From an island population of 6 to the 7,000 of Lerwick

Wednesday 5th July

The morning ferry arrived on time at 9:45 and stimulated the only human movement I had detected since it left on Monday afternoon. On board was one vehicle and twelve hikers from Fife. The vehicle and its driver had come to pick up his young daughters, who had been staying with their grandparents on the island since the break up of school last Friday. I had seen the girls a couple of times as they assisted their grandfather with jobs around the croft. They stopped for a quick chat as I walked past their property, and were the only interaction I had between ferries.

This morning I took on the remainder of the perimeter track, the south section, with a more gentle sea, though similarly striking cliffs and geos.

I was the only vehicle on the return ferry at 3.45 in the afternoon, with the Fife hikers and the same ferry crew I crossed with. The ocean was very calm, as opposed to Monday, and the cruise along the coast was a fine way to spend 40 minutes.

It had been 9 days since my last supermarket stock-up and I needed to face reality, and travel the half hour to Lerwick to get stocked up. I decided to stay overnight there, and started off by using the showers in the Leisure Centre. I can manage with the occasional dip in the sea, and my outdoor shower, but the odd indoor shower is appreciated. The leisure centre is part of a new complex which includes the High School, and competition standard athletics track, football and rugby pitches. It is also a perfect overnight stopover for a campervan, though no one else was there. They all seem to go to the two places listed on Park4Night.

It was a 30 minute walk into the town where I ordered from the Nepalese restaurant before wandering a bit further in, to the Douglas Arms. Though the clientele were incredibly friendly, the place seems like it hasn’t changed since the 1970s, and that goes for the beer selection as well. It was one of those places were your feet stick to the carpet, and it only takes the smallest of imaginations to picture the huge sessions that frequently took place here.

There were quite a few tourists around, most from a cruise ship that was in dock. When such a ship is in the population is boosted by at least 10%.

Roja was particularly impressed by the Leisure Centre stopover, as we were adjacent to the walking track around Clickminn Loch, very popular with dog walkers, so many potential new friends for him to exchange a sniff with.