Fair Isle & Shetland
Exceptional visibility is often said to presage wet weather in the British Isles, so in that sense the early dawn was inauspicious. Fair Isle was clearly visible after our overnight sail from Orkney, with Shetland beyond and a clear view of its remote satellite, Foula off the port side. Yet our good fortune was to hold, clear skies and sunshine for yet another day.
As we entered the north harbor at Fair Isle by Zodiac, it was joyous to see the cliffs busy with puffins whose absence last season caused consternation in British ornithological circles. Global warming was blamed, with a slight rise in sea temperature causing a northward migration of the sand eel on which the puffins feed. We can but hope that the failure of the Fair Isle colonies to breed in 2007 was an aberration not a harbinger of another silent Spring. After spectacular observation of the puffin colony from the cliff-top path, we repaired to the community hall for refreshments and a chance to inspect the local crafts. Fair Isle sweaters are world-renowned and a lucky few found sizes and patterns with their names on them.
Heading north over lunch, we arrived at Lerwick, capital of Shetland. The town is sturdy in stone, built with its back to the wind, as it needs to be in an archipelago where gale force winds blow for two months of the year. In the wind Norwegian flags were fluttering, the islands having recently celebrated the King of Norways's birthday. We visited the splendid new museum, opened just a few years ago by the Queen of Norway. In short, we had left Gaelic Scotland behind and entered the Nordic world.
In our journey around the British Isles we have crossed national and cultural boundaries and religious frontiers and encountered fierce local loyalties. As the nation-states of Europe "hollow-out" a new Europe had been born that celebrates unity in a re-affirmation of diversity.
Exceptional visibility is often said to presage wet weather in the British Isles, so in that sense the early dawn was inauspicious. Fair Isle was clearly visible after our overnight sail from Orkney, with Shetland beyond and a clear view of its remote satellite, Foula off the port side. Yet our good fortune was to hold, clear skies and sunshine for yet another day.
As we entered the north harbor at Fair Isle by Zodiac, it was joyous to see the cliffs busy with puffins whose absence last season caused consternation in British ornithological circles. Global warming was blamed, with a slight rise in sea temperature causing a northward migration of the sand eel on which the puffins feed. We can but hope that the failure of the Fair Isle colonies to breed in 2007 was an aberration not a harbinger of another silent Spring. After spectacular observation of the puffin colony from the cliff-top path, we repaired to the community hall for refreshments and a chance to inspect the local crafts. Fair Isle sweaters are world-renowned and a lucky few found sizes and patterns with their names on them.
Heading north over lunch, we arrived at Lerwick, capital of Shetland. The town is sturdy in stone, built with its back to the wind, as it needs to be in an archipelago where gale force winds blow for two months of the year. In the wind Norwegian flags were fluttering, the islands having recently celebrated the King of Norways's birthday. We visited the splendid new museum, opened just a few years ago by the Queen of Norway. In short, we had left Gaelic Scotland behind and entered the Nordic world.
In our journey around the British Isles we have crossed national and cultural boundaries and religious frontiers and encountered fierce local loyalties. As the nation-states of Europe "hollow-out" a new Europe had been born that celebrates unity in a re-affirmation of diversity.
