Scat Ness, Shetland / Friday 29th November 2019

I think I got lucky starting my not-working-Friday plan this month.

November has managed to squeeze in 5 Fridays - and this is the second one that has included an 03:30 alarm and an early flight to Shetland.

As with the previous time, the travel all went remarkably smoothly.  There have been times where my attempts to get north have been messed about by weather and airline 'complications' - so I'm still grateful every time an 03:30 alarm in Oxford turns into a prompt arrival at Sumburgh Airport.  Today I managed to be on Scat Ness just on the stroke of midday - with boots (and a lot of layers) on and camera in hand.

The other bonus was sunshine - I could still see signs that the morning showers had been snow or sleet, but by the time I turned up the showers had moved on and they didn't return until just after sunset.  I should point out that there isn't actually very much time between midday and sunset on Shetland at this time of year - sunset was officially 15:12, and it was dark enough to see both the Sumburgh Head light and the Fair Isle North light by 16:00.

The pictures could lead one to believe that the weather was warm - but although the winds were gentle (by Shetland standards) they were coming from the North and I'm pretty sure the temperatures weren't getting much above 2 or 3C.

And relax - looking from the Shetland garden across Quendale Bay
Loch o Gards, Scat Ness 
From Scat Ness across to Fitful Head
Cliffs at Brei Geo, Scat Ness
One of the freshwater pools on Scat Ness
Fair Isle on the horizon (and Lady's Holm in the foreground)



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