Day 16 (5th July 2022)

 We set the alarm for 7am, but were both awake an hour earlier for some reason. Restlessness and a dog that needed a walk/wee forced us out into the cold. Today was always going to be a long day, so no bother really.

We made the first ferry port (Toft) earlier than our booking, but they have a very civilised system where you line up in either a booked lane or an unbooked lane, and if there is still space when all the booked vehicles are on board, unbooked vehicles can come on.

Sped across the Isle of Yell to the next port (Gutcher) and did the same to get to Unst. Then we hurtled ever northwards until the road ran out so I could get to stop #35

MUCKLE FLUGGA

Now my smile really does disguise the sheer bloody-minded effort it took to get to this point. The day before, I had googled the best place to photograph Muckle Flugga, and in-between the signal disappearing, came up with a variety of options. The one I chose looked pretty simple as I read it, but once we were out there ... well, it was as clear as mud. Postcodes in the sat-nav were useless, and after a couple of false starts, we ended up outside a farm with what looked like it might be a 20 minute walk up over a cliff top and bingo.

Well, Guy and Morgan quite rightly decided to stop and let me carry on alone after about 30 minutes of trudging our way through what can only be described as bog. I carried on for another 90 minutes, only to end up on a tarmac road (definitely not on the map) which led up to an MoD establishment. 

Almost at the top, the road split, and a dirt track led to a clifftop vantage point giving me a wonderful view of the two most northerly parts of the UK - Muckle Flugga and Out Stack.

Not only had I had to wade through boggy peat and sheep shit, but at one point I got divebombed by some very angry birds. I think it was my I AM SEA POWER bobbly hat they took offense to, as after I took it off, they stopped bothering me (brown narrow winged beasts with white flashes at the wing tips. I did try and take a pic but the results were even worse than the Spurn Head kestrel!).

It was a relief to get back. We stopped off for tea and a roll at "The Last Checkout" which gave my feet a chance to dry out, and then we headed south (hahaha) for my final Germinal CCXXIV place on the Shetlands. It is another island, but Robin had suggested getting a view of it from Unst rather than from Fell. So parking up next to Muness Castle we set off for stop #36

FETLAR

As you can see, I ditched my old faithful Penelope Isles cap as once again it was blowing a gale and I feared that once it blew off, it would end up on Fetlar. Fetlar is there in the background, honest. This view is supposed to show off the blue cliffs, but bad weather made it all but invisible. At least I finally managed to include a very portly Shetland Pony. Result! There were ferries to Fetlar, but they leave in the morning and come back in the evening and I was assured there really isn't that much to do on a good day there unless you are an avid bird watcher, which as you can tell from the above anecdote, I'm not. 

On a serious note, there is a great deal of concern about the current outbreak of bird flu in these parts. There are dead birds everywhere and it looks like the government is so distracted by its own complete and utter shocking daily fuck-ups that the bird flu crisis may well get far worse before anything proactive happens. It is grim.

Anyway, here is a zoom in on Fetlar;

We arrived back in Skeld pooped, but were treated to Pale Blue Eyes on BBC6MUSIC as we finished off supper. And the sun stayed out for almost a whole hour.

Guy ended up listening to a local family playing what he described as Pete Segar meets the Boss and Woody Guthrie, and chatting to a fellow campervan traveller Fiona while I battled with the slowest WiFi network in the Scottish Isles to get this finished.

Allons-y 

Douglas Germinal CCXXIV Brain over and out