Lerwick and Foula, Shetland
Exceptionally fine conditions for Shetland in general and for this cool, wet British summer in particular greeted us as we awoke alongside in Lerwick, the principal township of the Sheltland archipelago. Lerwick sensibly turns its back to the wind and the sea and to discover its commercial heart you need to walk though narrow lanes to the high street with its variety of shops, including several selling the highly-prized hand-knitted Shetland sweaters. One morning option was a guided walk through the town with the Shetland Museum as the goal. The museum was opened by the Queen of Norway in 2009 and contains a wonderful range of exhibits, from prehistoric finds through centuries of fishing and whaling to the dramatic events of the two world wars of the last century.
Another option, taking full advantage of the fine weather, was a ridge-top hike with spectacular views. Most guests opted for the excursion to the archaeological site at Jarlshof which enabled them to transit the main island by bus and see Shetland ponies, peat-cutting and a variety of island scenery. Jarlshof itself, named after a mediaeval homestead that Walter Scott incorporated into one of his historical novels, is an extremely rich archaeological site, not always easy for the first-time visitor to comprehend. Prehistoric finds range from the Neolithic, through the bronze and iron ages to late Pictish and Viking. For this voyage, the large Viking hall was perhaps the most relevant aspect of the site; a reminder of the Vikings’ skills as agriculturalists.
Over lunch we set sail for Foula, a remote island to the west of the archipelago. For those who had visited St Kilda on board National Geographic Explorer, an island similarly positioned to the west of the outer Hebrides, a visit to Foula was greatly anticipated. A famous film directed by Michael Powell about the 1930 evacuation of St Kilda (called “The Edge of the World”) was filmed on Foula in the 1930s and inevitably fears were raised that Foula too would be evacuated. This never happened, so that Foula today – populated by some 30 souls – may be said to represent what St Kilda might have been. We were guided around the island by expert local guides whose enthusiasm and affection for their island home was contagious. One curiosity of this remote community is that Foula stuck to the Julian calendar when the rest of the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752. It was apparently both to show their independence and to avoid the hasty adoption of this new system. They remain on the Julian calendar today. On Foula, Christmas is still celebrated on January 6 and New Year’s Day on January 13. They kept 1800 as a leap year, but missed 1900, a second leap year, so they are now one day ahead of the Julian calendar and 12 days behind the Gregorian.
