Farewell to Shetland - a few more paddles

After the high energy of the Shetland Sea Kayak Symposium, many of the paddlers headed north to The Voter Centre near to Brae. On the Monday morning, after 7 days of paddling I decided to take a day off to go for a few short walks.

I started off by driving to Esha Ness to take a look at the cliffs and stacks. I parked up beside the lighthouse but after a few minutes a thick mist descended. It quickly became cold and drizzly, and the views along the coast became obliterated. Down at Strenness the conditions were much more pleasant and I spotted some paddlers heading for Dore Holm. This 36 metre high rock stack has a spectacular rock arch. When viewed from certain angles it is not surprising that this feature is nick-named 'The Drinking Horse'.

I’d heard all about how the coastal architecture in Ronas Voe is special but I could never have been prepared for what I experienced that day. We started on a small sand beach next to a shingle spit called ‘The Blade’ and followed the rocky shore northwest. After about a kilometre of sparse rock-hopping we paddled round an ordinary looking corner and found a grand looking arch, then a cave another and then more…

I openly declared, “It’s started!”

The coastline grew into labyrinth after labyrinth. Arches, caves, and timeless deep mysterious gullies led from one to the next. It was easy to forget where we were. Occasionally we would emerge into a broad bay with a beach. Just for the novelty we would stop to stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat.

As we approached the northern tip of this stretch we saw the effects of the strong south-westerly winds. There were huge breaking waves crashing past a headland called ‘The Faither’. We braved the intimidating swell and rounded Gatli Stack before running back for cover and winding our way back around, along and beneath the shore that we had already explored. 

After all the excitement in the vote a short easy but fun trip with rock-hopping was on the menu. The rocky coast of Cunningsburgh was an easy choice and it was conveniently close to Lerwick for the boys from Orkney to catch their ferry home later that day.

Evening discussions continued late into the night in the Voxter Centre and as a result, a trip around  Muckle Roe was inevitable. We set off from the marina at Roe Sound. After heading south for the first four kilometres the coastline took on a grand stature so typical of Shetland's exposed shores.

Our exploring took us to a narrow opening that led into a huge cavern. In turn, this led out into a cove, a bay and another place. We later discovered this to be the Hole of Hellier.

Our subterranean adventures continued with passages at Harri Stack and Little Ness giving us moments of complete bewilderment, and quotes like, "How the heck did we end up here?" The final 3 kilometres were a welcome wind down. This had been a day of intense adventure.

I took it easy on the last couple of days. I made a final pilgrimage to Mousa and did some sightseeing around Lerwick. I drove onto the ferry and settled down for a coffee and only half heard the announcement that we would be taking the northern route past the towering cliffs and Gannet colonies of Noss. This was a perfect end to two weeks of adventure on Shetland. I have seen so much but there is still so much to see. I must return soon.

The Shetland Sea Kayak Symposium

Sid Sinfield arrived on Shetland by air. His bags arrived some while later. This was a relief to us all 3 of us. To celebrate, we sat down to a lard laden fried breakfast and strong coffee whilst making our paddling plan for the day.

The island of Mousa and the Noness peninsula lie a little over 16 kilometres south of Lerwick.  The island has a good selection of arches, caves, geos and reefs that we had seen out west, but here they are smaller in scale. However, at 13 metres high, the Broch of Mousa is Scotland's most impressive and best surviving Iron Age tower. 

We spent our mid-afternoon break exploring this amazing structure right the way to the top from where there was a terrific view across Mousa Sound to Noness. We finished off by paddling around Noness into Sandwick. The afternoon sunshine glittered in the spray as the rolling swell exploded at the foot of the cliffs.

Paddlers began to arrive at the Bridge End Outdoor Centre early on Friday morning. Although the symposium didn’t begin until Saturday Kate, Sid, me along with a few others organised some informal guided trips. My choice of a 20 kilometre circumnavigation of West Burra was perfect! There was plenty of entertainment along the way with no shortage of spectacular rock architecture.

On Saturday I ran a workshop in practical navigation. I chose to return to the island of Mousa which has some great coastal landmarks and the tidal stream in the sound changed during our time there.
In the evening we feasted on a food buffet delivered by the local Chinese restaurant. This was followed by an excellent talk on the wildlife and geology of Shetland. The evening was rounded off with plenty of traditional Sheltand fiddle music and washed down with plenty of wine and beer!

Fuzzy heads on Sunday morning slowly gave way to a day of Rockhopping. We found our way to Skelda Voe and set about revising some of the basic moves. Stern rudder, low brace turns and sweep strokes were duly brushed up. Before we knew it the group was getting in amongst it all. Close to Roe Ness we found an entertaining cave system with a right-angled turn and before heading back to Easter Skeld we scratched Johnny Sinclair’s Nose.

It was a happy day out but to add to the euphoria the organisers of the Skeld Regatta welcomed us ashore with some delicious leftover Cakes! This would have been something to brag about if it wasn’t for Sid’s group being entertained by Orcas at the end of their trip a short way along the coast.

For the final week, we would be travelling north to the Voxter Centre close to Brae. 

Shetland's Wild West

The isles of Shetland occupy a part of the ocean that seems to get everything thrown at it the mother nature has invented. The coastline is as varied as the weather here. Sure there are intriguing rock gardens and smooth sandy beaches, but what paddlers come here for is the rock architecture.

Me and my long-standing friend Kate Duffs arrived on the overnight ferry from Aberdeen and by lunchtime we were exploring the misty cliffs between Walls and Sandness. This wild coastline has towering cliffs with deep inlets, natural arches and sea stacks like drowning rock spires. Much of this scenery was out of bounds with the powerful swell crashing explosively on the rocks. We paddled on open mouthed.

A reduction in the forecast swell height and kinder weather tempted us to visit the island of Papa Stour. Our journey started on the sheltered east side with a morning of gullies, arches, caves and extended subterranean passages. However, the ultimate drama was waiting for us at the northern tip of the island. We were presented with a huge vertical east-facing cliff. We knew that the entrance to a long passage leading to the other side was hereabouts but there were 4 entrances! We started to investigate from left to right. The first entrance led to nothing, the second led entertainingly into the third. Finally, the fourth showed promise. Could this be the 'Hole of Bordie'? As we paddled into the darkness there was more sea state and a steady breeze. The sound of the waves crashing in the enclosed darkness was deafening. I was scared. At last I caught a glimmer of light on Kate's kayak ahead. I paddled on. Into the light. As we approached the exit were greeted by a lively ocean and visibility less than 200 metres.

The west side was littered with more to explore but the mist and the heavy swell limited our enthusiasm to get intimate with many of the arches and stacks. They will be here for another day on another visit.

Strong south-westerlies made the island of Vementry and obvious choice for the third day. We started our journey from West Burrafirth so that we could enjoy the cliffs and skerries of the Neans peninsula before exploring Vementry's spiky, jagged coastline. The north tip of the island has the remains of a gun emplacement from the first world war. The views from this promontory to Muckle Roe and across St Magnus Bay to Esha Ness are breathtaking.

The rest of the day was divided between battling strong winds and exploring sheltered bays and geos. Afterwards we began to prepare to move south for the Shetland Sea Kayak Symposium at the Bridge End Outdoor Centre at Burra.