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. 7 .. Old Scatness Broch, Laxdale Yarn and Clickimin Broch ..

Very aware that the oncoming Storm Amy may upset our plans going forward, we set out on our Shetland Wool Week trip and pick up the coach for the guided tour at the museum, whilst wondering what the weekend ahead has in store for us?

En route A. receives an email from NorthLink Ferries confirming that our Saturday sailing to the mainland has been cancelled, and advising us that alternative arrangements will follow. A. immediately books us into The Scalloway Hotel for Saturday night. Thirty minutes later A. receives a phone call from NorthLink to confirm that we have been booked onto the 16:30 crossing on Sunday 5th; and that the car will be traveling separately so we need to drop it at the freight ferry terminal by mid-day Sunday. With our departure sorted we can relax for the day knowing that we have an escape plan.

Our first stop on the tour is Old Scatness Broch where we are given a guided tour by Val Turner, Shetland’s Lead Archaeologist – and author of Historic Scotland’s Ancient Shetland (1998) which I have referenced several times before elsewhere in this blog.

I should have taken notes throughout the tour, as we hear a richness of detail beyond the cold text of the guidebooks, from an engaging expert who had been completely involved with the archaeological investigation of the site. I am a bit of a fanboy and probably ask to many questions in the hope of impressing?

After the Broch tour we visit Laxdale Yarn a croft with a herd of Ca. 800 sheep. The croft supplied the yarn for my “Shetland Wool Week” Fair Isle hat, which A. had knitted for me in time for the festival.

We are introduced to some of the flock and shown the differences in the natural wool colour which all have different names (again taking some notes here might have been helpful).

A sheep-shearing demonstration is then given, with one of the stragglers that had escaped the July shearing, being shorn in front of us. Even with mechanical shears it is clear that this is a physical workout for both sheep and shearer alike – the tangled wool mass of the straggler taking over twice as long to shear as it would have done in the summer.

The fleece is then processed – the waste wool being removed and the remainder prepared for sale or competition alike. The Crofter tells us about the social history and economics of sheep farming and crofting on the islands – where even at an economy of scale this industry only survives due to government supplements.

After being dropped back in Lerwick we retire to the The Peerie Shop Cafe for a late lunch. I opt for the Scotch Pie which is made with mutton from The Silly Sheep Fibre Company A simple act of nutrition which for me aptly squares the circle of our journey through Shetland Wool Week (it tastes great too).

This afternoon we explore Clickimin Broch before retreating to the cottage ahead of Storm Amy. We had spent time here before in 2016 but this earlier visit, along with several other Shetland archaeological highlights failed to make it into the Blog that year due to time constraints.

The grassland leading to the Broch yields a new fungi species for us: Butter Waxcap (Hygrocybe ceracea) with a couple of specimens observed.

In celebration of the last day of our official Shetland Wool Week tour I crack open the UHA'25 IPA from Lerwick Brewery.