Thursday, September 12, 2019, Shetland Islands (Lerwick), Scotland
Shetland Islands
The Shetland Islands may be remote, but history did not overlook them. At the excavation site of Jarlshof, brochs (tall roundhouses of stone made without mortar) date to the Iron Age and an ancient Norse longhouse tells of a Viking community. History that is more recent echoes through the streets of Lerwick, the islands' sleepy capital founded by Dutch anglers. The main island, Mainland, gets much of its beauty from its diversity. Farmland and dreamy meadows unfold toward seal-dotted beaches. Columnar sea stacks and rocky cliffs take a beating from the surf in the north. Medieval castles overlook valleys and lakes in the west. The Shetlands are, for many visitors, several destinations rolled into one splendid locale.
Shetland Panorama & Ponies.
We stopped at a coastal castle, saw and learned about Shetland ponies and took in picturesque landscapes. We enjoyed a photo stop from above the castle, overlooking the harbor below, before visiting a Shetland pony breeder and enthusiast. Small ponies have existed in the Shetland Islands for over 2,000 years. Various excavations have revealed the bones of small ponies that existed during the Bronze Age; the ponies are thought to have been in domestic use since this time. We learned more about how these miniature ponies are bred and used today. We traveled north through the Tingwall Valley, with its Norse heritage, before heading through the peat- and heather-covered landscape to Girlsta, with its beautiful fresh water lochs and hillside scenery. We drove through Whiteness on the Atlantic coast to Wormadale for the chance to photograph many of the islands of the Shetland archipelago. We heard more about Shetland culture and heritage on the way back to our ship. Diane bought some Shetland Island wool (made from sheep!) to knit a shawl (some day).
A lot of sheep grazing.
Dog in sheep herding training on this poor statue of a little lamb.
Geese are a pest in the islands. Each one eats four-times as much grass as one sheep so ranchers can hunt and shoot as they like/need.
Ranch home.
Note the model train tracks in this rancher's front yard! Need something to do other that "ranching" in the long winters.
Heather; it only blooms about three weeks each summer. Most of it was already dormant.
Peat dig; it normally only needs to dry a month before burning for heat. This year is wetter than usual so it needs to dry 2 or 3 months.
Ruins of an old combination home (left end) and an attached barn (right, red roofed end).
The Shetland pony is a Scottish breed of pony originating in the Shetland Isles in the north of Scotland. The ponies range in height at the withers from approximately 28 inches to a permitted maximum of 42 inches. They have a heavy coat and short legs, and are considered quite intelligent. They are strong for their size, and are used for riding, driving, and pack purposes.
Shetland ponies originated in the Shetland Isles, located northeast of mainland Scotland. Small horses have been kept on the Shetland Isles since the Bronze Age. People who lived on the islands probably later crossed the native stock with ponies imported by Norse settlers. Shetland ponies also were probably influenced by the Celtic pony, brought to the islands by settlers between 2000 and 1000 BCE. The harsh climate and scarce food developed the ponies into extremely hardy animals.
Shetland ponies were first used for pulling carts, carrying peat, coal, and other items, and plowing farm land. Then, as the Industrial Revolution increased the need for coal in the mid-19th century, thousands of Shetland ponies traveled to mainland Britain to be pit ponies, working underground hauling coal, often for their entire (often short) lives. Coal mines in the eastern United States also imported some of these animals. The last pony mine in the United States closed in 1971.
The Shetland Pony Stud-Book Society is the breed society for the traditional Shetland throughout the world. It was started in 1890 to maintain purity and encourage high-quality animals. In 1957, the Shetland Islands Premium Stallion Scheme was formed to subsidize high-quality registered stallions to improve the breeding stock. In the United States, ponies may also be registered with the American Shetland Pony Club and the Shetland Pony Society of North America.
A number of pony breeds derive from the traditional Shetland. These include the American Shetland Pony and Pony of the Americas in the United States, and the Deutsches Classic Pony in Germany.
