Tied for our favorite port (along with Belfast, Northern Ireland) was Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland. We had a magical day with rare perfect weather. Lerwick lies at a similar latitude to Bergen, Norway. The vikings were here centuries ago, as was apparent with so many of the Norwegian sounding names of towns we drove past. At the port, we took a bus ride from Lerwick down to the southern tip of the island. Fortunately for us, the bus had huge windows, and the scenic route brought us past small villages, beautiful seaside, and many sheep and Shetland ponies. The driver was kind enough to provide a little commentary too.
Derek was silly trying on Lydia's glasses during the bus ride.
Our first stop was Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement in Sumburgh, Shetland. Neolithic people first settled at this site in Shetland around 2700 BC, and it remained in use until the AD 1600s, which is over 4000 years of continued use. Discoveries made here include oval-shaped Bronze Age houses, an Iron Age broch and wheelhouses, Norse long houses, a medieval farmstead, and a laird’s house dating from the 1500s.
Derek with some sleepy Shetland ponies near the entrance to Jarlshof:
The Shetland ponies are noted for their flowing manes.
I thought it was interesting there were so many stone structures when Norway does not have anything similar because Vikings in Norway used wood. It took us several hours to see our first tree on the island and it was in someone's yard. The Vikings here must have used the materials available to them when they built their stone dwellings. Many of the building remains were circular in shape.
The kids pretended to be Viking settlers.
With our gorgeous day, we walked along the coastal path, along the cliffs, from Jarlshof Prehistoric and Norse Settlement to Sumburgh Lighthouse, about 1.5 miles. The land is used for sheep pasturing. We watched a shepherd and his dog herding a flock through gates and we passed near some stranded sheep too that we assume were eventually rejoined with the flock.
Along the walk, Derek and Karina practiced some dance moves.
The views along the cliffs were beautiful.
Sumburgh is famous as a premier location for viewing Atlantic puffins, which nest in the cliffs below from April to August. The puffins did not disappoint, and they were all along the cliffs. There were nesting sea gulls as well. The black spots on this distant boulder are all puffins.
We spent a long time in close proximity to the puffins just watching them.
We saw many professional photographers with fancy equipment and zoom lenses. We enjoyed our casual appreciation of the puffins.
Lydia and I were also lucky enough to spot a group of seals!
We took a different route on our 1.5 mile walk back to the bus station.
Below was our view of Lerwick from our balcony on the ship. We were all super impressed with the Shetland Islands.
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