road trip to Bressay

Although I was booked back into a hotel the night before Dunc had cracked open the whisky and made me some food, we sat up late chatting, I then crashed out in Dunc’s spare room, he woke me at ten AM! OH WELL, breakfast then go to Bressay for the delayed two trig points

We caught the midday ferry to Bressay which is super close to Lerwick, I never previously knew the layout its not until you do something like this that you understand, where Lerwick lies there is a body of water called Bressay sound when you are strolling around Lerwick or looking from a distance you would think it was part of the mainland its that close, there is also an island called Noss extremely close to Bressay, it also has a trig point but only a summer ferry for twitchers apparently! Goes there, But I really want to go to that trig on Noss one day, it is right at the top of a sea cliff feature I have seen so often (A lot this week) it is around 180 meters straight up from the sea to the cliff edge trig. It wouldn’t be this day though - no boat

Dunc’s wee van was first of the ferry and we quickly found our way with only one wrong turn up a gradually worsening single track road the last section I wouldn’t have risked driving it, but dunc wellied it up the track braw, the march over the hillocks to this trig was fine we stopped to admire a flat stone quarry no surprise the dry stain dykes are so guid locally, but we were both delighted to see a big gun right at this trig we had a good walk around and chat, I had stupidly left my phone at duncs house so Dunc took all the photos

I am carrying far too many guidebooks three physical books along with my maps and the internet, BUT you still miss stuff (maybe it’s the beer fog) there is some underground stuff at this gun we were later to discover we could have visited!

A swift drive to the other side of the island parked up then marched over some rough ground past a cool abandoned croft house, I bet this old place has a story or two that will now never be known such a shame, Duncan said it was not unusual for couples to have ten children and allnof them live in these wee crofts, after the rough boggy sheep field we joined the road up to the ariel masts, due to the snow and ice this was undrivable for dunc to say that you can believe it! trig point photos taken and yet another read at some information boards, Bressay has lots of these, they are very informative this one was about a real pest of a U-boat that wreaked havoc in these parts, I was impressed by the quality of the stories on the tourist info boards all around this area and Shetland in general,

We then had a visit to the lighthouse and a walk round the shore, its an impressive shore line and big wave movements you can visibly see the power of the sea around there, if you look at the big swells crashing against the rocks long enough you could almost feel sea sick! Or was that Dunc’s whisky fi last night causing that!

With forty minutes to spare for the ferry arriving we had time for coffee juice and snacks at the shop it had been a quality visit, I had a van to collect before five Dunc dropped me off to collect it, then I went to Tesco to buy stuff I wasn’t needing, hoping Duncan would let me cook dinner or take some beers, but naw it was fish suppers and an early night I did coax dunc into taking some whisky but he insisted only if we open it,