The symposium ran from 4-7 July and was hosted by Shetland Canoe Club at Bridge End Outdoor Centre on the Isle of Burra. The main coordinator of the event was Tom Smith of Sea Kayak Shetland. The club also organised an additional three days of paddling at Unst the following weekend, the main coordinator being Beth Cummings. I'd say more than half of the delegates stayed for Unst, where we were joined by the OSKA contingent, Shetland Canoe Club's nearest paddling neighbours.
Most visiting paddlers seemed to already have a copy of Tom Smith's and Chris Jex's The Northern Isles. I counted myself as lucky in not owning or even having glanced through a copy, so I knew nothing of what to expect in the coming ten days. However, since returning I've added this excellent sea kayaking book to my collection.
The overnight ferry from Aberdeen to Shetland arrived in Lerwick at 7am (although I joined the boat in Orkney), so even those making their way to Bridge End by bicycle were there in plenty of time to make camp and register before the afternoon kick-off. A copy of Jim's 10 Top Sea Kayaking Paddling Destinations recent article in The Guardian, putting Shetland at the top, had not surprisingly already been posted on the symposium notice board.
Jean and Tess decided to make the most of the morning by going for a short paddle, heading north. In the afternoon the symposium possy headed south towards South Havra, exploring the immediate area en route. The weather was superb, barely a breath of wind with glorious sunshine.
Those that donned cags were soon to regret it. This was not the weather we expected in Shetland. We had a mid afternoon stop on the south of South Havra at West Ham cove. Many of us explored the few abandoned houses that were once the homes to a small population.
Next was Little Havra, even smaller and exposed to the west with an impressive arch to the south. Even in the calm conditions of the day, the swell here was not insignificant. At this point the group split, those that felt obliged to get back in time for dinner returned up West Voe and those that wanted to make the most of the conditions. We headed back up the outside of West Burra, again exposed, so is not often a place that can be seen close up. It took us a surprisingly long time to explore the 4km up to the bay of Banna Minn, but there was much to see. On arrival the view of the bay was idyllic and I couldn't think of a better place to spend a night gazing up at the stars, before possibly nodding off. If I'd brought a bivi and more provisions that would have been my choice, but alas...
Here we had short portage to get over to West Voe again and then back to Bridge End, just in time to be rather late for dinner.The following day it was even warmer and the plan was to head up to Muckle Roe. I am not someone that is normally overly impressed by sea caves, but those on the west of Muckle were something else. I use the term caves rather loosely as it included deep gullies, tight open passages, both wide and narrow arches, subterranean passages and of course they all had to be explored. Jean and I did our very best, but of course we failed miserably. I think we also maybe tested the patience of the others, who were continually hanging around waiting for us to re-emerge, so we split from the main group along with local guide Jim.
Many photos were taken in the caves, but the results were largely disappointing. I think this was because the poor light made it too difficult for the cameras auto settings to cope. It's something I'll certainly bear in mind in future.
We stopped for lunch at North Ham and basked in the sunshine. A couple of our hosts, Tam and Jim, went skinny dipping within an instant of landing in the adjacent fresh water loch, while I amongst others were happy to just lay back and enjoy the scenery. After lunch we continued round the island in an anti-clockwise direction, returning to the marina next to the mainland bridge, but I think we'd seen the best of the coast during the morning.That night the wind piped up and by morning it was blowing a good F6 or more. I'd gone down with a vicious summer cold during the night, so there'd be no paddling for me that day. A group which included Jean, Tess, Pete and Pen headed quite a bit further north on the west coast of the mainland and did a paddle from Hillswick to Mavis Grind, which gave shelter from the north easterly, although apparently it was still a bit wild at times.
For the final day the wind dropped, but there was still a big swell to the east, which ruled out a number of good paddles. As some folks were catching the 5pm ferry a shorter paddle was chosen, so we headed for St.Ninians Isle.
The most noticeable feature of the island is the sand tombolo, which produces good surf when the conditions are right. Like everywhere else I'd paddled so far, the coastline was again interesting and varied.
