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 4 .. Bressay .. a handful of seals and a souterrain

After a relaxing start to the day, we headed to the Bressay Ferry terminal for the 12:00PM crossing. At the jetty I noticed and orange “football” floating around the foot of the jetty. Then it flexed, and suckered legs appeared propelling along the ironworks. It was our first ever encounter with an octopus, and it was extremely exciting. The camera being stowed in my rucksack – we were unable to get a photograph before it swam further away and into dark water.

As we crossed to Bressay, I did a search of Octopus species to be found in UK waters, and both Curled Octopus (Elodine cirrhosa) and Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) seemed potential candidates based on our briefest of views. This evening, I referred to the hive mind on the Shetland Birds and Wildlife FB group, and Curled Octopus was put forward as the most likely, as it has the most northerly distribution.

Walking past Bressay Marina Harbour we noted 3 Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) and two Common Seal (Phoca vitulina) hauled out on the rocks, whilst a fourth Grey Seal corked in deeper water.

Grey Seal, Bressay Marina

Common Seal, Bressay Marina 

Following Uphouse Road, up and over, we turned downhill to the Loch of Brough. From the open moorland came the calls of Red Grouse (Lagopus scotia), and as we turned our attention towards the source, a covey flushed away from us. Turning to follow the track along the side of the Loch, we disturbed a couple more small groups of grouse.

Red Grouse

Our destination was the souterrain [Fogou] at Wadbister; the former an underground passage dating to Bronze Age; the latter an abandoned mediaeval settlement. Having found the entrance to the underground chamber, I climbed through the short narrow remains of the passageway and sat inside for a while. Using the phone torch to explore the very cramped interior, I noted the repurposed quern stone in the dry-stone walls.

Wadbister settlement

entrance to the souterrain

inside - note the repurposed quern
on the left of the picture

looking out / looking in

looking in / looking out

Exploring the remaining structures of the mediaeval settlement we saw our first Shetland Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes zetlandicus) of the trip. Returning to the Bressay Ferry terminal we noted the non-native Monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus) flowering in the wet ditch alongside the Uphouse Road.

Seep Monkeyflower, Uphouse Road

Back on mainland the short walk back to The Watchmakers, was punctuated with respite at both The Noost and The Lounge.