Carol providing interesting facts about the ponies.
At the conclusion of our time with the Shetland ponies, we began our trip toward our cruise ship at Lerwick.
Scalloway is the largest settlement on the North Atlantic coast of Mainland, the largest island of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The village had a population of roughly 900, at the 2011 census. Until 1708 it was the capital of the Shetland Islands (now Lerwick, on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland).
Scalloway is the location of the North Atlantic Fisheries College (part of the University of the Highlands and Islands), which offers courses and supports research programs in fisheries sciences, aquaculture, marine engineering and coastal management. It is also home to the Centre for Nordic Studies. Nearby are the Scalloway Islands, which derive their name from the village.
The village has a swimming pool and a primary school. Scalloway Junior High School, the secondary department was closed in July 2011 by the Shetland Islands Council.
Scalloway Castle was built in 1600 by The 2nd Earl of Orkney. The remains of the castle are the most notable feature of the village, located near the quay. (The castle is usually locked, but a key can be borrowed from the nearby Scalloway Hotel or from the adjacent Scalloway Museum.)
Norwegian boat builders from Hordaland, around the Bergen areas of Os and Tysnes, built yoals from about the 16th century. Oselvar, the traditional small wooden boat of Os, were taken apart and then 'flat packed' for shipping to Scalloway. Instead of sending complicated assembly instructions, they sent boat builders to rebuild them. Many of these stayed for years in Shetland, and some married there.
To the Hanseatic merchants from Bremen and Hamburg, Scalloway was known as Schaldewage, and as a good sheltered harbour on the route to Hillswick.
Barbara Tulloch and her daughter Ellen – the last witches to be burned in Shetland – were executed on Gallow Hill, overlooking the village.
During World War II, Scalloway was the home base for, and housed for some time the headquarters of The Shetland Bus, part of the Norwegian resistance against the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. The Norway House and the Prince Olav Pier / slipway, which formed major parts of the base are still existing. Details of the history of The Shetland Bus are on display at the Scalloway Museum.
In 1996, Kåre Emil Iversen published his wartime memoirs,I Shetland Bus Man. It was reprinted in 2004, with a new introduction and the title Scalloway Bus Man. Another Shetland author Willie Smith discusses this period extensively in his 2003 memoir Willie's War and Other Stories as does David J. Howarth in The Shetland Bus published in 1998.
After the war Scalloway served as harbour of the Shetland-Orkney ferry service (MV Orcadia) on the Scalloway–Stromness route. After the opening of the Schiehallion Oil Field off the west coast of Shetland, Scalloway took over some functions as a service base for the oil business.
Ruins of the old Scalloway Castle.
Leaving Scalloway, continued our way to the cruise ship.
Entering outskirts of Lerwick.
Lerwick is the main town and port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick has a population of about 7,500 residents while the total island population is about 23,000. Cars on the islands have a life of around ten years; they are pretty well rusted out by then. There are no trees (sometimes winds can get to almost 200 MPH). However, it rarely snows. Primary vegetation is heather and peat, still used for heat. In the 1970s when oil was found in the North Sea employment demands resulted in comfortable standards of living. Presently there is a lot of work decommissioning old oil drilling rigs.
Centered 123 miles off the north coast of the Scottish mainland and on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland, Lerwick lies 211 miles north-by-northeast of Aberdeen; 222 miles west of the similarly sheltered port of Bergen in Norway; and 228 miles south east of Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands. It is both the most northerly and easterly town in Scotland. One of the UK's coastal weather stations is situated there.
Three-year old high school.
Our guide referred to stone walls as "dry stone dykes."
City hall.
Our tour guide was originally from Netherlands but he has lived in the Shetland Islands for over 30 years. His knowlegde of the islands is exceptional and his accent is nil to Americans.
We will sail at 5 PM today for Bergen, Norway for a three-day stop.
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