We had lunch at an unnamed cove near Inns Holm before most of the group headed down to Colsay. Jean, Tess and a few others didn't need to rush back so spent more time exploring the area. We ended the day at a lovely little cove next to Spiggie where a couple of anglers were fishing for sea trout with trout rods and lines with a fair bit of success.After the symposium, those that stayed on made plans to do their own thing for the rest of the week. The following selection are from Pete's and Mike McClure's trip to Papa Stour. Mike also managed to get some quite good cave shots, as well as the video clip of Pete having a bit of fun.
Jean and Tess started the week by joining a club organised trip from Westerwick. It was an out and back paddle for all bar Jean, who decided to do an extended paddle back to Bridge End taking in Hildasay, Oxna and the surrounding Scalloway islands on the way. Travelling back to the centre by kayak was far more direct than doing so by car.
The following day there was another trip to Papa Stour.
On the Thursday, Jean and Tess went to Eshaness on their own. They visited the sunken subterranean passage known as The Holes of Scraada pictured below.
Our most active guides over the ten days were Tam, Jim (pictured below) and Ian (shown dancing with Beth later). We were all grateful to them for giving up their time, but I like to think that they enjoyed themselves nearly as much as we did.
While everyone else was paddling, I'd decided to take a cycling tour for the rest of the week, hence the bicycle. From what I'd heard, Eshaness and the surrounding area was a great place to see. It was also vaguely in the right direction for Unst the following weekend. The plan was to take in a few scenic loops on the way, so my route was to go via Tingwall, Weisdale, Bixter and up to Voe before getting back to main roads again. First stop was the fish shop just outside Scalloway (GR HU 409397) as the fresh fish in Shetland was second to none. My second stop was for lunch at Weisdale Mill. The menu was enticing yet not pricey. I opted for Cullen Sink and some Blue Lady tea while I was waiting. It was far too civilized for riff-raff like me, but nobody suggested I leave, despite the tight lycra shorts and dripping sweat onto the table. The dish came with just a single slice of home made bread. It was a bit like soda bread made with a multi grain/seeded flour. It was absolutely delicious, as was the soup. It was a good job that bread wasn't offered separately on the menu, as I'd have probably scoffed a whole loaf. And all the food was prepared in a kitchen that would make most ships galleys look spacious.After Bixter, the climb with a fully laden bicycle into a stiff breeze, up the pass heading over to Voe was beginning to sap my strength. At least I hadn't overdone lunch. Tess, a highly experienced touring cyclist, had advised me that there weren't any really difficult climbs in Shetland. Well it may not have been the Alps, but by my standards this was tough. The sun was shining and the views were brilliant, so the decision to pull over to take it all in was a no brainer.
While lying on the grass by the side of the road, resting and re-hydrating, I was very tempted to call it a day and pitch my tent, despite having already booked a bed in Eshaness. However, lack of food, water and something a bit stronger meant that staying put wasn't an option. So I studied the OS map and a magic symbol rose from the screen....PH....and you don't see too many of those in Shetland outside Lerwick. Not only that, there was a choice of two in Voe. There was a God after all! With newly acquired motivation my speed of ascent increased dramatically or at least it did psychologically. The descent into Voe should have been 'a breeze', but the increasing headwind meant I still had to pedal on occasion.The first pint didn't touch the sides and neither did the second. The pub was empty, hardly surprising mid week and mid afternoon, but the barmaid was good company once I'd persuaded her to speak a little more slooowwwly. After one for the road, pangs of hunger were coming from my stomach. With a belly full of beer, only a curry would do, but that wasn't an option here in Shetland. Not so! I had been reliably informed that there was an Indian takeaway in Brae, only a further 5/6 miles north. I arrived at 5.30pm, normally a tad early for a curry, but hey I was on holiday. A vindaloo with extra chillies would have been the normal drunken choice, but I would be sharing a confined four bed bunk room later, so just a little consideration was called for (Jimski - take note here). Brae was not exactly overrun with outdoor eating spots, so I settled for the green outside the public convenience on the main road and chatted to friendly passers by who enquired about my day. All I needed now was a nice cuppa. I went into Brae Hotel, ordered a pot of tea and discovered I could get online for a mere £1 for 3 hours. An hour or two later, after recharging my batteries (both laptop and body) I headed to the Co-op for supplies. As it doesn't really get properly dark in Shetland mid summer, I didn't need to rush to my final destination. The small painting below captures the essence of the Johnnie Notions camping böd where I was staying far better than a photograph.
