90th Birthday Beacon

Since arriving back in Unst we have had several gale warnings, reminding us that seasons can be just a word in Shetland (or the whole of Scotland in general) and it would appear hopes of a calm crossing may well be a few weeks off yet. We will keep our eyes on the forecasts though, and over the next few days we hope to load up fuel ready for the off, whenever that might be! We will move from the berth we have kindly been allowed over the winter in to the visitors berth at this point, where we will be until we have the opportunity to head West.

We walked on up towards Saxa vord hill north of Baltasound for the UKs most northern beacon in celebration of the Queens 90th birthday yesterday. There is a stunning view from the beacon site, looking south over the other isles and mainland of Shetland. Its all go at the moment being lambing season but there was a good turnout and even some of the Jarl squad managed to head up and enjoy the bonfire. If that didn't warm up a chilly April evening I don't know what would! Being the most northern UK beacon meant there was even a camera crew there too to broadcast it live with the rest of the UK... a bit of a change in technology over the Queens lifetime I'm sure!!

We have spent a good few weeks on Unst, spread out from our first visit in 2014 to now and Unst has proved a lovely place to spend the weeks. We have been fortunate enough to meet kind people and witness changes throughout the isle. The famous bus shelter here in Baltasound has gone through a few changes in this time too! When we first arrived the shelter was dedicated to Mandela, changing in 2015 to Puffins and in the past few weeks its been redecorated with maps and charts of the world. We think its a great shelter, certainly beats the basic empty shelters we have seen in other parts of the country!