Scrolling through social media last night – currently a very sobering activity – I noticed a tweet from the environmental journalist and activist George Monbiot. It made reference to the weather here in the UK at the start of next week and included a picture (from the excellent Windy app). You can see the tweet below. George is ‘astonished’ and ‘concerned’. The screenshot shows a weather system over the sea to the west of Wales. I’m travelling to Shetland at the other end of the UK the following day. Should I be concerned myself?

Astonishing and concerning wind forecast for next Tuesday. I've never seen anything like it in summer in England pic.twitter.com/gtME7CevLU

— George Monbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) August 5, 2024

Longer-range weather forecasts are notoriously problematic. Here’s the current weather prediction from Windy for next Tuesday… and by moving the slider to the left you can reveal the prediction for next Thursday:

Oh… That doesn’t look too bad. Thursday will be the first day of my stay on Shetland. Here is what the BBC are predicting for next week’s weather in Lerwick:

Here are the average statistics for Shetland from Wikipedia:

So, basically, what the BBC are forecasting is par for the course on Shetland for August. Panic over. For the moment… I do find the BBC forecasts a little pessimistic, visually at least. The symbols used seem to underplay the weather. Here is the current weather for where I live here in Yorkshire. Move the slider to the left to reveal what can actually be seen through my bathroom window:

I’m not suggesting some kind of conspiracy. I think they just tend to err on the side of caution. (After taking that picture I do wonder why I am sitting at my computer and not outside on my bike by the way.)

Back to Shetland. Thursday 15th August is the day I arrive in Lerwick after the overnight ferry from Aberdeen (that could be fun if the wind does pick up) and I have booked to stay at a hostel on Thursday evening so even if Thursday is a blustery, wet day, I will neither be cycling very far on that day or staying in the tent. Thereafter? Well, that is the question…

I have seven days on Shetland. As just noted, the first of those will be spent in Lerwick on an orientation mission that will, hopefully, involve a visit to the Shetland Museum. When I visited the Outer Hebrides back in 2021, one of my biggest regrets was not having the opportunity to visit the excellent Museum & Tasglann nan Eilean in Stornaway at the start of the trip. It was never an option as I was travelling south to north and Stornaway was at the end of the trip. If you fancy a break from reading this, here’s the video that I made about that cycle:

Hopefully by visiting the museum in Lerwick, I will be given an insight into what Shetland has to offer before heading off and exploring it for myself. But in which direction should I cycle? Lerwick is in a central position so there are basically four options: north, east, south or west. A reminder of my online map:

There’s not that far to go if I head east to begin with. A ferry to the island of Bressay and then onwards to the tiny – but recommended – Isle of Noss. I might leave any visit to Bressay until the end of the week if, after having arrived back in Lerwick for the evening ferry to Orkney on the 21st if I have a few hours spare.

The biggest pull of the compass is to head north. It’s about 100 km from Lerwick to the northernmost point of Shetland on Unst so feasibly just one day of cycling. But I am in no rush. Two days of cycling about 50 km are far more appealing. There’s a campsite called Burravoe Caravan Site (which does allow tents) which is about 60 km from Lerwick. The following day I could continue north but the only accommodation I have found on Unst is the Gardiesfauld hostel on the southern side of Unst. Two nights here to allow a foray north and then back again? Camping is possible at the hostel.

It will now be Monday morning and I have the ferry to Orkney booked for Wednesday evening. I’m beginning to think I don’t have enough time to give Shetland justice… Returning to the ‘mainland’ (of Shetland) on Monday, I could stay at the campsite at Delting Boat Club (near the famous Frankie’s fish ‘n chip shop). This would tick the ‘west’ box (roughly) and leave just a dash south to stay at Levenwick Campsite on the southern finger of Shetland on Tuesday. Seems a little rushed.

To summarise, with estimated distances:

*Via Sumburgh and Bigton

So that’s a tentative plan for Shetland. Thoughts on Orkney to come…

Don’t forget to catch up on the recent pre-trip podcast:

Header image: Tim Sanders

P.S.: WordPress (who host this website), are increasingly offering AI products to users. Having just written the above post, the suggested AI-generated image is below. Somewhat ominous!

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