I awoke pretty late the following morning and was grateful to have a proper mattress for a bed rather a camping mat. I'd hoped I would sweat out the last of my cold the previous day, but alas I felt rather rough again, so I was in no hurry to get 'oot an aboot'. Besides, the böd had been surrounded by sheep, so I was going nowhere.
At lunchtime, I headed down to Braewick, pitched my tent on the campsite and went to the cafe for food. After lunch, a little nap was called for, but I didn't awake again until 9pm. I hadn't gone to Shetland to spend all my time sleeping! Fortunately, it was far from dark so I cycled down to Eshaness lighthouse to take a look at the cliffs. While climbing the last hill a car with kayaks on top was heading towards me. It was Dave & Lucy and they had just been watching a pod of orca which were now heading south toward Stenness. I abandoned my bicycle, jumped in the car and we made a dash for Stenness. Within a minute of arrival the pod was spotted so we headed over to get a closer look. I'd never seen any kind of whale before, so the experience was completely magical. The pod remained in the same spot for about 15 minutes, which went in an instant. I'd got my camera out, but the brain failed to register the fact that photos don't get taken by themselves. After the pod (a huge male, three females and a baby) left us, we talked about what it would be like to encounter killer whales close up in a kayak and came to the conclusion that it would probably be pretty scary.By the following morning I'd developed ear ache too, but as I'd planned to walk round the Eshaness peninsula that's exactly what I did. It was an excellent walk, but I couldn't help thinking that it would have been a much better paddle.
By late afternoon I'd packed up and begun the journey to Unst with half a loo roll sticking out of my left ear. En route I passed Sullom Voe oil terminal and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't the complete eyesore I expected.We were using Gardiesfauld Youth Hostel as a base, but most folks were camping. I decided to break the journey into two and stayed the night at Mid Yell camping böd pictured below.
On the ferry over to Yell I bumped into local paddler Bonar, so I asked if the pub(s) on the island was any good. He must have been in a rush as he spoke at twice his normal rate, so I just nodded politely, but left none the wiser.I set off quite early the following morning in order to have breakfast at the Wind Dog Cafe in Gutcher. At least my virus hadn't affected either my thirst or appetite. Breakfast wasn't fantastic, but the selection of assorted cakes on offer looked excellent. It wasn't long before other paddlers were arriving at the cafe to await their place on the ferry.
By the time I got to the hostel I was in quite a bit of pain with my ear, so I went to the doctors in Baltasound to get checked out. The doctor assured me that I didn't have a brain tumour, but I did have badly inflamed inner ear and warned me that it could lead to a perforated ear drum if I had an OBE (out of boat experience). So, it was quite important that I remained upright then! As the antibiotics and painkillers I'd been given allowed me to drink we called in at Valhalle Brewery for some beer to take back with us. The weather wasn't at its best so only a few folk went paddling. I took to my bed yet again, dosed up on pills and consoled myself with some Baltasound Bakery oat biscuits, which I'd best describe as rusks for adults and rather yummy! I awoke in time for dinner, but unfortunately it was deep fried fish and tatties. I'd never cared for anything battered, with the exception of tempura prawns when they're done well, but food was food. However, the fish prepared by Ian & Beth using a secret recipe was the best fried fish I had ever tasted and there was lots of it. You'll never go hungry when being fed by a Shetlander.
