Friday was a beautiful, sunny day. Warm and still. The camping group met at half past three, at the end of the school day, loaded up the van and set off for Fethaland. And where is that? Fethaland is the most northerly point of the mainland of Shetland. It is a place of great beauty as you can see from the assorted photographs elsewhere on these pages.
We parked the van at Isbister farm and walked along the track to the old herring station at Fethaland. We pitched up on the Isle of Fethaland on a lovely flat area, near to two picturesque stone beaches, one on the North Sea, the other on the Atlantic Ocean.Having walked a couple of miles, set up the tents and so on it was now about eight o'clock and we were hungry! One party dug latrines, another set up stoves and another went to collect water. Teamwork! After tea we all gathered round the campfire and ate some cake that Clare and Ute had baked. The still, warm evening deepened as we watched the sun go down on the Atlantic. The colours on the mirror water were impossible to describe. The last of us turned in at around midnight.
Saturday started early, at around seven o'clock. Being of an industrious nature, the group had constructed a raft out of bruck, been for a swim and eaten a hearty breakfast, all by about ten o'clock! We struck camp and explored a little of the north-west coast, finding a huge rock pool, before heading back to the bus. We took our time and walked from the campsite down the east coast, over Ramna Beorgs. Unfortunately we did not have time to visit the ancient settlement at the Kame of Isbister, but then you can't do everything!
On behalf of the group, I'd like to thank Mr. Murray for being so helpful towards our visit.
Chris McGinlay