Na rathaidean fada, lùbach tro Chuimrigh agus Alba

Day 42: 20th March – Another Mainland Ahoy Tour

Today’s trivia is the shetland weather:

Shetland boasts an unofficial UK record for the highest wind speed, where an anemometer recorded a massive 197 mph before blowing away.
Despite being further north than any other part of the UK, it is not uncommon for Shetland to be the mildest place in the UK on certain winter days due to the warming effect of the ocean.
Rain falls on more than 250 days a year, with November and December being the wettest months.
Weather in Shetland is incredibly changeable, allowing for sunshine, rain, wind, and hail to be experienced within a single day. Yep it’s happened every day so far.
While winters are dark and windy, snow rarely sticks around for long and typically doesn’t accumulate significantly because of the mild maritime climate.
Due to high latitudes and low light pollution, Shetland is one of the best places in the UK to see the Northern Lights, known locally as the “mirrie dancers”.
Locals often report that the rain in winter is often so fine and windy that it feels like it is traveling horizontally, which led to the creation of 421 words for snow and rain in Scotland.
Fog is common in summer (“haar”) because warm air from the south meets the cool sea surrounding the islands.
Because of the lack of trees to burn, Shetlanders have traditionally used peat fires (cut from the ground) to stay warm during the long winters.

Today we are off in search of wildlife seeing not going to Unst. If you read yesterdays blog, you’ll know why.

Seeing we couldn’t get to Unst we decided to check out places we missed the other day.

First stop was Sumburgh Head Lighthouse again in the hope of seeing more than just the one scout puffin . . .

Northern Fulmars locally known as maalies

Alas, not to be.

We made an attempt to get to the Red Pool but turned out a bit of a task with weather and best time to visit is summer, we also got a little side tracked gathering forensic evidence for a case Jimmy and Tosh were investigating . . .

They do like coming to see what’s going on, unlike Aussie sheep that run away . . .

A short walk from the road, one can find Burn of Lunklet . . .

and then some more Shetsland Ponies . . .

At Rerwick Beach we spotted some seals, but by the time I’d parked they had gone 😥.

Moving along, we visited Stanydale Temple through a boggy field . . .

Once a roofed building, all that remains is a large, walled enclosure. There is uncertainty about the original purpose of the building, but its unusual size indicates some communal purpose, or that it was possibly the home of an important person.

Dinner was at C’est la Vie. We booked it two days ago and were asked to select meals ASAP. Turns out, restaurant is run by French couple, probably our age. Lucky we did book as the place is small and full at 7pm. Very good meal.

But is this french . . .