I spoke to both Christina and Magnus. I said I intended to climb Ronas Hill. Magnus said it would rain in the afternoon so I needed to get moving.
Ronas Hill, in cloud from Collafirth Hill
Ronas Hill is the highest point in Shetland: 450m. But you have to drive to the top of Collafirth Hill first which is 233m and up a steep and not very well maintained road.
The terrain is rolling, rocky or peaty. I wouldn’t like to walk in in lower cloud. The views weren’t great because of the cloud but it was still worth doing and is another thing ticked off the list.
The unusual trig point – sheltered by a wall
The best thing was that while waiting for the clouds to shift I saw a mountain hare. And even better I saw another when driving back down the hill and got a photo
The road down - slightly more scarey than driving up it.
I wonder what use a plane fuselage is put to?
Lighthouse at the Point of Fethaland, the north end of Mainland Shetland
To get to the Point of Fethaland you have to cross this isthmus where, at the end of C19th sixty sixareens were based and therefore 360 men would have lived here.
In Shetland, and Orkney, rhubard seems to grow easily and is therefore an important crop. You find it in walled compounds close to dwellings, existing and former. We found some on the shore on Westray in Orkney and scrumped some.
By the time I reached the isthmus it was raining quite hard so I turned back – a 3 mile trek back.
It is now raining very hard and blowing very hard – if this keeps up I will be rocked to sleep and will need to use my earplugs!
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