Rob-n-Hild Take the High Road!

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Scalloway

We timed our departure from the campsite in Yell such that we could take down the tent and pack our stuff without it raining. We did well and the bad weather didn't really start until we were back on the mainland. It was still a beautiful morning, and we got to see more of the island. That included this nice tombolo - connection between land and island with water on each side. Tombolo may be derived from the Old Norse word for "gravel bank".

Later in the week, we will visit the tombolo at St. Ninian's isle. That one is 500 metres long an beautiful according to Hild's childhood memories.

Our ferry from Ulsta to Toft was one of the first of the day. There was only one car on the ferry when it arrived in Ulsta. We named that car the early-bird.

Driving south toward Lerwick provided a very different view than when we arrived: the fog was in! We could not see the tops of many of the hills. The fog was thick enough to hide giant wind farms from view.

We also spotted more tombolos and several mussel farms.

In Lerwick we took advantage of the big free parking lot on Hill Lane. The aim was to have a short walk in the rain through the narrow Burns Lane across Commercial Road to the New Harbour Cafe.

The Harbour Cafe do all day breakfast and we treated ourselves to that as our big/warm meal of the day.

The plate below shows their small breakfast option. Hild is not sure this is SMALL but she managed to finish most of it (and Rob finished the rest). The only unfamiliar item was the triangular and very yummy "tattie scone", which to us was a fried potato cake. Many locals and tourist were enjoying their meals in the cafe this morning. A nice atmosphere.

Last time we stopped at the Co-Op. This time we decided to stock up on groceries at Tesco. We got what we needed except there had clearly been a run on KitKats. Oh the horror!

Because the rain was quite heavy still, we didn't want to go to the campsite and try to put the tent up in the wind and rain. So we parked in Scalloway and did some work while sitting in Percy. It turns out Percy is quite a good mobile office himself.

There is a lot of information about the Norway- Shetland links here in Scalloway, particularly about the Shetland Bus during the Second World War. They were part of a secret operation using fishing boats to link Shetland to Norwegian resistance people during the war. Toward the end of the war, they stopped using fishing boats when they were given better ships from the USA.

In Scalloway there is the Prince Olav Slipway where boats were repaired during the war. Dinapore House - where the Shetland Bus headquarters were. Photographer's Hut - where they made fake IDs to fool the Germans. Scalloway Castle - where they stored the ammunition. Further north on Shetland we hope to also visit Kergord House and Lunna House, the original base and headquarters.

Just a few quick steps down from where we were parked, we found the Shetland Bus memorial. The plaque shows names of people who died as their boats sank during Shetland Bus sailings.

The flowers on the memorial were still fresh from the VE day 80th anniversary on the 8th May and probably also the 17th of May; Norway's national day.

We went back another day to visit Prince Olav Slipway built for the Shetland Bus Operations. Crown Prince Olav visited the site in 1942. Inga Beth and Nina visited in 1991 (with Hild behind the camera). Today we slotted Hild into the photo - 34 years later...

Across from the Prince Olav Slipway is Norway House, which originally was a net loft and in 1943 the Shetland Bus crewmen lived there. Now it is a trendy-looking gym.

Scalloway Castle is currently being renovated so the scaffolding doesn't quite fit the time period. Earl of Orkney and Lord of Shetland, Patrick Stewart, started building the catle in 1599. The Earl was a very naughty boy and he was beheaded in 1615 - even if he was the cousin of James VI. Even Cromwell's soldiers stayed here in 1650s. We didn't know they bothered to go this far north... Over the years, the castle has been used as residence, prison, and courthouse. In the Shetland Bus years, they used it to store ammunition.

When we got settled in at Scalloway Caravan Site, we had a cup of tea in Percy - and were treated to a lovely view over a loch AND a rainbow. We wonder if there is a pot of gold in the campervan on the left...

During Hild's meeting Rob also caught some more (blurry) bird photos; this time of an oyster catcher with long orange/red beak.

It was time to turn in for the night. We watched more Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes and then slept like logs.

Coming up: Work day...

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