Today we are leaving but before we go, we had one last breakfast of Kedgeree (smoked fish, rice, peas and spices) for breakfast, a wonderful treat.  But before we go, we are going to visit Fethaland which is an abandoned fishing village only accessible by 4-wheel drive or by foot.  We drive part of the way then load into Paul’s (the owner of the St. Magness Hotel) pickup truck, 6 of us on the flat bed.  Lance volunteered to be the official gate closer/opener as we approached sheep crossings. The weather started out the same as usual, cold, blowing and overcast.  We bumped along for about 20 minutes and crested a small hill, this is what we saw first:

Approaching Fethaland, The Lighthouse

As we drove on, we saw the development, actually two developments, one abandoned earlier and replaced by more robust stone cottages. 

And there was more to see, the dramatic coast line, the crashing waves and the lighthouse in the distance.  We hiked all over the area, Karen and I walked up to the lighthouse and was disappointed by the industrial nature of the machine, not the romantic round brick buildings of Maine and New England, more like a computerized crate with a light source up top. But of course the view was worth it.  Karen spotted some rain clouds and thought it might start raining again as it had been on and off.  Within minutes we were pelted with ice crystals in gale force winds, all the while a few of us were enjoying a deep in the deep.

Lance and Meg test the waters of Northern Shetland

As the rain subsided, we made our way back to Paul’s 4×4 and a bumpy ride and a 1/2 hour later we were back at the St Magness Hotel for a game of darts with Lance, a stuffed potato lunch and our ride to The Sumburgh Hotel.  We settled in for the night and got some needed sleep.