Esha Ness

Villains of Ure, the cliffs that is

Calder's Geo

Esha Ness coast

Villains of Ure again

Latent Electricity

Holes of Scraada

Shelter is not easy to come by

Stenness

Stenness

A passing rainbow

Esha Ness is claimed to be Britain's most dramatic coastal scenery and on a day when a Force 8 was passing through I was told by locals that it was not the best day to visit. This was just the challenge I needed, dramatic scenery is usually enhanced by wild weather. I had three attempts at parking the car; on the first  it was almost impossible to open the door, the second almost took the door off its hinges. The wind was accompanied by a power shower that Mira could never emulate. Fully clad in Goretex I eventually emerged, got soaked and walked with the wind at my back along the sea ravaged coastline. 

The Calder Geo by the Esha Ness lighthouse is an enormous cleft in the cliffs with the sea charging in making the Severn bore seem just that. The sea was in turmoil and as the sun flickered on and off the Villains of Ure hove into view. They are the residual rocks following the erosion of the cliffs. This is a geologists playground with all types of volcanic rock providing hard rock that is still being devastated under the constant attack by the sea.

Hardy sheep were mainly sheltering behind walls and shelters but one flock hurried across and harassed me to turn off the wind.  Rabbits and sea birds occasionally took off when they saw me coming but quickly returned to their places of shelter. When I reached the Head of Stanshi I found a wall to shelter behind but then I had to begin the walk back and face the wind head-on. I was immediately assaulted by rain, hail and seafoam in globules as large as cricket balls. So I headed away from the cliff edge and happened upon the holes of Scraada, a subterranean sea passage, that shoots the sea up an inlet on a day such as this. It was watching the earth's crust transform on fast forward.

I went round to the nearby beach at Stenness which was a fishing station from where sixareens, open wooden rowing boats for six men, were rowed out 60 or 70 miles to the fishing grounds at the edge of the continental shelf. Stenness is now scoured for agates and other precious stones. About twelve seals kept me company swimming about 10 metres away as I beachcombed and dodged the occasional big wave and the passing showers by the simple expedient of putting my hood up.  Perhaps I should revisit Esha Ness on a good day but stripped of its wildness would it be so lightsome.

Seal friends

I had spent 3 hours in the wind and rain and I was damp but happy so I returned to Lerwick via Sullom Voe and I managed to catch the last half hour in the new Lerwick museum before closing time.  There is a quite superb collection of exhibits in an awesome new building by the harbour which tells the history of the isles. After a ten minute discussion with the curator, I was asked to the opening of the lace exhibition this evening.  I had to pass up the opportunity as I had a dinner appointment but I will be back to learn more about the history of these amazing communities, the buildings, the fishing and the local produce.