Lerwick, Scotland, UK

Lerwick is the capital city of the Shetland Islands. This area has a Norse heritage as well as a Viking one. The population of the island that Lerwick is on is about 8,000 while all the Shetland Islands have a population of about 22,000. The islands were settled about 6,000 years ago. There are very few trees as they were used in the earliest times for building and heating. The land is covered with peat, which is still dug up and dried and used for heating. There are over 100 islands composing the Shetlands with 69 being populated. Our guide told us that a few of these islands only have a few people living on them. They need to get between them by boat.

The name Lerwick means muddy bay. It too has a relatively mild climate. It is very, very windy here and an electric company is in the process of installing 103 huge wind turbines. The locals are not happy about this being in their “backyard”. It will however provide all the power needed in these islands as well as supply power back to the mainland of Scotland.

The oil industry was very big in the 1960s. They even built an 18 hole golf course so the people working in the oil industry could have some recreational time. It is the 2nd most northern golf course in the world. At this time of year it is light until 10 PM so the course gets lots of use by locals and tourists. The oil industry also provided funding for all of the islands and built recreational buildings and homes for the elderly. They also set up a fund to provide for the upkeep of these facilities.

There is obviously a TV series located in the Shetland Islands and our guide pointed out the various buildings along the way that were used in the show. It is a British show, but a few of our tour group were fans of the show.

There are over 2,500 lochs (lakes) in the Shetlands and many are used for salmon farms and mussel farms. This is a huge industry for them.

Along the way we crossed a very narrow point in the road. We were told that at this point, about 30 feet wide, we could throw a stone from the Atlantic Ocean and throw it into the North Sea. We had one stop to see the Drombs which were huge rocks in one of the bays. In this area we traveled on a single track road, one lane only. Our final stop was a a lighthouse with a fabulous view down the coast of huge seaside cliffs and wild crashing waves. This area is called Northmavine. We were able to see the famous Shetland ponies, which are small horses, but very strong.

We finished with a ride through the town, seeing the historic buildings.

After these 2 long days of riding buses, when we got back to the ship we changed to a walking tour for our next stop.