Celtic Trails of Gaels and Wales

Legend

Boat
Cycling
Train

Scrabster, United Kingdom ‐ Apr 7, 2017
Stromness
Kirkwall
Voe ‐ Apr 23, 2017

My first stay in a camping Böd, and very welcome it was. The Sail Loft is a massive building right next to the water, and was exactly what I needed as the weather drew in and the snow and hail really started to get going outside. Voe is a very picturesque little village (hamlet?) next to the water, split into upper and lower Voe, with a small shop, a pub, a surprising road side take away, and that's about all.
Norwick ‐ Apr 22, 2017

Interesting geological site; the contact between an ophiolite (ocean plate) and a continental plate exposed on the beach.
Haroldswick

The un-pictured Viking Boat reconstruction and Longhouse, along with lovely views that you'll have to imagine over the oceans.
Bobby's Bus Shelter ‐ Apr 23, 2017

I made it to Unst! Unfortunately that was as far as my phone managed (and my bike helmet), before being overcome by the relentless winds of Shetland. So alas, there will be no photographic evidence of my trip to Bobby's Bus Shelter, nor of the replica viking long boat and viking longhouse, as well as no more answering my phone or replying to texts, sorry folks..... Fortunately, my alarm still works, and will now be going off everyday for the foreseeable future. I have no means of interacting wi [...]
th my phone (even to switch it off), so of course now the battery will last forever.
Muness Castle ‐ Apr 20, 2017

There was a lot more to this building than I would have expected. Part of me wishes I hadn't left my camping stuff down in Belmont with my bike and I could have camped here, but I also suspect it might have been a little scary as the upstairs has no roof, but the downstairs was very dark even in the day time.
Eshaness ‐ Apr 19, 2017

I enjoy seeing washing hanging out in Shetland, as it is almost always completely horizontal.... There were so many things to see here, blow holes, gloups, preserved volcanic layers and interesting arches and stacks. Picture 4 shows a Gloup, or a collapsed sea cave. Down in the bottom you can see the waves coming in through the entrance of the cave, but there is still land all the way around the hole in the roof of the cave. This little stretch was another surprisingly difficult cycle from H [...]
illswick to Eshaness. Again, mainly owing to the headwind and very open landscape, and also the site of another lost possession unfortunately. This time a tupperware box (an item I miss a surprising amount); I really hope did not blow into the sea :/

+2
Hillswick

I didn't really expect this place to be open, as it is still rather early in the tourist season here. (It's still snowing regularly, and I have been informed the gales only stopped about 4 days before I arrived... apparently it isn't windy now?!). I arrived here bright and early, around 9am, having woken up at 6.30am due to my poor choice of camping site the previous evening. I had selected quite a good sheltered spot behind a wall next to a bridge. Alas, I had also elected to sleep on a slope [...]
for reasons unknown, and as a result spent most of the evening waking up and shuffling back uphill, getting very little sleep, but refusing to actually get up and sort things out. So when I arrived to see the a few blokes out the front of the hotel fixing the front doors, I figured I was out of luck. I was pleasantly surprised when one of the chaps said he would 'see what I can do' and returned not only a pot of tea, but a selection of cakes as well! I would call in at this place again later in the day and spend a fair amount of time here meeting the staff, having a few drinks with a local and helping the owner fold letters for her bid in the local elections, who kindly offered me her garden to camp in. Allowing me to wake feeling much refreshed to tackle the hill out of Hillswick the following day.
Brae ‐ Apr 18, 2017

