Pipit

I'm writing a lot - for myself really - so please don't feel obliged to read. 

We had a great crossing last night. Very calm and sunny. We had a dog friendly cabin which is a big improvement on the crates on the car deck. Flora is very good and she slept well. As did we, though I was awake at my customary 05:00. I didn't mind though as I showered and got myself out on deck to watch the south mainland from the boat. There were gannets too - so good to see after the bird flu. 

We have a really comfortable apartment in Lerwick. We treated ourselves and booked it from yesterday. This meant that we could arrive straight from the boat at about 07:45 rather than waiting for a 4pm check in. We let ourselves in and had breakfast. Flora and I went for a walk round the Knab, a small headland, then into the town. Cameraman came to meet us and we went for a coffee. 

There were three cruise ships in - medium, large and extra large. This means that a lot of people would be coming ashore. 

We decided to dodge the crowds and go over to Bressay. It's maybe a 10 minute crossing from Lerwick. We walked to the famous Bressa Light, the Stevenson lighthouse which guides ships up the sound. I've done this walk before, most recently in 2022, and it's always a delight. I've added the lighthouse as an extra. On our return we stopped at the Speldiburn Cafe for soup which was delicious. 

We were on the 10:00 ferry going over and the 14:00 crossing back to Lerwick. We clocked up about 7.5 miles of walking on Bressay  so we were pleased with that. 

The main blip is a dear wee pipit - a meadow pipit I think. There were lots of them flitting about . The wildflowers were as gorgeous as I remembered from previous visits. 

When we got back to the town there were queues of people waiting to board the flit boats which ferry passengers to the cruise ships. We came back to the flat and put the kettle on! 

We are eating out tonight and it's an early booking. I imagine we won't be having a late night. I am very, very happy to be back in Shetland. I feel lucky to have made it again. 

Thank you for all the lovely comments yesterday - I'll try to do a bit of blip while I'm here.