Unst is a place you want to return to, it is the most northerly inhabited isles in Britain and home to some of the friendliest folk you will meet. I worked with a road engineer from Unst for many years and he could calm angry communities complaining about potholes and appalling roads by his folksy humanity. I had made a couple of previous visits to Unst over the winter period but had wanted to see it in its summer finery. The day was dry and calm but draped in grey clouds. My timings for the ferry were perfect all day and as always the ferries embarked on time. The Yell ferry provides a good break and a hot chocolate for 60p in the spotless saloon. The sea views and bird life add to the relaxation and make the crossing one of life's great pleasures.
I drove up to Burrafirth and the lighthouse shore station where I parked for a walk across Hermaness, the National Nature Reserve. There is a path over to the west coast on a well-maintained boardwalk and on this occasion, the bonxies were quite restrained, the breeding season must be coming to an end. I reached the cliffs at their highest point and followed the faint path northwards, passing the Setter house and dropping down to East Sothers Dale. Thereafter there were lots of bonxies patrolling their territories and Shetland sheep were grazing close to the cliff edge.
I arrived at the top of one cliff and looked down on a large cat which looked like a wildcat and was in hunting mode. I have sent photos to the Wildcat Sighting group for identification, although it could be an Unst hybrid feral cat. (And so it turned out, they believe that there are no native wildcats in Shetland but a number of sightings like this one in Unst are thought to have wildcat heritage - the barred tails with a black tip and wide face are features that come from the wildcat). Puffins were doing crazy puffin things near their burrows and gannets were gathered in large colonies on the stacks approaching Muckle Flugga. I sat and watched them make their vertical high-speed dives into the sea before climbing Hermaness Hill for my second visit since being based in Shetland. From there it seemed easier to take the direct route down through the bonxie breeding grounds to recapture the path.
I drove round to Northwick and parked in a recently harvested hayfield, which had been opened as a temporary car park to accommodate the vehicles and trailers that had brought the boats for the fishing competition. The boats were out at the edge of the bay and not due back until 6pm so I began the drive back, stopping to see some red-throated divers at the other side of one of the Lochs. The ferry terminal at Belmont has a boat that contains a giant xylophone made of copper pipes of different lengths and bores that are assembled so you can play scales. I tried to play some sea chanties to the amusement of some friendly Spanish visitors whom I had met earlier on the Hermaness boardwalk.
We sped across the Bluemull sound to Yell and after a relaxed drive across to Ulsta, I was on time for the next ferry. I met a gardening club on the Yell ferry and it included a councillor whose energy as an 80-year-old constantly astounds me, she insisted that I relate where I had been before she explained her outing. The group were laden with plant cuttings from Yell including Icelandic Willows, the club had thoroughly enjoyed their visit. Every day seems laden with adventures and social events for Shetlanders.
Arriving back on the mainland I made a detour to Sullom Voe to take a closer look at the facilities, it looked mean and moody under the dark grey skies. The real reason was so I could go home via Frankie's in Brae, the best fish and chip cafe in the UK. Unfortunately, all the tables were taken and the queue for takeaways was long. My patience lasted and then I made the journey back to Lerwick in 21 minutes for a much-appreciated fish supper. As always Yell and Unst had delivered another splendid adventure.
First visit to Hermaness - and I had an excellent closeup of the "wild" cat. It was sunning itself very sleepily a fifth of the way down the cliff by the first of the northern gannet stacks. If it isn't a proper wild cat it certainly looks very like one: Broad face, whiteish bib, tufty ears.
ReplyDeleteHi Mick, that was what I thought when I sent the photo to the Wildcat group. I have seen wildcats in the Cairngorms and like you was fairly sure that it was a wildcat. Perhaps if you had a photo it might prompt a more thorough investigation. Hermaness is a perfect place to enjoy some social isolation in the wild.
ReplyDelete