Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland
A quaint town, good food, ancient remains, and beautiful puffins. What more could you ask for!? All I can think of is… another day here, please! As you can tell, I really took a liking to Lerwick (and its surrounding areas) after one amazing day here.
Lovely sign welcoming us to Lerwick.
The morning of June 22, 2023 started with a quick shuttle in to town. Eager as I was, I didn’t think through the fact that this is a quiet Northern town, so however badly I wanted to start poking around in the shops at 8:30 AM, I’d better just sip a coffee and wait, because nothing opens until 10 at the earliest! Luckily, I like coffee, so I enjoyed a latte made with Shetland produced dairy as well as a rhubarb pastry, and soaked in the scenery.
Before long, the streets came alive with all sorts of shops and musicians. Many shops carried the beautiful and famous Shetland wool garments, and still more carried anything you could possibly think of… stamped with a puffin! These islands are famous for their Atlantic puffin population, and I’d get an up close and personal look later in the day. After browsing the shops, I continued to wander around the town, enjoying the scenic architecture and the topsy-turvy feel of the roads in the historic part of town. The town was burned to the ground several centuries ago, and rather than a planned re-build, it piled on itself bit by bit, leading to lots of tiny alleyways and steep stairs. These make for great photos, but difficult directions!
Steep alleyways… beautiful!
Eventually, I had back to the ship for our afternoon tour. The tour was a multi-stop tour to the south end of the island. Our first stop was to an incredible archaeological site, Jarlshof… but on our way there, the driver noticed several dozen gray seals hauled out on a beach by the road, and so we had a bonus stop to peer at the seals from the bus.
After a bit more scenic driving, we made it to Jarlshof… and WOW. This site encompasses nearly 5,000 years of history, from early Iron and Bronze Age settlements up through comparatively recent Norse settlements. The architecture of the stone-built buildings is incredibly well-preserved (it was hidden by wind blown sand until the late 1800s) and we were able to wander through and the enjoy each segment of the area fully – touching and walking through each bit in order to really get a feel for the history. It’s fascinating to think that so many millenia of lives passed through the same area, just piling their lives on top of others… and even more fascinating to think what has yet to be uncovered in these areas. Beneath each field may lay more settlements, offering more clues in to the past. A small visitor’s center did a great job explaining the site in detail, and bringing it to life via a video and several interactive displays.
Before we knew it, we were back on the bus and headed up to Sumburgh Head lighthouse, on the very furthest southern tip of the island. The parking lot (or should I say “car park”) was several hundred feet below the lighthouse itself, so we enjoyed a beautiful walk along the cliffs as we made our way up to the lighthouse and the view it held. But the structure and the views were not all that made this area special! Sumburgh Head is what’s known as a RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) Reserve, and we immediately understood why. From the moment we stepped off the bus all the way up the cliffs, we saw and heard guillemots, fulmars, gulls, a skua, and, of course, several dozen Atlantic puffins.
I was so charmed with the puffins that I spent ages watching and photographing them flying from, and landing on the cliffs, as the sea crashed on to the rocks below. In the distance, we could see the ruins of the archaeological area we’d just come from, and above us was the lighthouse (another historic structure, built in 1821 and still in use today).
At last, it was time to turn around and head back towards town so I pulled myself away from my newfound puffin friends and enjoyed the scenery and informative narration from the local guide on the bus ride back. I had a last wander in to town after the tour to get myself some dinner (fresh local seafood soup!) and a Shetland brewed beer.
Delicious dinner!
A long, full day, but just a taster of what this region has to offer. There is much more to explore in the future, but for now, onwards and Northwards!
