wonderful day on whalsay

Leaving my room key at the empty reception I sent a text to who I think is the owner Harvey, saying I was happy with my stay thanks for the tour I would return, I got no message back so hopefully it was the right number and he got the keys, tug was bang on time loading all my stuff into tugs car we set of to vidlin for the ferry to Whalsay, tugs haim isle

Whalsay means whale isle in old norse but the place is also known as "The Bonnie Isle", It is situated east of the Shetland Mainland and has an area of (20 km2). The island is fertile and fairly densely populated, with crofting taking second place to fishing as the main local industries, it is also home to the UK`s most northerly 18hole golf course, with pubs a leisure centre with an atro turf football pitch the island has a lot of good amenities for such a small place, along with lots of history and a strong community spirit As we drove around the island it became apparent tug new everyone, even on the ferry over he spoke with all the crew who seemed to be his pals (or is everyone pals on this isle) and said it was cool if I wanted to leave the vehicle to go look at the waves which I did. I am a tourist I love seeing stuff all this stay in your car don’t leave your vehicle don’t visit museums or sites of interest on top of the pubs all being shut was starting to annoy everyone. The number of times each day I had heard people of all ages say they wanted their life’s back and were sick of no social interaction, it seemed it was absolutely everyone that I have spoken with; everyone is sick of zero social life. I went outside to watch the ferry boat bounce around the waves towards the bonnie isle it was braw, then with the swell up a bit(it was windy) the sea started to blow over the deck I went to the comfort of the car before I got drenched

the ferry comes into the main settlement of Symbister, where the fishing fleet is based. The fleet is composed of both pelagic and demersal vessels.(more on that later) As we drove off the ferry tug waving hello at everyone and occasionally putting a window down to shout some nonsense over to the other vehicle’s occupant, well when I say nonsense it’s a very thick dialect accent with words in their language of their own, in Whalsay (pronounced whaalsah or that’s what this auld bugger hears) the islanders like so many others are very proud of their own peerie words an sae yon folks shid be! Shetland in general has a distinct dialect and the people on the mainland even struggle with the whalsay accent, such a friendly place I also started waving at cars and folk that we passed

The first trig point was an easy enough march out from the car over tugs grandads peat cutting area, but then it got a bit boggy jump fi tussock tae tussock, on the approach I am now at the stage I get a wee bit excited when I see the trig point is something different! I said out loud ooo a Vanessa tug looked at me strange is that the type? Aye says I there`s not as many of this type, both trigs on Whalsay are Vanessa’s the second sat among some old military base ruins no guns like Bressay just concrete plinths with two wee (peerie im turning native) bunkers,

The wind had by now proper picked up to strong to get up on top of the trig for my photo but good for a bracing walk and the view of the sea becoming a washing machine like turbulence against the rocky shore and skerries. We went for a quick sandwich at the village shop, I bought a postcard also but they only had postcards of orcas none of the isle, the local museum was shut so I wouldn’t be getting one from in there either orcas would have to do,

When I first researched getting to Whalsay, I was ecstatic to discover that at the settlement of Sudheim one of my heros Hugh MacDiarmid had lived in the 1930s and early 1940s. Grieve House is now one of Shetland Amenity Trust's Böds which offers economic, self-catering accommodation in a traditional building. Scotland's great poet Hugh MacDiarmid (Christopher Grieve) lived for nine years in this croft house, where he wrote some of his best work. Aptly his most famous poem a drunk Scotsman looking at a thistle is very apt! (sorry tug) This is one of my favourites - The Bubblyjock by Hugh MacDiarmid It’s hauf like a bird and hauf like a bogle And juist stands in the sun there and bouks. It’s a wunder its heid disna burst The way it’s aye raxin its chouks. Syne it twists its neck like a serpent But canna get oot a richt note For the bubblyjock swallowed the bagpipes And the blether stuck in its throat. This childrens poem is a description of what ? for those that are unfamiliar with the scots language will probably struggle to guess, I shall tell you it’s a turkey which makes it better on a second read a big set of bagpipes, a braw bit o descriptive prose He was way ahead of his time its a shame the Bod was shut and a shame I never had longer I would have enjoyed staying a few nights reading his stuff

During my tour tug pointed out all the places he had stayed along with the sites and his grannies house where we stopped for a visit such the perfect granny she reminded me of mairi hedderwick`s books about katie morag and her granny on the isle of struay

Next tug had arranged for me to get a tour of a big pelagic fishing trawler, I loved this what an absolutely amazing ship, the tonnage catches the size of the nets the methods and equipment the whole set up is incredible, it was thoroughly eye opening for me I had never previously known about these boats! Incredible machines due to how efficient these boats are they have to stick to their quota, which means they don’t need to go out too often either, everything about this boat was amazing to me I loved the tour beautiful big spotless engine room amazing accommodation clever fridge plant and fish processing and storage area, bobby who was giving me the tour explained how the nets were laid out at sea amazing, the huge weights at the ends of the net and the winch system along with the sonar! This is fishing in the space age

the difference between modern Shetland fisherman and their great grandfathers is the difference between, ploughing a field by hand or using a big tractor! Living in a croft or living in a manse, rowing a four or sixern or steering a powerhouse of a mechanical fish processing factory, we all know what we would rather do, let’s not get romantic about rowing an open boat in a storm to catch fish, these boats are the best way and the workers in these boats get good terms and conditions unlike their forefathers, hopefully this will keep their community thriving how it seems to be, the evidence of the hardships of the past are all over the island, but now there is also signs of a prosperous society which is a breath of fresh air in the highlands and islands

the tour ended up in the galley where bobby had more treats in store, first of a beer when we realized we hadn’t been onto the skippers deck, so I got a seat on the big chair drinking beer and getting an explanation of how the sensors on the nets and sonar system worked, (fascinating stuff) then back to the galley for another beer and bobby’s favorite miniature a German aperitive called under berg, we then had time to kill before our ferry journey back and could visit tugs mums house, where I got another beer and a half out of bobby’s whisky bottle a muckle Flugga whisky in a Whalsay whiskey glass braw

what a wonderful day out I even had a beer for the ferry back which was a big adventure for a town boy like me, tug hardly noticed the swell or the journey, but I was like a schoolboy high on life