Shetland! Day 2: Fetlar, Mainland, Muckle Roe, Whalsay

After a decent night's sleep and and a spot of breakfast we set off for an early morning explore of Fetlar. There's only really one road, and as we'd arrived from one end, we decided to check out the other. First place we came to was Funzie (disappointingly pronounced 'Finnie' apparently), not really worthy of a place name, but at the end was a shingle beach with the 'Haa of Funzie standing above, from where Shetland fisherman in the nineteenth century set out in their open topped sixareens to fish the waters up to fifty miles out to sea in treacherous conditions. Not stopping for long we went right to the end of the road,  parked the car and continued on foot around some impressive cliffs with turquoise sea below. 

We made a brief stop to cross on a narrow isthmus to a piece of land almost cut off from the rest of the island, we figured one day it'll probably erode itself away into an island, then when it does we can say we've been there already. Counts right? On up the hill we came to our intended destination, the round house at Gruting (which is definitely not a place. It has one building and that has fallen down). 

The roundhouse was built by Sir Arthur Nicholson, classic Shetland baddie, who bought most of Fetlar in the past sometime and told all the crofters they had to leave his land. He used the stones from their dismantled and demolished crofts at Gruting to build his own 'single storey classic summerhouse' on the loneliest spot on the island. Rumour has it that he only stayed one night, because he heard strange noises and was too unsettled to stay any longer. Was it the ghosts of the displaced farmers showing their displeasure? Probably not, but it was a good background story for a bracing walk up through the Fetlar countryside.

The beach at Funzie

The sea looked more Scilly than Shetland here

The beach at Gruting

What's left of the roundhouse at Gruting

Back to the car and straight back to the ferry at Hamar's Ness we again crossed Yell doublequick and on to the mainland. The itinerary had a few hours free before our next ferry crossing, so we decided to see what extra islands we could fit in. The first of these was big enough and populated enough that we really should have had it in our sights before, but it was good that we had some time to explore Muckle Roe (6) either way. To get there you go west from what looked like Shetland's most happening town outside of Lerwick, Brae, but you don't carry around the road towards Northmavine, it's probably pretty easy to miss. Joined to the mainland by a little bridge it's a pretty uniformly round island (used to be a volcano) and home to around a hundred people who don't have to rely on a ferry to get anywhere unlike most of the people on the other islands. 

After stopping for the obligatory thumbs up pictures we did our usual thing and carried on to the end of the only road, which turns into a track, which turns into a footpath, and eventually you come to yet another rugged and beautiful beach, this time we had what looked like some kayaking scouts for company, well their tents and their kayaks at least, no-one to be seen. This seemed like as good a location as any to host the inaugural Shetland All-Britain Rock Boules Cup, with me representing Wales, Mike was England, Liam tenuously Ireland as his Dad's Dad is from there, and Fran even more tenuously Scotland as that's where she went to medical school. Despite difficult weather conditions the first two rounds saw Wales and England qualify for the final, with Wales taking the eventual crown. Just a little bit of competitive sport to make up for us missing the start of the olympics!

The sign actually relates to the bridge, they neither widened nor strengthened the island

Fishing Boat

Action shot from the sporting action

On the beach on Muckle Roe

 Having consulted lots of maps for possible islands we could visit without the use of a boat in between trips, we had seen Gluss-Isle and thought we'd give it a go. Heading for the first time across the narrow isthmus of Mavis Grind and into Northmavine we drove towards Ollaberry and down a tiny farm track to Gluss, where a causeway stretched across the water to the 'island'. Braving Arctic Terns overhead and scaring away the resident sheep we crossed the ayre on to the landmass, but we were far from sure it counted as a proper island. Knowing that the tidal range in Shetland is very low, only about a metre and a half, the causeway seemed to dry and established to ever be covered by the sea. After some tentative photos we returned to the car, and in one of Shetland's rare and seemingly random 3g reception areas confirmed via smartphone that no, Gluss-Isle, despite the name, is really just a glorified peninsula.

The causeway to Gluss

Is it a bird, is it a plane? It definitely isn't an island!

 Moving on, to what definitely does count as an island we drove across the mainland to Laxo for the four o'clock ferry to Whalsay (7). In the main the ferries around Shetland are quick, cheap and hassle free to use, presumably heavily subsidised as they are a vital lifeline to the residents. The boat to Whalsay was no exception, and we left the car at Laxo to cross as foot passengers for the half hour ride.

For its size and distance from the mainland Whalsay felt positively bustling with activity during the three hours or so we spent there, with Symbister, home of a large part of the Shetland fishing fleet genuinely managing to feel like somewhere with something going on. Boasting its own leisure centre, well appointed school, actual proper shops and Britain's most northerly golf course, it was one of the few islands I could imagine people actually living their lives on. 

After a stop to explore the Hanseatic trade museum in the authentic booth right out on the harbourside (entrance a pound, get the keys in the shop across the road) we headed up into the hills for a good ramble, vaulting a couple of fences and dodging an angry looking bull to get out on the open moorland. After a bracing couple of miles and an awful game of throw the rock at the rock, we collected lots of shells for fun and then returned to Symbister and waited for the ferry back 'home'.

If the Whalsay tourist board is looking for a new poster boy...

Emblem outside the museum

Boggy

Boats in the harbour at Symbister

 Home that night was at the Sail-Loft camping böd in Lower Voe, a great big space with room for sixteen, but we had it to ourselves. Overlooking the little pier behind, and conveniently opposite the only pub we ventured into in Shetland, the Pierhead restaurant and bar, where we splashed out on moules et frites, presumably caught fresh that day from one of the many mussel farms in the voe. A relaxing end to what was a fairly relaxing day island count wise, only two new ones, though we'd hoped it might have been three, still lots more days to go!

The view from the window at the Sail Loft