr) stopping briefly to view the Mediaeval Kirk and its historic gravestones from its entrance - the building itself being closed to public access for safety reasons.

En route we had passed the Siberian Thrush (Geokichla sibirica) twitch comprising of a handful of men with large cameras looking glum in the rain, whilst the Thrush failed to show. Later, we were told by an eye-witness that the ‘toggers impatience had resulted in the bird being deliberately flushed several times to secure photographs - acts of which neither we nor the teller condoned (leave the bird in peace and wait!). I was glad that we had made not stopped to twitch this rarity, as we would not want to be associated with such poor field skills.

Prior to embarkation we (and many others) sit in a liminal state for some hours at the Mareel, having discovered that the rest of Lerwick is pretty much closed on a Sunday.

On board we face the overnight crossing with the prospect of trying to sleep in either the lounge or dining areas. However, we are comforted to know that tomorrow all we need to do is to drive home; and with an extra day already built into our leave, for such delays, if it is too much we can book another overnight en route.

Shetland Wool Week .. pt 5 .. Yell, Tablet Weaving, and Salt House

This morning, I dropped A and a fellow “wool weeker” at North Noss Public Hall on Yell – before heading out for a rain blasted day attempting to explore some of Yell’s archaeological remains. I stopped first at Old Haa Museum  enjoyed the exhibits and nursed coffee and cake as the rain lashed in from the north east.

Following the gist of tours laid out in Fojut, N. (1993) [see reference in posts below], I punctuated my journey at the road heads for several brochs on the east side of the island. At the first stop the rain was so heavy I declined to leave the car. At the second and third stop I did not feel at all welcome as a tourist. Several strategically placed fences (all at deer fence height) and hugging the road so tightly they prevented me from both parking and accessing the second site without a long walk in from elsewhere in the rain. At the third stop the road ended at a croft and several sheep folds.

Here, there was room to park without obstruction, but I would have felt uncomfortable walking through the small folds. My discomfort was heightened when a Hi Lux pulled in and the driver so obviously letting me know he was “checking me out” before turning around and driving straight back up the road. Bollocks to that, I was clearly unwelcome, the vibe being so uncomfortable I could almost hear the banjos playing on the bitter wind.

I plugged Brechon Sands into the sat-nav and headed north and west. Parking at the road head, the local crofter welcomed me with a cheery hello and relieved I set out on the short walk to the beach.

The archaeological remains in the dunes were extensive, cluttered, and apparently comprising of Viking, Pictish, prehistoric, and more modern remains. The remains completely defied my amateur attempts at distinguishing anything about them other than the more obvious stone clearances of the field systems.

Returning to North Noss I was pleased to see that A and her colleague had had a rather more productive and enjoyable day crafting.

We caught up on each other’s day over a pint or two at The Noost, before heading to Mareel for the excellent Salt House It is a cracking end to the day.

Salt House

Shetland Wool Week .. pt 1 .. exploring Lerwick

A at the stern of the Aberdeen / Lerwick Ferry
 26th Sept modelling her hand-knitted
Shetland Wool Week 2025 Fair Isle hat

Arriving in Lerwick this morning at 7AM we disembarked from the Ferry and headed straight to Fjara Café Bar for breakfast (or second breakfast in my case, as I had already wolfed down a bacon roll and a black coffee on the Ferry).

"blocking" Shetland knitwear on Jumper Blocks
Shetland Textile Museum

Shetland Tweed Loom from
Adies of Voe, Shetland Textile Museum

Unable to check in to The Watchmakers until 3PM we stayed local visiting the Shetland Textile Museum, and then The Shetland Museum and Archives so that A could officially register for “Shetland Wool Week”. The museum was buzzing, and everybody seemed to be wearing their colour variation of this year’s Wool Week hand-knitted Fair Isle hat. Knitters were knitting in the hub, and the clamour of different accents heard ably demonstrated the international scope of the event.

We've come to the right place then!

Old Scatness, Pictish bear carving
Shetland Museum and Archives

St Ninian's Isle gravemarkers
Shetland Museum and Archives

Runic stone, and Steatite basin
Shetland Museum and Archives

Sixareen (1891) 
Shetland Museum and Archives

Later having checked in to our luxurious cottage, we visited the Mareel, and whilst there purchased some tickets for this evening’s showing of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. Having thoroughly enjoyed the film, we have rounded the evening off with a Chinese take-away, and some light TV to wind us both down.

The Watchmakers, Law Lane,
Lerwick

Law Lane, Lerwick

It has been three days since we last had a decent night’s sleep. So, I am very much looking forward to settling my head down in the cosiness of our holiday let and ignoring the alarm in the morning!