In case you're thinking that my plate looks a bit greasy, that's the remains of lashing of tartar sauce from a previous helping.On Saturday morning it was a little breezy again, so most folks took the day off from paddling and went walking in Hermaness. The following are some photos of wildlife in the area.
The rest of us did a paddle from Lunda Wick back to the hostel in Uyeasound, starting late in the day to avoid tricky wind against tide conditions in Bluemull Sound earlier on. That evening there was an excellent BBQ followed by Unst Regatta dance where failing to have a good time would have been an impossibility.
Over the symposium period, everyone had been looking forward to a paddle out to Muckle Flugga, the most northerly point in the British Isles. Fortunately the wind and swell had died down enough to make it a goer on the last day. Some of our group wanted to include Out Stack, which often has difficult conditions on the northern side, so we paddled a ferry glide course to get there. On arrival, there was indeed a tidal race running, but it didn't look too bad. However, there was a fair bit of swell, so as it was an unknown quantity we passed the stack to the south heading towards Muckle lighthouse.
We took a break from paddling at the lighthouse, but didn't land. Then we headed back to the mainland rounding Herma Ness and encountered gannets everywhere. Where there are gannets there are bonxies attacking them to rob them of fish. Unfortunately, in their world mob rule is the natural way of things. We continued until we arrived at an impressive arch at Toolie where we took another short break to watch the thousands of gannets.
As we set off again, Ken & Pen in their double decided to take a route through some tight gullies approaching the arch. The conditions were moderate so it was doable, but timing the wave sets was crucial. Unfortunately, their timing was a little out and a swim was inevitable, so we had some fun emptying a double and getting them back in their boat. Not long after setting off again we saw a gannet in the water entangled in some broken fishing net. Arthur and Jean went to the rescue cutting it free giving it a good chance of recovery.
We continued south, exploring the coast on the way, stopping at Wood Wick for a late lunch. By this time it was raining a little along with a noticeable drop in temperature and it was the first time I'd felt cold in the whole time I'd spent in Shetland.Before setting off again, we congregated in the mouth of the bay. While we were regrouping, Tam called out that he'd spotted killer whales, west towards the horizon, but nobody else had seen them. After looking, waiting and seeing nothing, I suppose we all thought it had been a touch of over enthusiasm. Then a couple of minutes later Tam called out again, but this time a few others had seen them too. They were over by North Holms and I'd pretty quickly figured out that they were heading towards South Holms. I can't remember exactly what I was thinking, but while everyone else seemed happy to watch from a distance, I just had to get closer. Powered by pure adrenaline, I was off as fast as I could paddle towards South Holms. I don't think a plastic Aquanaut has ever travelled quite so quickly. Before long the rest of the group were following. As I got close to the islets so did the large male leading the pod. While it was silently porpoising I was silently gob smacked by six feet of dorsal fin coming towards to me and it was getting nearer by the second. It was enormous! I fumbled around for my camera, but repeatedly failed to get a half decent shot. This was the same pod I'd seen at Eshaness a few days earlier.
The pod disappeared for a while and then reappeared about five minutes later very close to the mainland coast in the cove by Skitsack. They swam up and down the shoreline obviously in search of food. After the cove had been scoured they continued round the point towards The Trinks O'Clave. I took a shortcut through some gullies on the headland so I could keep up with them. As I paddled through a narrow gully one of the females swam up from the opposite end towards me and went under my boat.By that time we'd more or less re-grouped. As we continued down the coast so did the whales, almost certainly in pursuit of food.
By the time we arrived in North Sound off Westing the behaviour of the pod had distinctly changed. They started circling round and round for quite some time. I wondered whether it was some kind of play or maybe they were even putting on a display for us. It soon became apparent that the pod were hunting a seal or seals. Jean managed to get the following short video clip on what memory was left on her card.The pod had stayed with us on and off for two hours or more. On getting ashore, the atmosphere was electric. It was an experience that none of us would forget.
Thanks to Jean, Tess, Pete, Pen and Mike McClure for letting me use their photos and again to Mike McClure and Jean for letting me use their video clips.
Graeme
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