Lerwick and Noss

It was raining and windy as we boarded the bus for the morning tour of the island. We had a local guide, Jim, and a young man, Jack, driving the coach. Our first stop was in the village of Hoswick where, in the visitor centre, there was an exhibition of early radio and telephone communications equipment.

There was also a display of weaving and Shetland wool. Many local products were for sale and Wendy bought a red scarf.

We left the centre and continued our drive south towards Sumburgh, pausing to look at Spiggie Beach and St. Ninian's Isle and the beautiful sandy beaches close by. We watched 2 seals going in and out of the water.

 I was able to get one long-range photo of a lone seal on the edge of one of the beaches.

These three Shetland ponies, startled by the coach, caught my eye and Wendy managed to capture the moment.

We reached Sumburgh and crossed the runway, making sure no planes were taking off or landing!

Sumburgh Airport, a reminder of the last time we were here, when we flew into the Shetlands from Aberdeen.

By the time we reached our next stop at the Sumburgh Hotel, the weather was awful! We had decided to skip the visit to Jarlshof, as we had been there before, and take a taxi to Sumburgh Head to see if we could see any of the puffins that nest on the cliffs below the lighthouse.

Our taxi came quite quickly, driven by Robbie, who told us that Princess Anne was coming to formally open the refurbished lighthouse this afternoon! It is a pity we won't be here to see her.

Relieved to find the road hadn't yet been closed in preparation for the royal visit, we drove the short distance to the top of the cliffs, where the strong winds made it difficult as I tried to peer over the edge at the few remaining nesting puffins.

We spent about half an hour at the cliffs, looking at the sea birds, but the puffins were nearly all at sea or in their burrows. It was blowing a gale, so we took the taxi back down to the hotel, where Wendy took this photo of a Shetland Pony foal. We went into the hotel and had coffee and cake before we boarded the coaches for the drive back north to the ship.

It was a bleak ride back to Lerwick and the ship, where we had lunch with Digby and Elizabeth. In the afternoon, we were meant to take the Zodiacs out to look at the bird cliffs on Noss but, because of the weather conditions, this was being scrapped. Instead, we sailed down to Mousa to look at Mousa Broch, an Iron Age drystone tower. Captain Alex steered the ship so that everyone could get a good view of the broch from both the port and starboard sides.

As we sailed towards the Isle of Noss, we saw this small yacht battling against the wind and high seas.

We reached Noss and then proceeded to sail up and down in front of the cliffs. The Captain came in very close, and we could all see thousands of sea birds - mainly gannets, but also fulmars and guillemots nesting on the cliffs. The sky was filled with birds - a most impressive sight.

After spending a good hour at the cliffs, we set sail for Bergen. Looking back at Noss, I took this photo through our cabin window as we sailed out into the North Sea.

As the sea became very rough, Wendy went to have a manicure done by Adrijana from Montenegro. She had won it in a prize draw on the first day of the cruise.

We had tea in the Panorama Lounge and then went down to get ready for the Captain's Farewell Cocktail Party. For dinner, we had been invited to sit with Kara, as were Declan, Anne, Barry and Michelle. We had a very enjoyable evening.

Tomorrow we reach Norway and the end of the cruise.