Lerwick Question

[trickyoat]

Suzie hi,

 

There are several tour guide companies that take visitors around the isles, here are a few links

 

http://www.seeshetland.shetland.co.uk/

 

http://www.island-trails.co.uk/

 

http://www.shetlandgeology.com/

 

http://www.shetlandtours.co.uk/

 

Hope this helps and let me know how you get on :)

 

Richard

[trickyoat]

Hi Sherita,

 

Wow!!.. what a day trip you have ahead....from what you have mentioned you will get a full appreciation of Shetland with that tour!

 

Definately don't think it's too much, but just remember to get back aboard the Eurodam...;)

 

Richard

[scluvsrain]

Richard,

 

Thank you! The only thing that concerns me a little for this tour is that it will indeed take up all of our day and maybe we might miss out on something special about Lerwick itself.

 

I'm very excited for our upcoming cruise and being able to visit your beautiful islands, as well as all of the other ports on our journey.

[trickyoat]

Sherita

 

I'm sure you will have a great trip & will love Shetland and it's surroundings.

 

Kudos for coming to visit our wee islands as it's not the easiest place to get to.

 

On a side note take into consideration the immigration checks as your call to Lerwick will be the only time the ship touches the UK, so every passenger will have to be checked by officials - hopefully they will get aboard beforehand, or perhaps do it in advance, either way take this into consideration when planning stuff.

 

Richard

[monkey@cruise]

Suzie hi,

 

There are several tour guide companies that take visitors around the isles, here are a few links

 

http://www.seeshetland.shetland.co.uk/

 

http://www.island-trails.co.uk/

 

http://www.shetlandgeology.com/

 

http://www.shetlandtours.co.uk/

 

Hope this helps and let me know how you get on :)

 

Richard

 

Thank so much Richard! Island Trails is booked already but others are available. Is there one that you recommend over another? Also what is the weather like in early to mid-September? Given that late in the season, we won't see much wildlife, is it worth it to go to Sumburgh Head? Also what is Old Scantness?

 

Thanks again, you have been a big help!

 

 

Suzie

Edited June 22, 2014 by monkey@cruise

[trickyoat]

Suzie,

 

There all good tour experiences, and all come highly recommended.

 

In September the Puffin colonies tend to thin out a lot, although i believe there were still some around last September.

 

But as ever with wildlife you can never fully guarantee what will be around.

 

This particular tour operator has recently won an award for it's services.

 

http://www.seabirds-and-seals.com/

 

If you don't want to do Sumburgh Head when you get here, you are most likely guaranteed to see many forms of wildlife from this vantage point.

 

The vessel can get right up practically to the sheer cliff face where the masses of birds nest and search underwater using a remote camera and much more.

 

As we are Islands in the North Atlantic you can at anytime get four seasons of weather in one day, September can be either beautifully calm or a raging storm with autumnal gales tracking between here and Iceland. It really is 50/50 either way.

 

Old Scatness discovered in 1975 when a road was under construction is an ancient Iron age Broch & village.

 

Link: http://www.shetlandamenity.org/old-scatness

 

Hope this is of help to you

 

Richard :)

Edited June 22, 2014 by trickyoat

[Globaliser]

This particular tour operator has recently won an award for it's services.

 

http://www.seabirds-and-seals.com/

It's a great outfit - I spent a very special afternoon with them when I was in Lerwick a few years back.

[monkey@cruise]

Suzie,

 

There all good tour experiences, and all come highly recommended.

 

In September the Puffin colonies tend to thin out a lot, although i believe there were still some around last September.

 

But as ever with wildlife you can never fully guarantee what will be around.

 

This particular tour operator has recently won an award for it's services.

 

http://www.seabirds-and-seals.com/

 

If you don't want to do Sumburgh Head when you get here, you are most likely guaranteed to see many forms of wildlife from this vantage point.

 

The vessel can get right up practically to the sheer cliff face where the masses of birds nest and search underwater using a remote camera and much more.

 

As we are Islands in the North Atlantic you can at anytime get four seasons of weather in one day, September can be either beautifully calm or a raging storm with autumnal gales tracking between here and Iceland. It really is 50/50 either way.

 

Old Scatness discovered in 1975 when a road was under construction is an ancient Iron age Broch & village.

 

Link: http://www.shetlandamenity.org/old-scatness

 

Hope this is of help to you

 

Richard :)

 

Hi Richard:

Thanks so much for your quick response, really helps in planning our itinerary. As much as we want to see the puffins, since we are on a transatlantic cruise, we like to stay on the ground as much as possible. :) Do you recall where there were some puffins last September? There are so much that we want to see in Shetland that we have to pick and choose and hope to get a taste of everything. We really want to see the Eshaness cliff on the north side and Jarlshof Prehistoric site on the south side, is it possible to do it within a 7-8 hour tour along with other sites in between? Don't want to turn into a marathon though. Or are there cliff on the south side like the Eshaness cliffs?

