Walkhighlands

Still not able to drive very far I was looking into hills reachable by plane and ferry and had my eye on Foula. Twice I phoned up to see if I could get a seat on the plane only to be told that there was none to be had. My daily check of the weather forecast paid off though and I got in quick for the Friday departure.
I boarded the 6.40am Aberdeen-Sumburgh flight and listened to the captain inform us that the flight should only take 45 minutes. Next thing though he was saying the plane wouldn't be going anywhere in a hurry and they'd have to get an engineer out. Two and a half hours later the flight was called again and we boarded. Mean time, once I realised I wouldn't be going to Foula, I had identified some possible alternative walking routes and, to be honest, vacillated between going home and a day of the unknown on Shetland. Really glad now that I decided on the latter.
Much to my surprise I was greeted at Sumburgh by a man bearing a sign with my name on it. Thinking this the preserve of the rich and famous, I initially thought there must be another with my name on the premises but, no, the car rental company really had sent someone to collect me.
Soon I was on my way to Ward of Scoursburgh. If I'd had more time or been more certain of what to do I would have foregone the access road and simply walked all the way up but driving most of the way left me more time to do more exploring. I left the car at the access road junction and strolled to the top, taking in the splendid scenery to the west. Although the summit is bedecked with various buildings and antennae the view south and west is superb.
The weather was bright, blustery and, at the summit, quite cold. Nevertheless, I snapped away with my camera until I got numb fingers and then retreated. Next up would be a short detour to Twarri Field. Just a bump on a moor but it has a name so I included it in my south Shetland tick list. From there there was a fine view south to Ward of Scoursburgh and the surrounding sea.
The main walk of the day followed, the short ascent of Hallilee. Though of modest height, this gave me more of a chance to stretch my legs as I followed first the access track and then easy angled peat bog and grass to the flattish summit. Again, splendid views in all directions, with the eye particularly drawn to the beaches both west and east. I also had the chance to try out my new walking poles, an attempt to reduce the risk of re-injuring my back which got the thumbs up from the physio.
Looking back to Ward of Scoursburgh it seems that someone's car engine blew up. At least there was a bang, a flash of flames and smoke billowing out across the moor and a fire engine appeared.
I returned to the car with my balaclava covering my mouth and nose for there was still a pall of smoke lingering.
I next wanted to visit the prominent neck of land or sand that connects to St Ninian's Isle. En route there were showers before the weather turned sunny. Had a pleasant walk along the beach, followed part of the way by a collie.
This took me to about 2pm, after having arrived on the island at 10.30am or so. From the beach I could see the last of the small hills I had earmarked for inspection -Fitful Head (the summit is possibly named Scantips going by the OS map).
This hill also has an access road all the way up and on this occasion I decided to drive all the way up and just go for a stroll along the cliff top. That was the plan anyway. There was a fair old gale blowing by the time I got there though and that kept the walk short and well away from the cliff edge. A very fine viewpoint though.
I drove back towards the airport via a stop at the level crossing (yes, the runway crosses the main road) and made the short detour out to Sumburgh Head which looks a pleasant short walk. I was out of energy for that though and really just wanted to get home as my bad back was starting to hurt so thought I'd enquire as to the possibility of an earlier flight home which I duly secured.
Although I'd forgotten my lumbar support for driving the thing that really gave me a sore back that day was jumping in and out of the car because of all the views I wanted to photograph. No worse for wear the next day though so all in all glad I persevered with the day.

Well done for getting out and about! I visit the Shetlands every 2 or 3 weeks ( I pass through Scatsta and Sumburgh occasionally) as I work offshore. It would be great to see the place properly and your pics are excellent. I hope you're now on the road to recovery.

That sounds like an expensive day!!

Spent a week in Shetland many many years ago and never even had a glimpse of the sun so really enjoyed this report. Quite fancy heading back there as I wasn't that bothered about hill walking at the time so just went to the well known tourist stuff - still loved it though.

monarchming wrote:Well done for getting out and about! I visit the Shetlands every 2 or 3 weeks ( I pass through Scatsta and Sumburgh occasionally) as I work offshore. It would be great to see the place properly and your pics are excellent. I hope you're now on the road to recovery.

Glad you like the pictures. I was truly pleasantly surprised by the little I saw. Still aiming to get to Foula but wouldn't mind more exploration of Shetland mainland. Seem to be on road to recovery but very slow.

Gordie12 wrote:That sounds like an expensive day!!

Spent a week in Shetland many many years ago and never even had a glimpse of the sun so really enjoyed this report. Quite fancy heading back there as I wasn't that bothered about hill walking at the time so just went to the well known tourist stuff - still loved it though.

Yeah, quite expensive. If you like sea views you'll like those wee hills I went up. Begs the question when is a hill a hill when the hieghts are so small but the views are certainly extensive so that qualifies them as worth visiting in my book.

Foula is an incredible place. Shame there was no flight availability. The Isle of Noss and Fair Isle are also really worth a visit. I did all 19 Shetland Marilyns over 9 days last year.

All my reports can be found here

foggieclimber wrote:Foula is an incredible place. Shame there was no flight availability. The Isle of Noss and Fair Isle are also really worth a visit. I did all 19 Shetland Marilyns over 9 days last year.

All my reports can be found here

Thanks for the link. I did have a good look at your Foula report when planning my trip and going to Shetland has got it more in my mind for a future trip particularly as it would appeal to my wife too as well as getting there being relatively dog friendly.

Nice report litljortindian - a Shetland trip is subject to weather conditions, even more so Foula and the other outliers.

Awesome link and reports, Foggieclimber, spent some hours on your site and enjoyed the Shetland reports greatly. Awesome wildlife pics!

Thanks John Doe