12th June, Sunday

Slow start today – had funny dreams in which it was essential I remembered all of the nation’s choice for Desert Island Discs and I couldn’t and I have been fretting about it all day.  I decided I wouldn’t get going until I’d got hold of a Sunday paper, preferably an Observer.  Did all the necessary chores and packed up the Van. There is always something I forget to do.  Today it was not retracting the step.

Anyway, when I got to Tescos there were no papers.  I was told that they usually arrived between11.30 to 12.  So I went on a mini-tour around the ness of Lerwick where I had not been.  I did a mini-walk with bad timing as there was a deluge.  I came back through the kirk yard where there are commonwealth war graves. 

Up in Shetland the headstones are of granite rather than Portland stone.  Given the aggressive lichens and the weathering up here probably Portland stone wouldn’t last long.

When I got back to Tescos (after changing out of my soaked clothes) I still had to hang around for the papers – they had arrived but they had to have their inserts put in.  So I leaned on the racks reading Private Eye until they arrived back.  And, bugger me, the Observer doesn’t give a list of the nation’s Desert Island Discs….

Then I bit the bullet and set off to Esha Ness, stopping at the Brae Hotel, in Brae,  just south of Mavis Grind, for the luxury of a Sunday lunch (6 out of 10 = which is a lot better than Saxa Vord which I would give 1 out of 10 in that I wasn’t ill). 

Mavis Grind is an isthmus between the Atlantic/St Magnus Bay to the west and the North Sea/Sullom Voe to the east and supposedly a stone can be thrown from one sea to the other.  I didn’t stop (because of the rain) but will do on the way back.

The stories of Brae and Mavis Grind: Back in the 70s the police in Shetland all came from Aberdeen – no self-respecting Shetlander would join the police force in those days.  If a police car was seen in Brae, heading north to Mavis Grind some sort of bush telegraph went into action to alert all the farmers - who were driving around on their unlicenced tractors - to get off the roads.

I stopped off at Hillswick  - back in 1975 and 1980 the nearest pub, The Booth, was here and, I have to admit, some time was spent there.

I remembered a small room with a bar in the corner and that the publican was not jolly. There are not many buildings in Hillswick and I was contemplating, in the rain, the door which I thought was that of The Booth when a woman came out and invited me in.  Jan had taken over the pub and run it for a few years and then morphed it to a cafe.  Now it is just a weekend tea room.  She also runs an animal sanctuary – for seals and otters – but has no animals at present.  She knew all about the folk that I remembered so I was able to catch up.  And I was right about the camp site at Braewick, it is run by Maxi and Margaret’s son, Magnus and his wife Christina.  Jan is having a music night on 24th June and invited me but I’m not sure if I’ll stay until then, let’s see.  She said I’d find a lot of changes at Braewick

St Magnus Bay Hotel – this was too smart for us back in the 70s.  What I didn’t know was that it is a C19th prefabricated building exhibited by Norwegians in the Great Exhibition and imported to Hillswick by the North Scotland, Orkney and Shetland Steam Navigation Company.

So I went off up to Braewick.  There are lots of new buildings – there is a Cafe, the building for which houses the facilities for the camp site.  There are a lot of new farm buildings. There is some new development on the other side of the road, I don’t know whether that is theirs or not.  I introduced myself to Christina so I’ve done that. 

At about 5.30 the skies cleared so at 6 I set off to do the ness.

View from camp site @ 6

It was a beautiful clear evening – still is, at 11 pm I haven’t put the light on.  There is a fabulous pink sunset.  One of the thoughts I’ve been having is that Shetland and Patagonia have a lot in common – extended days (in summer), wonderful sunsets, lots of wind, wildness, wild life, inability to cope with tourism – physically and philosophically.

I went to Pete’s croft – it’s looking sad and unloved but seems to be wind and weather-proof.   And, great luxury, there is a road to it so you don’t have to cross several fields and fall into lochans to get to it now.

Dore Holm

Walked on to the lighthouse and then back along the shore. 

Stenness was another haaf fishing base

Hillswick

Pete’s croft, on the right

Best thing was that I saw a red-throated diver on the way out, out on a lochan and on the way back looked for it and found it was on the shore.  I’ve seen a number of these birds while up here but never on shore so this is worth a blurred photo.

Red throated diver on water

White blob in middle  = RTD

View at 9.30 pm