Safe Return Doubtful

Though there are a few campervans around during the day, they disperse at night. Many of them are rentals, and the facilities in them are less appealing than in one’s own van, also the people who rent them are often on their first trip in such a vehicle, and take the option of a campsite with a toilet block and an electric hook-up.

There was one other van though, a couple I’ve met three times now, initially at St Ninian’s beach where they recommend me Papa Stour island. Then I met them again while I was on the island, and they were in a boat going round it, and they docked when they saw my portholes and came to say hello. Their 3 weeks here is almost at an end now, and they have been up on Unst, and had just arrived to stop over at the lighthouse carpark.

I headed south on foot this morning with the cricket on the radio. Just before I left a couple of very old, but well looked after, vans pulled in next to me. They were a group of four in their late twenties who were care workers in the winter, and travelled in their vans in the summer. They didn’t tell me the reason why at first, but after they had left to walk the headland, I saw their stickers and looked up their YouTube channel, Finding Fins. They traced orca whales. Two days ago they had been in Caithness. I chatted with them on return, their lifestyle certainly was an interesting one.

The section of volcanic coastline to the south extends to about 5 kilometres, and is almost as impressive as to the north. At the southmost point is the spectacular Dare Holm island, known fittingly as Drinking Horse Rock.

I was back to watch the last hour of the Headingley Test, and to spend an hour in the evening dissecting it with Martyn over video chat. It had been enough fine day, with the cloud gathering for some showers in the evening. The forecasts had predicted more rain, they are often on the pessimistic side.