I saw a strange thing hiding on the side of a hill, now you can see it too via the power of the internet. Enjoy long-cat. I ate the most northerly fish and chips one can purchase in the UK here, which was novel, though I must say I think I may have had nicer and more reasonably priced ones elsewhere. But they have got a lot of things on the menu, so maybe I need to go back.... I spent the evening in the local bar, which it turns out is frequented by workers from Sullom Voe Oil Refinery, giving [...]
it a bit of a different vibe to many places in Shetland. Generally they were a nice bunch, but of course there had to be someone who fulfilled that old adage about 'empty vessels make the loudest noise', mainly in relation to how rubbish his wife and Shetland are in this case.... Though the staff as always were great, with the manager having cycled Landsend to John O'Groats himself the previous year, and happy to talk cycling and help with some Scottish route planning. The cycle here was really quite pleasant, passing through the centre of the island and past plenty of ocean views. Though the beauty of Shetland is difficult to capture on a camera, as it lies in its ruggedness, changing colours and weather that is ever in flux. There is no one thing to point your camera at here, it is more somewhere to just be, and to watch. From one vantage point you can sit in the sun and with surprising regularity find yourself viewing another point which is experiencing rain or even snow and hail. This is handy from the point of view of hiding from incoming weather.
Tingwall Loch

This lochside bug and small settlement was en route from Lerwick-Scalloway-Brae, and was a particularly pleasant ride. The road was quiet, there were very few hills and the wind was in my favour. All in all a very pleasant day, and much appreciated as i was expecting a battle and had actually been quite hesitant about getting myself out of the door after the battle that was Sumburgh to Lerwick.

Tingwell
Scalloway

Honestly? Kind of underwhelming, but maybe that was just my mood. The locals though, as always, completely charming, and I was glad to chat to a few of them purely by virtue of having asked to leave my bike standing next to one of their garden walls.
Lerwick ‐ Apr 16, 2017

A pretty place, and the main town on Shetland. I spent most of my first day swaying around town, feeling as though I was still on a boat (The latest offering for sea sickness remedies is to stick candle wax in one ear to put myself purposefully off balance. I can almost see the logic to this, and if nothing else, I am sure to attract even more characters to chat to on the next ferry, if only because I will appear truly mad!) Clickimin Broch was far larger and more complex than I would have imag [...]
ined on passing it the first time I left town. The Brochs really are impressive structures, with internal rooms and exceedingly thick walls. I dare say I shall be visiting many more of them.

+2
Cunningsburgh

The cycle back to Lerwick in a word: Punishing! I learnt a valuable lesson that day about cycling into the wind. Don't do it. This was such an exceedingly hard cycle, and I really wasn't up to it. The only thing that powered me on was the thought of spending a couple of days recovering in the hostel, a thought that did get me there, in the end. This day also marked the beginning of the trail of possessions I was to leave scattered across the islands in my sleep deprived, over exercised, fatigue [...]
addled state. The first being a bottle from my smoothie maker at home that I was using for milk; no force on earth could have convinced me to cycle back to Cunningsburgh for it, despite my guilt at having left a piece of plastic sitting next to the loos in that small town. Hopefully someone has collected it up for me....
Sumburgh ‐ Apr 15, 2017

I think the pictures say it all here really. I had a fantastic day at Sumburgh, drinking tea at the hotel, wondering along the beautiful coast, visiting the lighthouse, seeing Jarlhof (viking settlement) and bumping into the same middle aged couple time and again and having pleasant little chats with them before picking a picturesque camping spot overlooking the sea. This was a fantastic day and a stunning evening, though it turns out the night was actually very cold, and my sleeping bag did me [...]
proud. I was thoroughly unaware of the ice slowly forming on the outside of my tarp, yet by the following morning I had enough of it to create a snowball!

+3
Scousburgh ‐ Apr 14, 2017

This was a great beach on a lovely cycle route that passed by Spiggie Loch. A Loch which was weirdly Escher-esque. I know it is impossible for the cycle ride to be down hill all the way around and yet end up at the top of a hill, just as it is impossible for the water to go uphill in Escher's paintings, and yet that was how exactly how this ride felt. What a change from the previous day, and how exceptionally welcome! Probably my favourite ride of the trip still, and those seals it appears have [...]
been seen by every German tourist in the hostel at Lerwick. Fame! I love the way they occasionally flap their flippers, kind of like they are waving at you (Yep, I waved back. I have also taken to saying hello to sheep as I go past on my bike, but I don't think anyone has noticed yet, so it's ok).
St Ninians Isle

