Day 3 - Out and about in Lerwick
We arrived on the Shetland mainland by tender, having been awesomely escorted to the front of the queue by our concierge Alex (I could get used to these perks!). The day was slightly cloudy, but thankfully no rain fell on us. We loaded into our 8-seater taxi, led by our driver Alastair from Allied Taxis.
Our first stop was Clickimin Broch, a site inhabited from about 1000 BC to AD 500 and situated on a promontory jutting into Clickimin Loch. Its circular structure was built out of smooth, grey stones dappled and weathered with age. This historic site is just the kind I like–the kind you can climb over, around, and on. (I probably should not say that as a museum professional interested in conservation, but…well, it's lasted since 1000 BC, clearly it's well built!) A Broch is a tower built in the Iron Age. The Broch would have originally been about 12-15 m high, but now its walls are only about 3 to 5 m high. You can crouch and climb through the low doorways to get into the centre of the site, and from there you can climb up one of several roughly hewn staircases. We had some fun staging Indiana Jones-esque daring escapes, and then returned to the taxi for some more adventures.
The landscape is gorgeously green, and it reminds me of driving through the west of Ireland. On the way to the next site, Alastair suddenly slowed the car and pulled to the side of the road. Luckily, he only wanted to give us a chance to meet three adorable Shetland ponies at the side of the road. They were completely tame and let us rub their heads and take plenty of pictures. I considered bringing one home, but I doubted that our concierge would appreciate keeping a pony in the Garden Villa. Oh well.
Our second stop was Jarlshof, another outdoor site run by Historic Scotland, although this one came with a visitors' centre and an entrance charge. The text panels were fairly brief, but their conciseness was welcome with the chill wind coming off the water. We wandered in and out of the ruins of the walls, tracing various stages of habitation. I found myself wishing that more of the information from inside the visitor centre was available outside, but still appreciated the site. Seeing the beautiful coastal location, I understood why people had been building and rebuilding on this particular site throughout history.
Later on we arrived at the viewing point across from St. Ninian's Isle. From the mainland, a tombolo (a thin stretch of land) connects the island to the mainland. The isle is known for the St. Ninian's treasure, a silver horde discovered on the island in 1958 by a local schoolboy volunteering on an archaeological dig. The horde is usually on display in Edinburgh, but is currently back home in Shetland, at the brand new Shetland Museum, which we also visited. (Insert museum repatriation debate here…)
The Shetland Museum, built in 2007, is absolutely beautiful. We unfortunately did not have time to go to every exhibit, but from the few that we visited, I can tell that the rest must be equally impressive. The museum features excellent multimedia interactives, well-designed exhibits, and superbly displayed artefacts.
Before we left the island, Kirsten and I picked up a CD of Shetland's unique fiddle music from a local music shop. The band, Fiddler's Bid, has a really neat sound, and we've been listening to it all day. I wonder if we will pick up some Bjork CDs in Iceland… Maybe not.
View interactive map of the voyage
Read the other articles:
Days 7-11 Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and journey's end
Day 5 - Iceland: Tour, Geology and Saga Museum
Day 4 - Cabin Fever on the HIGH Seas
Day 3 - Ruins and Treasure Hoards
Day 3 - Tastes of Shetland
Day 3 - Archaeological Mother Lode
Day 3 - Out and about in Lerwick (you are here)
Day 3 - Lerwick town and harbour
Day 1 - Katherine's first impressions
Day 0 - Outfitting the expedition
Useful links
Historic Scotland
Shetland Museum
Visit Shetland
Added 2008/09/20 @ 22:41:05
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