A couple of years ago I was visiting both Orkney and Shetland together with a friend. During a three day stay each place, I had my first introduction to these islands, situated north of Scotland. The islands have a history that goes several thousand of years back. Many archeological sites proves there has been settlements as far back as the Stone Age. Viking settlers lived on the islands through 500 years. They have left so many traces. In fact many names of streets and places derive from Scandinavian languages. The name of the capital, Lerwick derives from the Old Norse name « Leirvik» which means «muddy bay» or something like that.
Queens Hotel
Backside of the hotel
Because our arrival by boat from Orkney was early in the morning, we couldn't check in at our hotel yet. Lerwick doen't have a lot of choices so we ended up at the Queens Hotel built in 1860. But friendly staff and a hearty breakfast made up for the lack of modern touches. It's situated by the waterfront. We left our luggage at the hotel and then went out to explore town. A good way to start was to take a walk that took me through the older part of town along the windy coastline to a historical site, before I ended up back in town to meet up with my friend again.
The home of Jimmy Perez
Home of Fred Irwine
The name «Lodberries» originates from the Old Norse – Hladberg – which means a place where the boat could dock for loading and unloading. This area has many old houses. Besides the hotel there is a house which is known as the home of the detective Jimmy Perez in the BBC's Shetland drama. One of the days we were staying here there was an incident with a policecar turning up in front of our hotel. We felt like we were in the middle of a movie scene. As I kept walking south, I passed a house where the garage roof is a boat. This house used to be the home of the artist Fred Irwine.
After a short time, the road turned into a hiking trail that follows the coastline around an area called The Knab. It's uphill until the highest point is reached. Steep cliffs, but beautiful view of the sea and the landscape.
Then it's downhill towards town. The area I passed is named The Sletts! In Norweagian we would say "slettene". No doubt about where that name come from!
When I reached the main road, I noticed the sign pointing towards Clickimin Broch. Instead of going straight back to town, I made a detour to include a visit there too.
Information boards gives a good idea of what the place might have looked like when people lived here. Because it has been renovated it is still possible to identify the tower, the enclosing wall and the smaller stones around it.
Clickimin Broch is one of Scotland's most iconic brochs from the Iron Age. It is believed that this tower was built between 2400 and 2100 years ago. The location is on a small peninsula, but when it was built the water level was higher making it accessible only by a narrow causeway.
Back in town, it was time to rest the legs and taste a locally produced beer from the island's own brewery.
On a map Shetland looks so small and I actually used to think there can't be much to see and do. I was wrong. To my surprise I learned they have a lot more to offer than what I had expected. Fort Charlotte in Lerwick is worth a visit too. Then there are all the archeological sites that can be dated back to the Stone Age. Three days was not enough.
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