On day 10 of our cruise we docked in the port of Lerwick Scotland in the Shetland Islands.
The Shetland Islands, formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated in the Northern Atlantic, between Great Britain, the Faroe Islands and Norway.
The islands lie some 80 km (50 mi) to the northeast of Orkney (our next port call), 170 km (110 mi) from the Scottish mainland and 300 km (190 mi) west of Norway. They form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total area is 1,466 km2 (566 sq mi), and the population totalled 22,920 in 2019. The islands comprise the Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament. The local authority, Shetland Islands Council, is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The islands' administrative centre and only burgh is Lerwick, which has been the capital of Shetland since taking over from Scalloway in 1708.
The largest island, known as "Mainland", has an area of 967 km2 (373 sq mi), making it the third-largest Scottish island and the fifth-largest of the British Isles. There are an additional 15 inhabited islands. The archipelago has an oceanic climate, a complex geology, a rugged coastline and many low, rolling hills.
Humans have lived in Shetland since the Mesolithic period. The early historic period was dominated by Scandinavian influences, especially from Norway. The islands became part of Scotland in the 15th century. When Scotland became part of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, trade with northern Europe decreased. Fishing continues to be an important aspect of the economy up to the present day. The discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s significantly boosted Shetland's economy, employment and public sector revenues.
The local way of life reflects the Scottish and Norse heritage of the isles, including the Up Helly Aa fire festival and a strong musical tradition, especially the traditional fiddle style. The islands have produced a variety of writers of prose and poetry, often in the distinct Shetland dialect of the Scots language. There are numerous areas set aside to protect the local fauna and flora, including a number of important sea bird nesting sites. The Shetland pony and Shetland Sheepdog are two well-known Shetland animal breeds. Other local breeds include the Shetland sheep, cow, goose, and duck. The Shetland pig, or grice, has been extinct since about 1930.
The islands' motto, which appears on the Council's coat of arms, is "Með lögum skal land byggja". The Old Norse origin of this phrase is likely from the Norwegian provincial laws, such as the Frostathing Law. It is also mentioned in Njáls saga, and means "By law shall land be built".
There were several tours to chose from, including one that had a stop to see Shetland Ponies. We chose a 4 hour excursion called “The Rugged Beauty of the North” and were very happy that we did.
This first of 5 sets of photos covers our sail into the port of Lerwick. As will be seen, we continued to have excellent weather for this part of the world. Photos 5-7 show the boat that delivered the pilot to guide us into the dock. All of the photos were taken using my Canon 80D with the EF-S 18-135 lens. The previous part of our journey was posted at
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