I made it! Though only just. This day was an exceptionally grueling ride, and I did find myself questioning whether I had made a large mistake in trying to complete (or even attempting to start) a cycle tour. In hindsight I had set my mind on camping at St Ninians and pushed myself too much to get there. I was exhausted! A state probably little aided by my earlier poor decision to get lost somewhere at the bottom of a very large hill on the opposite coast and climb a large hill on foot as well, [...]
just in case I could see the illusive Broch over the top. This was mainly a day of learning curves, and I definitely got a feel for my limits. I also learnt how to set up a poor shelter, and spent most of that night listening to it flapping in the wind and pinning it back down again, though I would learn many more lessons over the next few days... I was very near to giving up completely on my way over the centre of the mainland towards the West Coast, despite only being a couple of miles from my goal, and decided I would buoy my mood with a brew. I hunkered down behind a rise and set up my stove; pan on, lid on, stove lit. So far, so good. I put in nearly a whole bottle of water, deciding I would also fill my flask for later and watched with sinking spirits as my water slowly started to bubble..... not boil, just bubble. Damn you leaky washing up container! No!!!!! It was not meant to be. This, combined with the partially cooked pasta (that used up most of my remaining water) and lukewarm sauce that I would eat later under my inadequate shelter, led me to decide that I would likely ditch my cooking paraphernalia. Having trialed cooking free cycle touring, I think this is a spur of the moment decision I shall be standing by as the benefits just do not seem to justify the hassle. I'd rather pay for a brew or some warm food and enjoy a little indoor time. The Isle itself is beautiful, and I suspect that had I been in different spirits this would have been one of my favourite spots. The Ayre (or causeway) is naturally formed due to the geometry of the island and its interactions with the incoming waves, directing them to meet in the centre and deposit sands, which is really a rather cool natural phenomena.
Leebitten ‐ Apr 13, 2017

A view over to Mousa and its (well camouflaged) Iron Age Broch. Photo taken just before I headed down the hill to try and find the ruins of a corresponding Broch on the mainland. Key word being 'try'. I failed, and came to regret my decision to go down the very large hill.....
Lerwick

As those of you who know me well may have already suspected, despite my best intentions, I got hopelessly lost on the way to the ferry and skidded into port with minutes to spare. In fact, by a process of elimination, the staff already knew my name and ushered me aboard, having kindly waited, and departed promptly. Ferries do not agree with me. This is what I have learnt. The trip from Aberdeen to Lerwick was a saga of bodily functions and one of the longest 12 hours of my life. Yet in spite of [...]
this, I actually enjoyed many aspects of the journey. However, though Shetland is a surprisingly big place in terms of cycling (mostly owing to its relentless wind); in terms of people it is small, so this is a saga that shall remain untold, as the characters of this surprisingly entertaining dramatic comedy of slapstick proportions are somewhat likely to recognise themselves from any further divulgences (and also because I do not deal well with shame :D ). And what characters they were! I emerged into the civilized interior of the boat from the aromatic climes of the vehicle deck, still all a fluster, and was immediately descended upon by my first islander, no doubt reeled in by my the allure of my panniers and daft helmet. ‘Are you cycling?’ ‘Why, yes Sir, I am.’ Or something to that effect….. A delightful man from Fair Isle (surely a rare beast? Whose children are clearly resigned to waiting for him to finish talking to every soul he meets), who upon discovering I hadn’t booked a cabin immediately marched me off towards the prime sleeping location on the boat (Oh, to have slept….) and once installed with my stake claimed, proceeded to hand draw me a map of northern Scotland detailing his favourite cycle routes. He even drew me Fair Isle, detailing the roughly central divide between the southern crofts and amenities, and the common croft to the north, where during the spring the islanders band together during the lambing season, working as a team. It was all sounding idyllic, and I was ready and set to go to this wonderful place. Where do I sign up? Though I would later learn through a visiting tourism employee that even locals find that particular crossing testing, and that she herself has been regularly stranded on the island for a few days longer than intended, so that out tell to that. After this I meet a few more Shetlanders, gaining my first insight into just how welcoming, friendly, helpful and generally lovely the people of Shetland are, including a tattooed man returning to Shetland after a few years in Aberdeen to return to fishing (a big industry in these parts), two already rather drunken characters propping up the bar returning home from the rigs (who I would come to think of as the 'Bar Riggers', and be greatly impressed by how in sync with the sea their drunken swaying was), and the unwitting new dentist who is heading to Shetland for the first time (He is quite evidently of city stock. Oh the fun they are going to have winding him up! But he takes the banter well and is in good spirits. I suspect he will do well here). We have some drinks, or rather I sit and watch as the Bar Riggers drink and the dentist tries to keep up, simultaneously trying to ignore the building queasiness. Though it appears I am unsuccessful, as Bar Rigger One helpfully suggests ginger beer is a great remedy for settling sea sickness; advice that I heed to my peril. Consequently, I escape to the back of the boat, where the Bar Riggers give me a tour of the rigs we are passing en route, and tell me about rig life, which is really quite interesting, as well as offering me their spare berth in their cabin; Shetland folk really are fantastic. I spend a pleasant further few hours chatting to the Bar Riggers and Tattooed Man, and before I know it, Shetland ahoy.
Aberdeen (and Stonehaven) ‐ Apr 10, 2017

