In many ways the fact that I was actually going to Scotland
felt surreal. This moment had been anticipated for so very long. Two and a half
years long, to be exact. However, once I was on the ground, it felt as though
no time had passed since my last visit home.
I was able to connect with colleagues in Glasgow, Edinburgh
and Fife. I caught up with family and even met some cousins I only know
virtually (What are the odds that two of my second cousins would be staying at
the same wee hotel in Orkney that I was and at the same time?!)
I had a great wee group in Orkney. They were fantastic, fun
and flexible and we had a wonderful week together. More touring than research
but connections with cousins and with ancestors were made. We were in awe of
the history that the island retains evidence of. Neolithic remnants dot the
islands. Orkney is so picturesque. Gentle hills, inland lochs and miles of
coastline. The major agriculture is now cattle and they clearly outnumber the
people.
Orkney has a much slower pace than the rest of Scotland. In
tune with the sea. And the weather. We were blessed with rainbows every
afternoon, thanks to weather that literally changed every five minutes.
Orcadians never take their history for granted. A cairn or
the remnants of a neolithic village may well be on their farm. They honour it
and leave it as is. Our view every morning at breakfast was a look across the
sea loch, Loch of Stenness, to see the standing stones at both Stenness and the
larger Ring of Brodgar. Still unchanged after 5000 years. Except for a few
cattle sharing the land.
From Orkney I made my way to Shetland. I have wanted to see
Shetland since I first visited Orkney 6 years ago. I was told that the
landscape was different but it was still a shock. Outwith the city of Lerwick,
the land is rugged, vast and sparsely
populated. And I mean sparsely. It was reminiscent of the northern highlands of
mainland Scotland, but more barren, if that is even possible. I could literally
drive for miles and miles and encounter no one. No other car, no sign of a
homestead, no animals. Shetland is more for sheep than cattle, but even the
sheep were sparse.
All of the communities are coastal. And small. Usually a
couple of dozen homes. Often fewer. Driving along a steep, twisting, single lane
mountain road, I would see a sign pointing left to a community. Left! Where the
country literally dropped off a cliff to the sea. A steep drive down would find
a few scattered buildings along the coast. Many had a leisure centre and some
also had a school. No corner shop. No grocery store. No clinic. No gas station.
These amenities were miles away. Sometimes even a ferry ride away.
I could live in Orkney but I doubt I would survive long in
Shetland. Not outwith Lerwick or Scalloway anyway. Scalloway was the original
capital city - now known as the ancient capital, before the capital was moved
to Lerwick. Compared to the rest of Shetland, Lerwick is a bustling town.
Mostly thanks to the tourists. Scalloway is also a busy wee place. Both have
wonderful museums, shops, restaurants and peaceful harbours. Surprisingly
everything closes at 5 pm. There is a chippy in Lerwick that stays open until
8. And there are a couple of pubs that are open well into the evening. But
shops and restaurants are closed by 5, if not earlier.
I was able to visit three islands: Unst, Yell and Mainland.
There are interisland ferries between them, each about 5 - 10 minutes across.
Unst has an incredible viking heritage. Replica ships, longhouses and even a
broch. The Unst Heritage Centre is a small museum but one that is packed with
information. As I tell everyone, "ask" when you are in any museum.
The staff was so pleased to take me to the staff room and show me the wealth of
genealogical records that they have available.
Unst and Yell can be done in a day. Yell has one small
museum, which didn't have much on offer but which provided me a wonderful chat
with a local man. He was truly delightful and I will treasure our conversation
for years to come. Yell is a wonderful destination for anyone who enjoys rugged
hill walks or mountain biking. The scenery is truly breathtaking.
There is so much to see in Mainland that I can quite
understand why some folk never get to the north isles. I really enjoyed my time
in Lerwick and making the trips to Scalloway, St Ninian's Isle, Sumburgh
(Jarlshof and the Crofthouse Museum) and Bixter (the original Cake Fridge and
the Shetland Pony Experience).
Shetland is at 60 degrees North. On par with Norway,
Greenland, the Yukon and Nunavut. And it is easy to see the connection. The
inland waterways are broken by mountain ranges, emerging out of the fjords.
Truly, truly stunning. The climate will be similar although Shetland has the
advantage of the effects of the North Atlantic Drift, which is the end part of
the gulf stream, which, incidentally, also keeps the west of Scotland fairly
moderate, temperature-wise.
Both Shetland and Orkney once belonged to Norway and
Shetland has retained much of this early influence, particularly in their
language, but also in their culture and their music. While road signs for
places (Welcome to...) in Scotland are in both English and Gaelic, in Shetland
the original Old Norse meaning of the name is given. For example, Tingwall (the
field of the parliament) or Lerwick (Muddy Bay) or even Sumburgh (South broch).
And in both Orkney and Shetland, words from Old Norse continue to be used like
"peedie" in Orkney or "peerie" in Shetland meaning wee or
small.
My final few days were spent with colleague Clare Wilson.
Many of you will know of Clare from the Lanarkshire monthly presentations or
from our Kilted Kulture events. Clare and I met thanks to the Lanarkshire
Family History Society putting us in touch and from the first meeting she has
felt like kin to me. I thoroughly enjoyed my few days with her and her husband
and was sad to have to leave them. We played tourist and shared loads of
laughs. And that is what time with kin is all about. Laughter.
