alfaetrin

The weather was fine, Pooks, a little breezy, especially at Esha Ness, but it stayed dry all day, so the views all around were excellent. It was a wonderful day, packed full of fascinating places to see. Alastair

I just wanted to say how much my family, friends and I enjoyed our day in Shetland. We arranged a day tour for the seven of us with Allen Fraser, who showed us around the main sights on mainland, from Jarlshof to Esha Ness in Northmavine. Allen was an excellent guide, knowledgeable, flexible and enthusiastic, and I can highly recommend him for anyone who, like us, has only a brief time to spend in Shetland. It's hard to pick out the highlights, but for me there were the spectacular views almost anywhere you turned, Jarlshof (amazing, fascinating place, and so easy to walk around!), Voe (beautiful), the Esha Ness cliffs (breathtaking and awe-inspiring), our lunch at the nearby Braewick cafe (very tasty and enjoyable, and surprising that such a good restaurant can be found at such a remote spot), Scalloway (lovely view from the hills above), and rounded off with a short stroll around Lerwick. My son was also fascinated with Allen's detailled descriptions and demonstrations of Shetland's geology. The short trip only served to whet my appetite for a return visit sometime, hopefully soon, in order to see more. I would really like to see some of the other islands and to visit some of the places that time did not permit us to visit on the mainland. You are indeed priviledged to come from such a beautiful place, See you all again soon, Alastair Jardine Bishopbriggs

Cheers for the replies, much appreciated! In the end I arranged a day tour with Alan Fraser's Geo-tour in a seven-seater. He is going to show us some of the highlights of the mainland, so we are looking forward immensely to that. Thanks again, See you shortly, Alastair from Troon (=alfaetrin)

Hi! We are two families of seven people in total who are coming to visit Shetland on the morning ferry from Kirkwall on Wednesday 13th August. We will be returning to Kirkwall on the 5 o'clock ferry that same day, and what we are keen to find out is if anyone has any suggestions on how best to spend our short stay on Shetland. Are there any bus tours available which would visit the main points of interest on the mainland: Scalloway, Jarlshof etc? Or would it be feasible to hire a seven-seater and explore by ourselves? Or should we just have a wander around Lerwick? All suggestions would be welcome. If only we had longer, but on this occasion it is only one day. But I'm sure we will be back again for a longer stay some time! Looking forward to our visit very much, Alastair (***Mod Edit - Moved from the 'Welcome to Shetlink Forum' to the 'Travel' forum***)