Aberdeen: Initial impressions- not so good; After a few blissful hours watching vista after vista of gloriously sunshiny beaches and cliff sidewalks along the East Coast of Scotland, I clambered off the train in Aberdeen to be greeted by a hail storm, a puzzling girl and a surprising lack of greasy spoons. The aforementioned girl pottered across my path as I emerged from yet another fruitless dive down a side alley in pursuit of a satisfyingly large breakfast/lunch. Here she accidently dropped [...]
her phone, prompting her to attempt some sort of quasi-limbo-matrix style manoeuvre to pick it up, and resulting in her also landing on the floor in a pose something akin to rock star guitar solo, revealing the contents of her decidedly hipster jacket pockets to be more tins than can possibly have actually fit in there, and this at 1pm on a Tuesday afternoon…. I ploughed in irregardless (making a note to possibly avoid the pubs), and after a rather expensive but satisfying lunch at a rather twee cafe, I pedalled off to meet my couch surfing host; from here on in Aberdeen improved markedly. My couch surfing host was an absolutely lovely man, with a home and cat to match. We immediately ventured off to his allotment to collect more greens than I have eaten in an age, and lots of knowledge to boot. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing him speak about his forest garden, as well eating delicious freshly picked stir fry with he and his housemate and sharing some rather silly humour. Refreshed and renewed, I set off on my bike in different spirits, and spent a lovely day wondering around the Old Aberdeen area, visiting St Machar Cathedral Church, Cruickshank Botanic Gardens (anyone else thinking of Hermione’s cat?), Seaton Park and the museum in the basement of Aberdeen University’s Zoology department (where you can meet a splendid specimen of the ‘Common Wombat’, which I can assure you is anything but common; I’ve never seen another like it!). All of this I would thoroughly recommend doing (along with eating lunch at a place called ‘Grub’, in case anyone cares), before heading off along the Don River (where I saw a seal; notable mostly due to its impressively heavy breathing that caught my ear, somewhat like being visited by the ghosts of boyfriends past; a stealthy creature this seal was not…) towards the coast for a last little outing. Stonehaven: A magnificent place; a beautiful walk through the Dunnottar woods to Dunnottar Castle then back along the coast, all in the sunshine. What more could one ask for?

+4

Aberdeen and Stonehaven
Leeds, United Kingdom ‐ Apr 10, 2017