yell to Lerwick

Back to lerwick

Another example of the warm bed making me want to stay in bed longer I do love a duvet, breakfast was at 08:45 I was mostly packed but just took my time getting organized loading the bike, it was a Sunday there was fewer ferry crossings I was aiming for the 11:30 ferry it was five or six miles to the ferry from quam B&B, I wont know the distance as I am sure I had pressed start on my G{S watch but when I got to the ferry terminal and went to press pause it hadn’t been tracking me? I had stopped to take a couple of photos the timing couldn’t have been better,

It was a bigger ferry than I took over I went upstairs this time the only passenger in a nice big lounge area, the weather was pleasant sunny a wee bit windy but I kept telling myself I had all day to do this roughly forty mile cycle with the fully laden daunder, I promised myself I would take my time and enjoy it for what it was not to look at it as a battle to get to the destination as quick as possible, not far from the ferry terminal at toft on the mainland is the wee shop for the town of mossbank, I have been visiting this shop on and off for over seven years, I stopped to buy snacks and a lunch time beer, the shop has had a refurb since my last visit it looked fair modern compared to what it was like the first time I went there when we used to go for ice lollies while visiting the beach! (long story)

From there it’s a long slog up a steep hill before a long steady decent down towards voe, ive cycled and ran this section plenty times previously this time I was slow and enjoying the downhill as the wind was in my face on the decent which was fine I had a chance to reminisce about the trig points I had done on this section or the time I ran the sixteen mile loop after a nightshift fantasizing about my breakfast when I got back to the Moorfield only to discover they had tidied away the breakfast stuff by the time I got back I got nothing lol, I stopped again at the loo outside voe I’ve gotten into a habit of using this loo every time I pass it but wondered if this would be my last? Then it was a long hard cycle through Tingwal interesting story of the one time parliament here during Norse times, the parliament was on an loch island that is now submerged, once I had passed the wee airstrip it was a steep slog uphill, I was knacked when I got to the top it’s a narrow road also, I hate being a nuisance to cars so cycled into the rough a few times to let cars pass,

I decided to stop and have that beer at the top, but as I laid the bike up and was about to get the beer out, a fella came down oot the hills with walking poles shouting a cheery hello, this is what I miss most about travelling and outdoor activities in these strange times, meeting other explorers to chat to and this fella`s chat was good! His name is Neil Fraser he has done an amazing amount of walking and hiking especially around his home island of Shetland turns out he is a bigger box ticker than me and has walked all the coast and was the first person to walk the Shetland divide! What’s that I asked? Basically when a rain drop falls at the top of a hill it will go one way or the other to the sea in most of Shetland this is cool as its Atlantic of north sea, I had heard of this before from America as there is a famous divide watershed walk, pacific one side Atlantic the other I knew about this watershed walking route in the states but hadn’t previously considered it was something that could be done in this area! Apparently, he is in talks with the tourist board to try and make a trail, I hope this succeeds, we further went on to discuss from this the continental divide which also passes up this way but strangely also from Galway up through a section of the west highland way from when Scotland and Europe were different continents. Neil also discussed a web page called Shetland by numbers by Walter Scott (different Walter Scott from Ivanhoe one) an awesome piece of free info on amazing Shetland facts and figures, https://www.shetlandbynumbers.com/ in his list of Shetland by numbers he names only 77 this does not count the two curry stools (fair enough he makes me look like an amateur I’m certainly not picking bones I would lose) this Walter has even had some plants named after him as he scrutinized every mile of his journeys logging everything he came across flora fauna Broch’s islands churches lighthouses (55!) etc.

I cycled off without my beer after a long chat with Neil, then once at the top end of the road into lerwick I decided this was the spot for a celebration (and a pee) I had only just drank my beer when Neil walked around the corner, he is a fast walker as it was a fast downhill then steep rise up to where I stopped, I walked the daunder into town chatting athletics among other stuff before we parted again, I cycled right back to the grand hotel and got a room for two nights my home from home now on my time here at work,