From Skye to Shetland - Part Two - The Island Above All Others

Day 9
Both of us are interested in history and Unst has more Viking archeological remains than we would be able to see in a week. All of them require a degree of imagination and some also require some determination in terms of the effort required to reach them on foot. But we started with one of the best. A Viking longhouse was discovered on what is now the beach at Sandwick Bay. So off we went. A decent parking area adjacent to a farm/croft, a stile to climb and then a grassy path down to the beach. Whereupon we discovered a fairly large number of ruined buildings. But none appeared old enough to be Viking. They were in fact of different ages, but most 18th century. Interesting, but not what we’d come for.
Although there was another of the Tammie Norie staues! So we set off along the beach (in to a stiff breeze!) and eventually found the footprint of the Viking longhouse, with walls about 2 feet high. We spent quite a while there. Due to coastal erosion, the house will soon be lost to the sea. Further along and uphill from the beach there is a very old ruined chapel and graveyard (still in use – but the coffins are brought in by tractor now as there’s no road).

It was getting really cold, so we headed back to the car and on to Muness Castle, the only castle on Unst. It’s ruined and free to enter. Quite a substantial building, which we explored at our leisure and we found another of the Tammie Norie statues!

By now we were hungry, so we headed to the Last Checkout, Britain’s most northerly supermarket, which also has a café (not Britain’s most northerly that’s still to come…). The fare was rather basic, but a couple of bacon rolls and a pot of tea did the trick. The other customers were mainly military personal from the local radar station.

Day 10
The weather forecast proved accurate and it was a rainy day. The perfect opportunity to take part in a fused glass workshop at https://www.glansinglass.co.uk in the south of Unst. We had arranged this in advance and there were two other people in the workshop. We had enormous fun designing and creating glass coasters, using our choice of frit (fragments of coloured glass), mosaic and long thing strips of glass (sort of like spaghetti). Our creations were then fused in the kiln and we revisited later in the week to collect them (or they could have been posted to us). Cheryl’s work is beautiful and we purchased some pieces to bring home as a permanent reminder of our holiday. Definitely something we will do again when we return to Unst. You might even spot us on the Glansin Glass facebook page….

When the workshop was over we explored the bay at Uyeasound for a spot of beachcoming and seaglass hunting.

Day 11
The day dawned bright and sunny, although very breezy, so it was time to explore the north eastern edge of Unst. Off to Norwick beach, which we had to ourselves, for a walk and some more beach combing. I had hoped to find some driftwood to use as a backdrop for some beach glass and beach pottery pictures that I want to create, but despite hunting all week I didn’t find any. I had read that islanders create stacks of driftwood above the water line and then come back and collect it when they have found ‘enough’. It’s custom not to disturb or take someone else’s driftwood, but I’d hope I might find some freshly deposited pieces – or even one piece, but not a single piece did I find!
After Norwick we went to Skaw, which is the site of the most northerly home in the UK and the most northerly beach. A wonderful walk on the beach and then the cliff, where we observed lots of curious seals, who followed us as we walked. Skyeboy also ‘found’ the remains of a structure poking out of the cliff above the beach. We mused as to what it might be, noticed the rounded edge of the building and what was clearly worked stone. We couldn’t find any mention of archaeological remains on our OS map, and would need to wait until later in the week to solve the mystery.

After lunch we decided to drive up to Saxa Vord, which is an ex UK Air Force base, now home to Saxa Vord Spaceport. This is a private enterprise which has secured a licence to build a rocket launch pad on the former RAF base. In fact the pad is a few miles north from the former base buildings. And just as well because the first test launch earlier this year was not a roaring success. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c4gl847x7p5o

Day 12
This time it was off to the west of the island to try to find more Viking remains. We went first to Lund, apparently site of two Viking longhouses, but despite a detailed OS map we were out of luck. However, there’s a fine beach at Lund and also a Viking chapel (St Olaf), with some very rare (and weather worn) Viking headstones. Again the cemetery is still in use, and we were interested in the Sandison family plot. They seemed from the detailed inscriptions on some of the headstones to be a significant family and we found out more about them from Cheryl, the owner of Glansin Glass when we returned to collect out work. They are indeed still a significant (and relatively wealthy) Unst family, who provide bursaries to young islanders to help them in their studies. There was also a Commonwealth War Grave in the cemetary. It’s always very moving to find out a little more about those who perished in the various conflicts and this one was no exception. He perished at Gallipoli in WW1.

Then back to the other side of the bay to Westing beach for a beach walk, and then Underhoul, site of a Viking Longhouse (which we found with ease) nestled next to an iron age broch (tower structure). A really interesting site. Casting our eyes around we saw ruins of 19th century croft houses (presumably where the crofters were ‘cleared’ from the land and sent to the US/Canada/New Zealand/Australia. But also a few modern houses, with islanders still making their living from crofting and fishing.

