Shetland Islands 2015


Veensgarth to Lerwick - Saturday, 24th July

I had another very comfortable night and felt nice and clean after a shower. I made my way down to breakfast and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the choice available. The public rooms were tastefully decorated and the whole place had a very homely feel. The staff could not have been more helpful and I felt really welcome. I was under no time pressure whatsoever, with a very short ride to Lerwick and the rest of the day to explore Bressay and Noss. I packed up, checked out, loaded up the bike and began the slow grind up the hill to the main road.

The blue sky was no more and the air felt decidedly damp. From the top it's a fast run down the valley side to the Scalloway turning by the golf club, before a long toil up the other side; the last hill before Lerwick. I turned off onto Ladies Drive in order to avoid the scary descent into town amongst all the other traffic.

I was soon back in the outskirts of Lerwick.


It's a short ride round to Holmsgarth from the bottom of Ladies Drive. I made my way to the ferry terminal in order to drop off the panniers. It was early for ferry operations and the terminal building was very quiet. I stacked up the panniers on the shelves in the left luggage room, next to my spare clothes bag that had been there all week.

On the way into town, I removed the rusty improvised tent 'poles' that I'd been carrying from the Skerries and put them in a roadside bin. I'd have to find some proper replacements before using the tent again.

I carried on through town and made my way along the Esplanade to the car park on Victoria Pier to see if anything was happening. The Bressay ferry was making its way across the Sound, so I cycled back to the little ferry terminal and joined the group of people waiting in the drizzle for the boat to dock. It didn't take long, and after the vehicles were loaded, I was ushered onto the car deck of the MV Leirna for the short voyage.

The passenger lounge was relatively humid from all the damp coats and hats drying gently in the brief warmth. I spotted Yvonne and Ian sat on a bench. Ian pushed his way through the throng for a chat and we swopped stories of what we'd done since we'd last met. He told me that the Noss Nature Reserve was having an open day and that passage across to the island was free. That obviously accounted for the number of passengers making the crossing.

The cars disembarked the ferry and were long gone by the time I'd clipped in and started turning the cranks. It was a slightly lonely trek across a relatively wild landscape, however I made good progress taking full advantage of my pannier free status. There was a bit of a climb to start, then a steady ride across a gently sloping plain to the concrete block building by a loch, behind which I'd sheltered during my last attempt to get to Noss. The road rises up again before dropping down to the coast and terminating at a car park with a wonderful view of Noss set out below.

There was a lot more activity going on than the previous time I'd stood in this spot. Firstly there was a RIB ploughing backwards and forwards across the Sound clearly taking people across to the island.


Then there were a number of banners advertising the open day.


On closer inspection, across the water I could make out a modest stream of people making their way around the island before disappearing around a distant headland. I propped the bike up against a wooden trailer and made my way down to the jetty to await the next crossing.


I was handed a lightweight life jacket and given instructions on how to put it on, which turned out to be trickier than it looked for a complete novice. I managed to extricate my arm in time for the RIB that came alongside and I was helped aboard, along with a number of other passengers. This enterprise appeared to offer no end of dangerous possibilities and my risk assessment powers were working overtime. The boat headed into the not inconsiderable inter-island swell, describing a huge arc as it powered first against, then with the current. We drew alongside a concrete jetty and disembarked after an exhilarating ride.

I followed the path which wound round to the Noss Visitor Centre.


The volunteers made everyone welcome and I learned quite a lot in a very short space of time. This included amongst many other things, the wildlife to look out for, the history of the Shetland pony trade, where to walk on the island and what to avoid, the geographical highlights offered around the coast and when the last boat would leave the island.


I'd not really intended to go that far so headed out on a random path and hoped to get a taste of the place. I wandered around the sweep of a sandy beach from where the vista opened up down the mainland coast.



Eventually, I retraced my steps back to the visitor centre and had a look in the other direction. There was another RIB on a beach being prepared it seemed for an expedition, judging by all the gear being loaded onboard. I watched for a while as the crew made ready to leave and sped off quickly out to sea.


After a while, I decided that I should cross back to Bressay in order to avoid the risk of being late for the Northlink departure. A volunteer asked if I'd been able to see everything that I'd wanted and I told him that I had. In truth, with more time, food and equipment, I probably would have followed the path all the way around the island and explored the recommended coastal features.

The crossing back across the Sound was even more hairy, to the point where I wondered if the Noss ferry had ever lost any passengers. The issue was landing on the other side, which in my case, involved a few aborted attempts accompanied each time by a 'whoops, maybe we should try that again' and the application of full power to take us back around. I had every sympathy as the current was running fast and judging the wave to come in on, called for a good deal of expertise on the part of the guy at the helm. On perhaps the fourth attempt, we made a solid approach and I leapt out narrowly avoiding a drenching by the next wave. All in all a very momorable experience. I handed back my life jacket and climbed the bank to take some photographs.

In the end, I needn't have been concerned about the time as I made good progress across Bressay and met the next crossing to Lerwick with hardly any delay. I mooched around a few shops but my heart wasn't really in it. In reality, the fact that this would be my last visit made me sad and all I wanted to do was get on the boat.

Back at the Holmsgarth ferry terminal, cars were already being loaded so I presented myself at vehicle check-in. The nice lady radioed ahead and sought permission for me to go aboard straight away and I heard the crackled positive response as it winged its way back over the airwaves. So it was that I cycled over the ramp and disppeared into the belly of the ferry, leaving Lerwick for the final time.


Day nine