Shetland - A wonderful holiday

Me

Hubby

Ok in all truth this wasn't the holiday I was looking forward to most. It had come about as my husband had gone to Shetland last year and immediately booked it again this year, always asking me to come along. However I did have visions of being a frozen block of wind swept ice trying to watch some LBJ - to those who are not bird watchers a little brown job (lbj). I am truly not good with cold I can honestly get white finger, ie my circulation shutting down in one or two fingers going around the cold section in TESCO's, yes and I have been known to go around with gloves on in there. Therefore I have always said NO.

Mad bird watchers!!

This year has been odd though, from before Easter to August he worked in Germany, for one stint he was away 2 months with one day home. Then he was off transatlantic!! It really meant we had no chance of getting together. I rushed over for his 50th birthday for a week but when he came home he would be home for a day only to rush off to Shetland again. So I said YES, but only to one week.
So I was prepared for

Being frozen
Being windswept
Seeing LBJ which all looked like Sparrows
Being in a MINI van with 4 other birders and us, in my mind a group of older generation gentlemen with no sense of humour and an ernest look. Boy was he going to owe me : ))

We flew to Aberdeen then onto Sumburgh in Shetland, the rest of the flight looked suspiciously twitcher like. Men, older, wearing green jackets with telescopes and binoculars!!!It was peak time for birds.

Otter, he is there , honest 

We arrived in the most barmy warm weather which lit the drying hay into a beautiful golden hue, the sky was vivid blue and the hills just tumbled beautifully away from us. It was beautiful. The air was warm and everything was a pleasure.

We then met the dreaded group and they were NORMAL, the other four were active, knowledge people with a sense of humour, an earnestness to bird watch but who could communicate and interact like real humans!!! The whole week was great.

I have absorbed even more knowledge that I didn't want about Western and Eastern this that and the other, demonstrated by T6 or is it T5!!!! but I have to say as a non bird watcher I thoroughly loved it. My favourite place was Fetlar but Unst and Yell all had their own beauty, we used Ferries like taxis and appreciated every last tiny shop which appeared. A totally different life, enhanced by the fact that when I got back home it was a big tourist weekend and I saw more people trying to cross the roundabout in the centre  of town than I did in Shetland it total!!!

It's the best I could do

Well Shetland gave its all. It was rugged, raw, and beautiful. The weather was kind on all but one day and our guide was the most fantastic Martin Garner - Mr Knowledge himself on so many birds and on Redpolls especially. Our hotels had lovely breakfasts and meals and we just enjoyed ourselves totally, ably helped by wine in the evening.

I LOVED it.

Native Shetland