Facts of the Day:
Date: 31/July/2002
From: Kirkwall/Orkney
Via: Lerwick
To: Sumburgh/Shetland
Miles: 33 (land), 120 (nautical, by plane)
Midges: none I think
Weather: Sunny, dense fog later
Mood: Happy

As the ferry didn't go the previous day I flew to Shetland, while my car was transferred on a cargo ferry. It was quite nice day, so I had a few nice views of Orkney from the air on the way to Shetland. After only 25 minutes we already arrived on Shetland just after noon. As the airport is in the south of Shetland I didn't see much of Shetland from the air, just the two impressions below:

A bus transfer had been arranged to take us from the airport to Lerwick, where the cargo ferry with our cars had just arrived (it had left Orkney at 5:00 in the morning). With a delay of only 5 hours we had arrived in Lerwick, under the circumstances not too bad. I think P&O ferries did a very good job getting its customers to their destination despite the problems with the ferry. I then had a quick look around Lerwick, starting with Fort Charlotte. I couldn't find a place to take a good picture of Fort Charlotte, but you also have some nice views over Lerwick. My next stop was the tourist information centre, where I received some excellent help and advice on which places to visit. I think this was the best help I received so far in any tourist office. Armed with all this information I started to make my way south again. On the way you have a few nice views, for example over to Mousa. If you look very closely you might be able to make out Mousa Broch on the picture, it's towards the right, next to the bay. I soon arrived in Sumburgh with it's lovely bay. The Sumburgh Hotel is the building just right of the centre, the one closer to the water. In the background is Sumburgh Head with its cliffs and the lighthouse. I checked in at the hotel and took a quick rest in my room after an eventful day. Unfortunately that wasn't the best decision, as dense fog came in late in the afternoon. I made a quick trip to Sumburgh Head with its lighthouse nevertheless, an interesting experience in the fog. I think visibility was 50 metres at best, sometimes less. A fierce wind was blowing as well, making it quite cold and uncomfortable. So it was back to the hotel for dinner and some rest as well as studying all the brochures to decide what I was going to do the next few days.