 

Thanks again,

Suzie

[trickyoat]

Suzie,

 

From memory there were a few scattered at Sumburgh Head & also on Bressay (island opposite Lerwick).

 

The travel time to Sumburgh is around 45-50 minutes from Lerwick at a distance of 22 miles, Eshaness is around about 40 miles from Lerwick so i would set aside a good hour plus each way for that trip.

 

Both sites are doable in a day, although there will be a fair time spend on the road getting to and from each place. I won't lie to you by saying Eshaness is quite remote and a fairly lengthy trip.

 

The Eshaness cliffs are impressive and compared to cliffs at the south end of the island their slightly higher than at Sumburgh. The West side of Shetland is spectacular i will say.

 

It really depends on which site you fancy the most.

 

Richard

Edited June 23, 2014 by trickyoat

[monkey@cruise]

Hi Richard:

Where are some of the good cliffs to view on the south side? is it near Spiggie?

Nice cliffs near Sumburgh Head for viewing too? Can visitors go inside and up the lighthouse for viewing? Sounds like Jarlshof and Old Scatness are similar in some way, which is a better one to go to if time only allows one sight? Other than cliffs, we like to see various rock formations as well like sandstone stacks or pillars. Any suggestions for the south side?

 

Thanks again, I appreciate all the help and information you have given me!

 

Suzie

[trickyoat]

Hi Suzie,

 

The cliffs at Sumburgh Head very much have their own beauty, and the views from them are great.

 

Sumburgh Head Lighthouse is open to visit for a small fee and has been over the last few years restored to accommodate guests that can stay there on a let basis. It also has a visitor centre.

 

Just 3 weeks ago the facility was formally opened by HRH Princess Royal.

 

Link: http://www.sumburghhead.com/

 

From Sumburgh Head you can take in views of Fair Isle on the horizon, and to the West Fitful Head, which are in themselves impressive cliffs. (On the webcam Fitful Head is straight ahead in the distance).

 

Whilst the Southern end of Shetland has relatively little in the way of sea stacks compared to those in the West of the islands, the coastline is nonetheless very picturesque.

 

Jarlshof would be my choice as they are still excavating Old Scatness each summer, and Jarlshof is totally ready to view if you know what i mean!

 

Richard

Edited June 23, 2014 by trickyoat

[monkey@cruise]

Hi Richard:

Thanks for the info on Sumburgh Head, sounds like there's more to see and impressive than I initially thought. However Sherita's tour sounds like what we are looking for, is that doable within 8 hours? and would we spend more time driving from one place to another than sightseeing?

 

Her description as below:

"It appears to explore Sumburgh Head, the lighthouse there, then to Loch of Spiggie, St. Ninians Isle, then over to Tingwall valley, loch of Tingwall, through Kergord valley then up north to Voe and Brae, lunch stop, then Eshaness lighthouse finally down to Ronas Hill and back to Lerwick."

 

Thanks a million!

Suzie

[trickyoat]

Hi Suzie,

 

That tour sounds good to me and you should have time to do it all. The guide will keep you right i have no doubt, and the best bit is you really do get to see the length of Shetland which i'm sure you will enjoy. :)

 

Richard

[monkey@cruise]

Hi Suzie,

 

That tour sounds good to me and you should have time to do it all. The guide will keep you right i have no doubt, and the best bit is you really do get to see the length of Shetland which i'm sure you will enjoy. :)

 

Richard

 

Thanks so much, Richard! You've been a big help!

 

Cheers,

Suzie

[tartanexile81]

Richard

Thanks to the advice you gave us we've planned what we hope will be a great day in Shetland, seeing as much as we can in our hire car. We saw an article on TV about Shetland ponies last week and we can't wait to see some in their real home.

 

My question is where is the best place to buy basic supplies like large bottles of water, cans of coke etc and crisps. We'll have the car so thought we might as well stock up and save money on ship's prices. Also do you know how Shetland prices compare to the rest of Scotland?

[trickyoat]

Yeah Lerwick has two supermarkets, one being a large Tesco store which is out the South road as your heading out of Lerwick.

 

It just about sells everything you can think of, and prices are the same as on the mainland (so they claim! ;))

 

Richard

Edited July 1, 2014 by trickyoat

[tartanexile81]

Thank you very much as usual for your helpful answer.

[trickyoat]

Hi everyone as of next week a new Shetland wide bus timetable comes into operation, many departures/arrivals to and from Lerwick will change.

 

The new timetable can be accessed here

 

http://travel.shetland.org/desktop_bus_timetables.php

 

If your going to explore Shetland independently please read this important info

 

Richard