Lunch was excellent mint and pea soup with crusty bread, followed by homemade cake at Victoria’s Vintage Tearoom in Haroldswick (on our way ‘home’). This really is the UK’s most northerly café and very good it was too.

We thought we might get a view of Muckle Flugga lighthouse (which is on a rocky outcrop off the north coast of Unst) from the Saxa Vord Remote Radar Station, so off we went…..

Obviously as the radar station is still in use we knew we would not be able to drive right up to it, but some other tourists had told us there was an ‘interesting’ road to be discovered. The road took a left turn just before the radar station. A sign indicated a “Planetary Trail”. It seemed to be a series of posts starting with the Sun, and then posts for each planet in our solar system, with the posts getting further and further apart. Since returning home we have discovered that it is actually a walk not a drive. It makes perfect sense for it to be a walk because it was a very sketchy drive as the ‘road’ got narrower and became more track-like. In wet weather it would not have been possible to drive and it’s probably not advisable, but we made it and there was a concrete area at the end where many cars had clearly turned around. There was also another of those elusive Tammie Norie statues!

The views were stunning. Of the Lighthouse, our cottage, the beach at Burrafirth and the moors. A really special place, if a slightly scary drive to get there!

Day 13
This was the day that our glass pieces would be ready to collect and also our last full day on the island. We haven’t yet mentioned the excellent Skiboul Stores and Bakery. This is found in Baltasound, which is actually the main settlement on Unst. The range of groceries is excellent, but the baked goods are really exceptional, especially when you consider that you’re on a tiny island with a population of about 700 people. We visited Skiboul every day and picked up delicious bread and sweet treats ranging from chocolate pasty twists, apple pies, Portuguese custard tarts and also savoury items such as homemade quiche.

Baltasound is interesting as it was once the site of Europe’s largest herring port. In peak season the population could reach 12,000, many of them young women employed to gut the fish and pack them in a barrels for onward transport. They could gut 60 fish a minute and wrapped their hands in strips of cloth to help protect them. We learned all this at the excellent Unst Heritage centre up the road in Haroldswick. This is housed in the old primary school building and has excellent displays on the geography and geology, local history, and of course Shetland knitting and weaving. Just down the road by the sea is a reconstructed Viking longhouse and longship. Both very interesting and free to visit.

Finally we paid a visit to the UK’s most northerly charity shop. Next door to the Final Checkout grocery store and café, it’s called UP and is a treasure trove. Bargains galore! Also some locally made jams, marmalades and chutneys. Only open two days a week, so plan your visit carefully not to miss this gem.

Day 14
Time to go home. We packed up and left our holiday cottage at around 9am, catching the ferries to Yell and then mainland Shetland before one last visit to Lerwick. Here we revisited the Cope charity shop for some final bargains, before lunch at No88 on Commercial Stree and a further browse in the excellent Shetland Museum and Archives, which may have resulted in the purchase of some knitting books. Finally it was time to check in for our overnight ferry to Aberdeen. This time we had arranged for a space on the main car deck, so no difficult ramps and reversing to negotiate.

Our cabin was a twin bedded outer (with porthole) so no bunk beds this time. We didn’t have a lounge pass, so it was cafeteria food for us. We were warned it would be a roughish crossing once the ship cleared Sumburgh Head so everyone decided to eat early and the cafeteria was busy. Food was very good and we were soon in our cabin to settle down for the crossing. Having braved the southern ocean and Drake’s passage en route to Antarctica we didn’t find the crossing rough and slept well. We barely even noticed the ship dock in Kirkwall, Orkney on its way to Aberdeen. We docked at 7.30am right on schedule and were home in Skye by 3pm. A wonderful holiday and we can’t wait to return to explore more of Shetland.

Finally, a huge thanks to jjgurley. His trip reports of two visits to Shetland were invaluable in helping us plan our own trip.

What Fun! Thanx!

Wow, Skyegirl, it sounds like you had such an incredible trip! I loved your description of the cottage you stayed in and every place was just a marvel. Oh, it makes me really want to jump on a place and head out there now. Thank you so much for writing this! And I definitely want to try the Skiboul Stores and Bakery!

Thanks for this.

Now we need to go back - I thought I had successfully crossed Unst off my bucket list. We didn't even know about the Tammie Norie!

Enjoyed. I love Shetland but I am bias since my ancestors are from Shetland. I have been blessed since I have been able to visit twice.

Kim

Thank you for such an.excellent write up,enjoyed that.
Unst is my ultimate place...will get there one year...

I hear Bobbys bus shelter is in need of some TLC mind

Richard. Yes Bobby’s Bus Stop is currently undecorated. I think the front glass panel is missing too.

Thanks for your report. I feel like I have just been on holiday, too. :)