scalla field A landmark! for us both?

waking cold in the van about the only time in my life i actually wanted the alarm to go off,Scalla field a landmark I would say I awoke with a really cold face not truly warm anywhere but still reluctant to unravel myself from my slug like cocoon of inadequate sleeping gear, but I won’t grumble (much)what I would say is as I lay there thinking about homeless people and low paid immigrants wondering how they survived or didn’t in these conditions, yes I was cold but I was still snatching sleep and could keep warm enough for survival, the two Jamie’s Scottish climbers stuck on an alpine peak would be envious of my shelter, so would the poor immigrant girl who died in the back of an arctic trailer trying to come to Britain for a better life, I was choosing these circumstances finding my feet and testing equipment for future ventures, the equipment was lacking but I now have the knowledge to fix that a solution can be found, a ship is safe in a harbour but it was built for the sea!(you like that? I was in a harbour looking at the wee boats) It was so bloody cauld I was awake before my alarm set for seven and actually for perhaps the first time in my life wanting the alarm to go off ,so I no longer had an excuse to lie there curled up in a ball not wanting to blow up the thermarest or discard a layer, how do the homeless folk survive at times like this? I had read that the Glasgow George square soup kitchen had a que of two hundred people this same week! how is that possible these days? Queuing in the snow in minus whatever degrees and snow falling with no home to go to! Sad That’s the downside sorted the upside was I was mega close to the big city lights of lerwick, I chose to drive into the harbour car park again, this time I would use the beautiful opened public loos and get a take away coffee from the shop with muesli and oat milk out my stocks while watching harbour traffic #brawtimes ! I’m a lucky guy

After a super cold night, it was a very sunny morning, I had discarded my bedding in haste to get in for coffee and the loos, and now fed watered and happy with a bright sun and a warm cab, it was time to head off for hopefully potentially my last mainland trig point! Scalla field! Having Completed the northerly mainland trig points and the southerly ones, also as the young team would say while doing some fancy finger work westside! Lol, this left only one mainland trig point called Scalla field to do on the mainland, this if you have been following the blog is the one on the wind farm construction site, the previous jobs worth security bloke basically saying to me your not welcome in these parts, it was important for me to do this I could see from the new construction and my os map that the landscape to this trig and surrounding ground had changed dramatically, legally speaking they cant stop me walking over open fields there is no trespass law in scotland, I could have driven up a farm road as far as it went(it was icy) then hit the steep open ground, this would have been my only option only months previous anyway, BUT I could clearly see this new construction road heading to my objected peak! If allowed to walk this road it’s the difference between an easy day or hard day? I parked up next to the security container/shed the man was oot approaching me as I parked a different man but not shy he was in your face type security, hello what you up to? Give me a second buddy, I says as I grabbed my map and jumped out the van, explaining my objectives in a pleasant manner as always, Night and Day from the previous jobs worth- nae bother pal if you could just park your van a bit more over here I have some 60 tonners arriving that need to turn and reverse here, I will sign you into the visitors book .make sure the vehicle drivers see you as you approach fill your boots!! Braw

I marched up this I would say construction road but in actual fact right now it’s a destruction road, brilliant for me for my objectives this day, the sun was out I had to take of clothing layers and my gloves, my right glove I never closed the pocket zipper I lost it on the way up gutted! And angry at myself I consistently say to myself stuff in pockets zip closed, I knew what I had done and fortunately got it on the way back down, had this been open hillside it was gone forever!

The digging and drilling work that was going on at the top was impressive, a bit like the construction of the gas plant when people want to make money its amazing what they can achieve, I was there to tick my box I will try not to enter the rights and wrongs as I was using a lovely (for me) road the construction/destruction work was taking place right at the summit, I went up to the trig and took my photos. What a vista I got braw, i had to get the gopro out and filmed it also. thinking that my photos and filming may be the last footage ever of this skyline! two or three months from now it will be a sea of windmills I marched back down in glorious sunshine picking up my fallen glove happy as Larry, that was it that was the last of the mainland trig points, I only had islands to do now! Awesome, I was chuffed the sun was out life was good, and only one hour twenty to do that peak thank you mr road, where and what now?

There was a down side to the sun being out? In my haste for coffee and the loo in the cold dark morning, I had shoved my sleeping stuff aside, normally I hung them places to air safely! but i had drove off without thinking. once of the hill I wanted to get something out the back of the van, FFS the sun had defrosted the van roof! my sleeping back and silk liner were wet! I knew these wouldn’t be proper dry by the end of the day a fourth night in the van but this time with wet stuff! Oh no. I had a shiny plastic get out of jail card in my wallet for occasions like this! The camping baw was officially burst nae mair!

I text Steve at Decca apartments to see if he had availability? he did but at a different apartment called the peerie swabby(they are all Shetland names for well known birds) but only for two nights I took these and went to the web site and booked, I couldn’t work out how to apply my previous Tennent 10% discount but Steve sorted that for me later awesome, With it sorted in my head that the cycling and camping was a failure now! I decided to drop the bike and camping gear at sellaness accomodation block where i have a bike locker, the daunder will be resurrected after my three weeks dayshift, it was glorious sunshine on the drive I was happy a choice had been made and an objective had been achieved, the next weeks plan was forming, I deserved a break! I was still worried about some of the camping stuff getting mildew its only going to be stored damp for one week in winter? and a frozen one at that! hopefully all will be ok, the sellaness staff were super helpful, I organized all my stuff to stay or go, i was lookin forward then with my now only three bags to staying in a double apartment all to myself for two nights, Decca appartments call themself a haim fi haim and they certainly are

I met Decca Steve at the apartments he was working out where I could park the big van while I was trying to tell him I would be dropping my bags going to the shop for beer dropping of the beer then dropping of the van at the hire shop, to walk back up stress free, a guid days work done celebratory beers were drank i had accomplished a big step of the mission all mainland trig points done, the snow was falling fast outside on a windy night, while i sat in warm luxury