Category: Nature

Gloup memorial

On the very top of Yell is the village Gloup and the Gloup memorial, remembering 58 fishermen who died in a summer storm in 1881.

My next stop was in the middle of Yell, I wanted to visit a broch which sounded like a nice hike along the coastline.

The start was pretty easy, I just had to follow a track and enjoyed the view.

The map said to walk across the remains of this farm, but I just couldn’t find the way, maybe it was blocked on that day or I just wasn´t looking good enough. So I turned back.

I love these little flowers I saw all over Shetland, they reminded me of little pieces of cotton.

The white wife of otterswick

I already went looking for the white lady on my first day in Yell, but couldn´t find it. But in the meantime I found a map for a hike going to the lady and that made it a bit easier, it still wasn´t easy to find places in Yell.

Somewhere down there should be the White Wife – the story of the statue is a sad one.

Da Wooden Wife, is a sad one. She is the reconstructed figurehead of the Bohus, a German sail training vessel which sank at the Ness of Queyon in 1924, with a crew of 39, many of them young cadets, and the loss of 4 lives. (Northlinkferries.co.uk)

In April 1923 the ship Bohus set sail from Goteburg to Chile, but a navigation error brought her 60 miles off course. During a storm, the skipper mistook the Out Skerries lighthouse for the Fair Isle light and the ship was dashed on the rocks. She sank within one hour.

Men from Yell tried to help and threw a line towards the ship to save the crew members. The surviving men were taken into homes in Yell but four men perished this day.

A few months later the figurehead of the Bohus came ashore, in surprisingly good condition and was erected on the shore above the wreck site as a memorial. In 1986 the statue was completely restored.

I continued my way up north in Unst in direction of the Shetland Reel Distillery for my gin tasting. On the way, I saw some of Unsts sights, it was easier here to find them than in Yell.

 

Bobby´s Bus shelter

Probably the most famous bus shelter worldwide – Bobby´s Bus Shelter and this lovely honesty box is situated near Baltasound. Each year the shelter gets decorated with a new theme, but nobody knows who are the masterminds behind the decoration.

And you definitely want to have a look into that honesty box, such amazing produce!

Saxa Vord

It was time for my gin tasting at the most northerly distillery in the UK – Shetland Reel Gin. It turned out that I was the only guest and got to try all the different gins. It was founded to distil whisky and as we all know whisky takes a long time, so to earn some money gin seemed to be an option. Using only local botanicals Shetland Reel gin soon earned awards and lots of fans. They still don´t produce whisky but a range of different gins with special editions for the Up Helly AA festival, a rocket countdown or special book editions. I also got the tip to look out for the special editions in the local shops as they often stock them. (A few days later I was lucky enough to score a Filska edition, which was very tasty.)

Even so, I kept myself back with tasting the different gin a bit of a walk was necessary and I wanted to explore Saxa Vord anyway,

Unst played an important role in the defence of the UK during World War 2. By 1945 there were two radar stations in Unst, one at Saxa Vord and another one in Skaw. The houses and buildings we see today used to house the employees until its closing in 2005.

Today there is a new radar station based in Saxa Vord, but nobody is based there all the time. The houses and buildings became holiday resorts. My lovely guide at the distillery told me, that usually lots of guests from Norway come with cruises and stay in Unst. This year I was the first non-UK-resident tourist coming to Shetland Reel.

Skaw Beach

Skaw is the most northerly settlement in the UK, including the most northern house. I went to the most northerly beach, which was stunning. And it is also the most northerly point of the British Cycle Route.

It is a narrow and sometimes steep road to get there but it is worth it!