Day 14 - South Mainland
I took some rubbish out to the bin this morning and met a hedgehog with a mouthful of nesting material. I went to get my camera but he had gone. I will keep a look out for him later this evening.
We had seen an advert for a walking tour today of Sumburgh Head so decided to join it. It was being organised by the Shetland Amenities Trust as part of National Mental Health Awareness week. 18 people came in total and it was led by the Ranger, Howard and another very knowledgable conservationist Rory, both born and bred in Shetland. It was another full sun day but there was a fresh wind. We wore anoraks and were very glad of them in places although when we were out of the wind we got too warm.
We met at the Sumburgh Hotel and then walked slowly along the coastal park up to Sumburgh Head lighthouse. We stopped everytime there was something of interest and we learned about wildlife, wildflowers and lichen. We saw several birds sea and land birds along the way and then as we reached Sumburgh Head cliffs there were Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Guillemots and a small number of puffins which obligingly came out of their burrows temporarily for a photo shoot. The tour included a hot drink and cakes at the Observatory at the end.
We walked around the grounds of the lighthouse and then back to the car via the road path as Pauls knee was giving him problems. Next to the Sumburgh Hotel were the ruins of Jarlshof ancient Norse village
The Sumburgh Hotel is very close to Lerwicks main airport and heliport. Helicopters seemed to be constantly landing and taking off and were very noisy so spoilt the peace and quiet that we are now getting used to. The runway goes across the main road so traffic is stopped when a plane is taking off or landing, As we crossed the runway we realised that they were about to shut the barriers so we stopped and went to watch a small aircraft belonging to Airtask, run by the Shetland Government, landing. We started to explore the small hamlets to the east of the peninsular and found a lovely spot overlooking the sea and looking towards the airport so stopped for our lunch. A couple of planes belonging to Loganair took off, going to Aberdeen and Dundee according to Flight Radar.
After lunch we explored more of this part of Mainland and had some photo stops at a loch and also to see the remains of some brochs.
Our final stop was at Leverwick Beach, another long sandy beach with dunes sheltering it. We saw some Red Throated Divers.
After dinner we went for a walk into the town and went a bit further than we have done so far. There are very few restaurants for evening meals. We went into the Grand Hotel but although there was a sign outside welcoming non residents to the bar, no-one was around so we left. A few other bars were the same. They seemed to be open but with no customers. We found 2 restaurants but both served predominantly seafood and were very expensive. Good thing we are self catering.
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