Orkney & Shetland 2019 - Day 19

Lerwick and Scalloway

Introduction

The weather forecast was for overcast skies with showers and moderate winds so we decided to start the day by looking around some of Lerwick. As suspected, the weather cleared up so we headed west to Scalloway and other locations.

Lerwick - the old town

Our hotel was located in the Old Town so it was a short walk to visit the old shops. Lovely old buildings, narrow lanes where nearly every lane had been renamed. We then walked up the hill to Fort Charlotte, and old fortification that looks out over the town and commands the narrow waters between Mainland Shetland and Bressay.

Lerwick Old Town is full of small lanes - this handrail is no good for skateboarders!
The central square in the rain.	Looking south along Commercial St.
	Jamieson's Wool Shop...	and how they weave tartan cloth.
	.	One of many renamed lanes...
	.
	The top, at 40m above ground	.
		Our accommodation - the Fort Charlotte Guest House
The rear of the guest house		Entrance to Fort Charlotte
	Commanding the waters	The ferry from Bressay
	"Who you looking at..??"
It might get cold here...

Scalloway, Bixter and Sandness

The weather cleared up late morning so we decided to drive west. This would take us first to the port of Scalloway and then through Whiteness,Hellister, tresta, Bixter and Twatt and on to the end of the road at Sandness. The landscape was rolling hills, small lakes and plenty of blanket peat bogs. There were no fences so the sheep and new lambs seemed to prefer the road for grazing. They clearly knew all about traffic as they took no notice as we drove past. By the time we had reached Sandness the wind and rain had returned - so much for having a picnic by the seaside. So we headed back to Lerwick hoping for an early dinner.

The road to Scalloway	Looking down on the port	The remains of Scalloway Castle dominate the town.
I don't think they have many passengers...	Scalloway Castle	Streets through Scalloway
	Presume the CCTV is to catch out non-payers..	Tingwall Loch
Looking down on Hellister	Looking south	Another view of Hellister
Welcome to Bixter - the sign was about all there was...	Now the road became single track.	Twins??
There are a lot of villages named "Toilets" in this area...	This one has a phone box!
The end of the road at Sandness.	Sandness Pier.
Lobster pots	Ponys on Shetland...
Someone has been collecting their peat for next winter.		Peat blocks neatly stacked.
	Stacked so they drain and the air can help the peat dry out.

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Last updated: 29/06/2019