Northern Isles Day 5

It was so quiet we slept till 8.30. Unheard of for me. So by the time we took on water, emptied black waste etc we were a bit later on the move than anticipated. This was partly due to a man who came off his boat, (I know nothing about them, but it had no sail and was quite big) for a chat. I say chat, but it was a monologue. He told us he’d been round Muckle Flugga yesterday and was going to Orkney, the Outer Hebrides, Wales, Cornwall and back home to Southampton. He mentioned other places too, and places he’d be meeting friends. It was hard to get away without being rude but we had to get on.

The sky cleared. The sun appeared and it was first stop at Aywick stores. What an emporium - it had everything from toys and gifts to hardware and food. We got a couple of very ripe nectarines and some grapes. Fruit and veg wasn’t their speciality, but we have enough to keep us going tonight. No newspapers either and I do love the Saturday Guardian.

Our next stop was Sandwick Beach which was surprisingly quiet considering it was a sunny day. Only us. We had a short walk there where we saw these fiesty ponies, before enjoying a hummus and salad sandwich and the ripe juicy nectarine.

We then headed for the ferry back to Mainland and drove up towards North Roe, having decided against the marina at Brae as it was stuffed with vans parked close together. We investigated a chambered cairn and two standing stones on the way back down the road. I had my eye on the small marina at Voe of the Brig but Mr C had other ideas.

The sign at the bottom of the road said it was only suitable for off-road vehicles but that didn’t deter him. He switched over to manual and we climbed the steep single track to Collafirth Hill. We are parked up with several cars at a site with 2 radio masts looking over to Ronas Hill, the highest in Shetland. We had a nice chat with a young couple celebrating the start of the school holidays with their children aged 4 and 6. They had all walked the stony, boggy 5 mile return to the top of Ronas back to their camper van. They showed us a little book they had of walks to do in the area. The cloud is down over the hill though we have sun. Not warm enough for my chair to sit outside though.