June 16- 27, 2024
It is Greece and Scotland again this summer! I think this is my 3rd trip to Scotland and maybe 4th or 5th for Michael. Each time we go farther and farther afield. I found a wonderful tour company that arranges self-drive itineraries to Shetland and Orkney – perfect for us. Since Michael did so well with the car on Naxos and Crete, I thought it would be fine here as well. Yes, we had driven in the UK on the wrong side of the road years ago, but for whatever reason, this time was harder. We flew to Heathrow and connected to Aberdeen where we picked up the car. We had upgraded the hotels and I guess they upgraded the car as well because it was a very fancy and huge Volvo SUV. We decided that Michael would do all the driving, which was probably a mistake, as was not asking for something smaller. Within 15 minutes of leaving the rental car lot, we got confused at a round-a-bout, avoided a head-on collision with a firetruck, clipped the side mirror of a parked car and got a flat tire as we bumped a curb. Luckily, we came to a stop near a local police station. The driver of the car we clipped was very kind helping our jet-lagged brains figure out what we should do, and a handful of brawny, highland police officers came to help us change the tire and make our way to a nearby tire store to replace the blow out. We missed getting lunch but thankfully made it to the ferry on time for our overnight sailing to Shetland. Yikes, what a way to get started.
Our ferry cabin was small but comfortable and we slept deeply in the gentle rocking after a filling dinner. The ferry crews were extremely helpful at guiding the loading and unloading of cars, and we learned how to use the fancy cameras and proximity warning lights on our Volvo. Luckily there was very little traffic at 8am when we drove into Lerwick and parked at the town wharf. We strolled around in a cool drizzle and eventually made our way out to Hillswick and the St. Magnus Bay Hotel. Once out in the countryside, the roads were wide with very little traffic. The landscape was rugged and desolate, but beautiful in a gray misty way. Michael took a nap in our homey and comfortable room while I went out for a walk around the Ness of Hillswick. With no trees anywhere, I could see the hotel most of the way walking around the sea cliffs and following the gently trodden footpath in the grass. There were sheep everywhere and many times I think I was on a sheep path rather than a hiking trail. Dinner in the hotel dining room was simple and delicious. The sun finally dipped below the clouds at 9pm and didn’t set until almost 10:30 but it never really got dark – the “simmer din” they call it.
The next three days on Shetland, thanks to all the wonderful information provided by the tour company, we drove to various recommended places to hike and walked along dramatic cliffs. There were also gorgeous and unexpected beaches that were mostly deserted. It was usually windy and cold with occasional sprinkles, and I was glad I had my winter riding jacket, raincoat, scarf and hat. We found the “Cake Fridge” a self-serve bakery in the middle of nowhere, met some fellow musicians with common friends at a wonderful restaurant in Brae, took four ferries out and back to the northernmost island of Unst, saw Gannets and Puffins, tasted whisky and gin, ate local fish stew and muscles, and saw Viking villages and Neolithic ruins. We also took naps and kept a relaxed pace.
After navigating the crowds in Lerwick from the Viking cruise ship in the harbor, we boarded the late afternoon ferry to Orkney and enjoyed a relaxing dinner and six-hour journey. It wasn’t really dark when we arrived at the Storehouse Restaurant and Rooms at 11:30pm, and we found our room arty and luxurious. The next four days in the Orkneys we walked on more beautifully deserted beaches and cliffs, ate local fish in lovely restaurants, tasted more whiskey, and poked in arty shops in Kirkwall town. On one amazing day we fit in ranger talks and tours at all the Neolithic sites: the Stones of Stennes, Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe burial mound, and Scara Brae Prehistoric Village. It was a lot to take in but fantastic. The weather was warm and dry and Michael was finally relaxing with the driving.
We took a morning ferry from Stromnes back to the mainland and then had to drive three hours to Inverness where we would stay overnight. The drive was beautiful but stressful because there was more traffic and we had to manage the complicated and busy round-a-bouts getting into town. Inverness was cute and touristy with all the regular Scottish tartans and tweeds. We saw none of that up north where everything was much more Nordic in style.
The next day on the way back to Aberdeen, we actually got stopped in a small town by a policeman for not yielding in a round-a-bout. He yelled at Michael but let us go without a ticket. Yikes, we were so relieved to return the car and get on the plane to come home. But, shortly before we were to land in Newark, our flight from London got re-routed to Bangor Maine because of thunderstorms. Urgh!!!! We ended up spending the night in a Comfort Inn and getting home more than 24 hours later. Our checked bags took three more days to arrive. Sigh – I think I won’t go to Scotland again.