Hopefully this trip report will help anyone else thinking of attending Shetland Wool Week. I’ll also briefly touch on other locations visited on this trip, just to call out a few of the activities we did and note places we stayed.
Shetland Wool Week First off, thank you again to this forum for even mentioning this event. I never would have heard of it otherwise. For anyone thinking of attending SWW, start your planning about a year before the event. My friends and I started planning almost exactly a year from today (first or second weekend in Nov 2023) and even then many of the accommodation providers we contacted were already booked for SWW 2024.
The one place out of at least 20 that we contacted that wasn’t yet booked was Norbister and we are so happy we ended up there. Carol Simpson is absolutely wonderful to work with. The cottage was perfect, with 3 bedrooms (we each got our own room!!) and two bathrooms. Norbister is located on East Burra and was an easy 15-20 min drive to Lerwick. The Burra Feeder bus also had a stop at East Hogalund Rd which was just across the road from the cottage’s long driveway.
If you go to SWW, sign up for a membership. Once memberships go on sale (in the spring if I recall), purchase one. Membership will get you access to the class schedule a week or two before tickets go on sale in the summer. This extra time to review the class offerings is very important. There are so many classes, tours, talks, drop-ins, open houses, etc offered during SWW that you will need the extra time to figure it all out. If you wait to pick your classes until the tickets go on sale, you likely won’t get many of the classes you want and you will make mistakes.
One mistake that many people seemed to make was not looking at a map. When planning out your classes or tours, be sure to look at a map. If you have a class that gets out at 1pm in Lerwick and another class that starts at 2pm on Whalsay, you’re not going to make it. It’s just not possible. Likewise, if you’re not going to rent a car, then you need to look at a map and the bus schedule before you purchase your tickets. Trust me, spend the few pounds to get the membership and then sit down and start puzzling it all out.
Renting a car will help you get around. The buses are handy when they happen to work out for you, but don’t expect a bus network like you may have at home, especially if, like me, you come from an area with frequent, speedy bus services. Taxis are an option, but they will be spendy if you travel longer distances. I’ve driven all over England, Scotland and Wales. Driving in Shetland was a breeze. The roads are in excellent condition, the other drivers were all courteous and thankfully not quick with their horns, when an out-of-town took a bit longer to say pull out on the road or was driving a bit slower looking for their turn-off. We rented from Jim’s Garage which worked out perfectly for us since we took the ferry to Shetland and Jim’s has a small pick up/drop off office in the Shetland Hotel just across the street from the ferry terminal.
In terms of the classes themselves. They were all wonderful. The instructors who shared their knowledge and skills were all very helpful and patient. I was able to enroll in all but one of the classes I had targeted. This meant I was very busy. Too busy to see much of Shetland other than what I saw while travelling to my classes. If you go, leave time to explore on your own. We make a day trip to Unst on our own, after participating in the Fair Isle Fused Glass class on Unst, we enjoyed an extraordinarily sunny and warm day on Unst. It was amazing. I also made it out to Whalsay where I needle felted a draatsie at Peerie Oorick. Whalsay, what I saw of it (just the area around the main harbor) was nice.
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