Mystery Location
Categories: places
Date: 01 August 2009 15:45:07
So, the place I had my job interview was the wonderful Shetland Islands. So you'll understand when I said that it would have been remote, and a big big scary move! Although I decided not to take the job, hopefully these photos will show why I loved the place, and why I was originally tempted to even apply! Actually HD and I are harbouring a not-so-secret dream to live on a Scottish island at some point, but I don't think either of us had anticipated getting the opportunity so soon, and it doesn't feel like the right time for us right now. But that's not to say that it won't happen at some point in the future.
Anyway, photos! This first one is (obviously) from the plane, and is of Fair Isle, which is actually mid-way between Orkney and Shetland, although administratively it is part of Shetland. It is mainly known for its knitting (google Fair Isle jumpers if you're unfamiliar with the style) and for being a top bird sanctuary.
Next up, here's a couple of views from Lerwick harbour. Lerwick is the main town in Shetland (with a population of 6,600, out of a total population across all the islands of about 22,500), and where I was staying and would have been working.
This is a view of Commercial Street, which is Lerwick's main shopping street. I liked it a lot - apart from a couple of banks and a Boots, it was pretty much all local shops rather than chains.
The next four are of a walk I did in the early evening, just away from Lerwick Harbour along the cliffs. As you can see from the picture of me with my immaculate hair (!) it was starting to get a bit bracing! And I noticed the yellow lichen in the fourth picture all over the place.
The next day after my interview I got changed and then caught the bus south to Sumburgh Head (the bottom tip of the Mainland), these next four are pictures from the walk I did from near the airport to the RSPB reserve at Sumburgh Head, where I was so happy to spot a few puffins (sadly my zoom photos weren't very good, I'm still trying to get used to HD's camera, but I was chuffed to bits that I did see them anyway, as apparently most of them had flown away following the breeding season - normally they don't leave till mid-August):
Everywhere I went I saw the unofficial Shetland flag flying. As you can see, it is basically the Norwegian flag but in the colours of the Scottish flag. Both Shetland and Orkney used to belong to Norway not Scotland, and you can see Norse influences all over the place, both in place names (the Guest House I stayed in was in King Harald Street, just round the corner was King Erik Street and St Olaf Street for example!) and in the customs and festivals (such as the famous Up Helly Aa festival in January when Vikings seem to do a huge organised pub crawl which ends with the burning of a Viking longboat). It had a very different feel to the Hebrides, where there is a very definite Gaelic culture. We also noticed in Harris and Lewis (especially Lewis) the very obvious conservative Presbyterian culture and feel to the place, but Shetland is totally different in that respect, with no Gaelic culture to speak of. The Christian culture seemed quite different too - I took a look at the ads in the Shetland Times and although I found lots of free evangelical independent churches, it didn't seem to be quite so dour as in the Hebrides.
The next four photos are of the most extraordinary archeological site, called Jarlshof, which features dwelling places and a farm from Iron Age, Bronze Age, Pictish, Norse, and medieval times (they kept getting covered in sand and then built on). The site was rediscovered at the end of the 19th century when part of the cliff fell into the sea and the broch and a couple of wheelhouses were exposed, and once they started investigating the site they found all sorts of things from all those different time periods. It is remarkably well-preserved, and well worth a visit - I was sad I could only spend about 1/2 an hour there as I had to catch the bus back to Lerwick (the buses from Lerwick to and from the South Mainland were referred to as "frequent", in reality this meant one every hour or two, which was a bit of a shock to my city system!).
One thing you can't help but notice in Shetland is the ponies. Even with my horse phobia I could cope with them, they were so dinky! If you've travelled in the Scottish Highlands before, you'll know that every so often you'll come across some random hairy coos. In Shetland it's the same thing, but instead of the coos you get the lovely ponies.
So, there you are. It would have been an amazing place to live and work and bring up a family*, and I didn't feel like it was as isolated as you would have expected for such a remote place with such a small population. I was lucky in that even on the interview day when it rained a bit the weather was basically pretty good so I got to see it in its best light (I understand it can be pretty bleak in winter when it's howling a gale, which is more often than not!). Maybe we'll still end up there, or on another island, at some point in the future. For sure I'd love to go back for a holiday and spend more than a couple of days to explore, as there was something about the "feel" of the place I really liked. But despite it all, I do feel I've made the right decision. And I got to see such an amazing place - I'm so lucky and blessed.
* no I'm not, that's hypothetical, in case anyone's wondering!
