YELL and move on.... * Sixtyexpress

Well are you up for it…..4 ferry rides and lots to see.

And you thought you and I were going to yell and let off steam. We are off to visit the different islands in the Shetlands, starting with Yell. You reach each island by ferry to jump from one to another. On each Island, the community has gathered parts of their heritage to share .

The island is sparsely populated. In early times, people were crofters. They farmed small areas of land. They built dykes of rocks and earth to keep their animals out of the crops.Once the crops are gathered, the animals are let in to eat the remains and to fertilise the poor soil. Because much of their crops and butter went to pay the rent on the land, the people supplemented their income with fishing and knitting.

Unst is drier than Yell. On Yell there are large areas of peat bogs. Only one side of Unst has peat bogs and the other is rocky. This was caused by a change in the geology millions of years ago. It was aggravated by the removal of the shrubby woodlands. Soils became more acid . People here have built a replica of a Viking ship and log house. Now Vikings were the explorers and that came with the violence etc. Next came the settlers, the Norse. They changed the way of life for the people. Shetlands became Norse in language and customs. Even though they are officially Scots now, these links have not been lost.

Our bus driver takes part in the annual Viking fire festival. Men dress up and carry fire through the town to light a model Viking ship and bonfire. He showed us his costume. This was not a quick crepe paper affair. It was woven leather breastplate, skin and wool cloak. His helmet was metal plates fused together.Unst has two heritage centres;a boat and general history.

Peat is still cut for heating. People do not use it as their only form of heating. To cut peat you have to be allocated an area, you remove the grass and then cut down into the peat.It is then dried, turned and dried over a period of weeks. You then carry it home..feel free to use one of the big baskets so you can knit as well….too hard, then stack it in your car and take it home.